Travel Tips

Conference venue

The Southwest Strings meeting will be held on ASU’s Tempe campus at the Goldwater Center for Science and Engineering. It will take place on the fifth floor of Goldwater, in Room 505.

For maps, please see the ASU Campus Maps page, or the PDF map here:

Parking is available in several garages on the ASU Tempe campus; however, please note that ASU no longer offers free visitor parking. All official campus garages and lots charge hourly or daily fees year-round. The Fulton Center garage on College Avenue (marked on the PDF map) is one nearby option, with parking at $4.00 per hour (up to a $16.00 daily maximum). The Tyler Street garage is the closest garage to the venue and has the same parking rates.

Transportation to Tempe

When flying in you will arrive at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix (PHX). The airport provides information on ground transportation options, including taxi, light rail, and rental car information.

Rideshares (Uber and Lyft) from the airport to campus typically cost around $15-20 and take about 10-15 minutes. Waymo (self-driving cars) is also available and is usually more expensive, depending on the time.

Alternatively, you can take the free PHX Sky Train to the 44th St/Washington Light Rail Station and transfer to the Valley Metro Light Rail to reach campus (University Dr/Rural Rd Station). It takes about 30-45 minutes and costs approximately $2.

The easiest way to pay for lightrail is to use the Valley Metro App.

Travel within Tempe

Aside from local taxi or rideshares, the city also runs a series of free shuttles in and around campus, known as the Orbit buses. The system map is available here , and the schedule and another details are here.

Directions

Google Maps: PHX to ASU Tempe Campus

Accommodation

Our recommended hotel is the Hyatt Place Phoenix/Downtown, at 150 W. Adams St, Phoenix AZ.

Please note that this hotel is NOT the Hyatt Place in Tempe, but rather the one in downtown Phoenix. (There is a festival during the conference weekend so very few hotels are available in downtown Tempe).
The Hyatt Place Phoenix/Downtown hotel is on the light rail and takes about 30-40 minutes to reach the Goldwater Science Center.

For access to ASU hotel rate discounts, you may use our travel website (appearing in the registration confirmation message). Once you click "book your preferred ASU rate" under each hotel, it will redirect you to the hotel's website and autogenerate the discounted rates, and then you can book on your own. Note that due to a festival in Tempe you may not find availability or may find unusually high prices right near the Tempe campus.

Further from campus there are also less expensive options; see the shuttle map above for which areas are easiest to get to.

Nearby Restaurants

There are many restaurants near campus, particularly along Mill Ave, College Ave, and Rural Rd. A few favorites include:

Mill Ave (15-20 min walk):

Caffe Boa - Italian restaurant with handmade pastas and local produce

Cornish Pasty Co - British-style restaurant

College Ave/University Dr (10-15 min walk):

Postino Annex - Bruschetta, small plates, and charcuterie; great for casual lunch/dinner

ChopShop - Health food restaurant with salads, bowls, and healthy items

Rural Rd (10-15 min walk):

Ahipoki Bowl - Poke bowls with fresh sushi grade fish and vegetable toppings

Novus Place (10-15 min walk):

Eureka! Tempe - American casual dining serving elevated burgers, craft beer & whiskey

North Italia - Modern Italian with pizzas and pastas