Other reasons to visit the island
There is actually a lot more to see and do than people imagine before they visit the island. Given the distance you’re traveling to get there and the cost of the flights I strongly advise you stay for at least 4/5 days if you can spare the time. So many visitors stay for just 2/3 nights and barely scratch the surface. The Rapa Nui National Park covers just under half of the island and this has been honoured as a UNESCO world heritage site. The natural beauty of the park and the statues that are dotted throughout make it a haven for those who appreciate the great outdoors. Walks and treks on the island are great ways to take it all in and the terrain is never that challenging although the rocky northwest coast presents a different terrain to the largely green interior. Horses can also be hired which is also a good way to cover the ground.
You can also hire equipment for both surfing and scuba diving if that is more your thing. Whilst there are reliable waves for surfers and interesting caves to explore for the scuba divers its not the best place for beginners of either of these activities. Also if you’re only there for a short time I’d advise spending as much time on dry land as possible as that is where the unique sights are to be seen.
Places to Stay and Getting Around
Hanga Roa is the main town and capital of the island and offers the best choice of hotels and accommodation on the island. The island is well set up for tourism as it must now be the islander’s main source of employment. Given that around 90% of the island’s population live in Hanga Roa there is little or no hotels, guesthouses or restaurants elsewhere on the island. If you wanted to explore further reaches of the island it is easy enough to arrange for a taxi to take you out somewhere and collect you at the end of the day. Horses and bikes can be hired which provides another way of getting round the island. If you’ve been travelling in Chile and other countries in South America you are likely to find Easter Island more expensive. To minimize costs ask to pay in Chilean Pesos as they often quote tourists an inflated US dollar price. Also try an ensure you take sufficient cash with you as there is often an additional charge for using credit cards.
Laura Selby - March 7th 2008
There is actually a lot more to see and do than people imagine before they visit the island. Given the distance you’re traveling to get there and the cost of the flights I strongly advise you stay for at least 4/5 days if you can spare the time. So many visitors stay for just 2/3 nights and barely scratch the surface. The Rapa Nui National Park covers just under half of the island and this has been honoured as a UNESCO world heritage site. The natural beauty of the park and the statues that are dotted throughout make it a haven for those who appreciate the great outdoors. Walks and treks on the island are great ways to take it all in and the terrain is never that challenging although the rocky northwest coast presents a different terrain to the largely green interior. Horses can also be hired which is also a good way to cover the ground.
You can also hire equipment for both surfing and scuba diving if that is more your thing. Whilst there are reliable waves for surfers and interesting caves to explore for the scuba divers its not the best place for beginners of either of these activities. Also if you’re only there for a short time I’d advise spending as much time on dry land as possible as that is where the unique sights are to be seen.
Places to Stay and Getting Around
Hanga Roa is the main town and capital of the island and offers the best choice of hotels and accommodation on the island. The island is well set up for tourism as it must now be the islander’s main source of employment. Given that around 90% of the island’s population live in Hanga Roa there is little or no hotels, guesthouses or restaurants elsewhere on the island. If you wanted to explore further reaches of the island it is easy enough to arrange for a taxi to take you out somewhere and collect you at the end of the day. Horses and bikes can be hired which provides another way of getting round the island. If you’ve been travelling in Chile and other countries in South America you are likely to find Easter Island more expensive. To minimize costs ask to pay in Chilean Pesos as they often quote tourists an inflated US dollar price. Also try an ensure you take sufficient cash with you as there is often an additional charge for using credit cards.
Laura Selby - March 7th 2008
Easter Island (also known as Isla de Pascua in Spanish and Rapa Nui in the language of the island) is a territory of Chile sitting in the Pacific Ocean over 2,200 miles (3,600km) off the coast of Chile. So called because western explorers first discovered it on Easter Sunday 1722. However these explorers encountered a far more developed civilization than would have been expected for the remoteness of the island and the stand out features were the stone statues the island is most famous for today. Unfortunately the native populations were wiped out over the years following both man made and natural disasters and now the inhabitants are largely descended from more recent Polynesian immigrants although it is thought that the original settlers were also Polynesian.
Easter Island | Rapa Nui
It’s one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands best known for it’s distinctive stone monoliths. Despite being a Chilean territory the heritage, ancestry and language of the local people is all Polynesian and there is no evidence. Given that most visitors include it as part of a trip to South America, this should give you a very different experience to the rest of your trip.
Getting there
Due to its isolation getting there adds a significant cost to the traveller’s budget. LanChile are the only airline that flies to the island and flights leave from Santiago. The flight normally stops in parts of French Polynesian before or after Easter Island so you could combine the trip with some interesting stopovers on other Pacific islands. There is one flight per day with a flight time of around 5 hours 40 minutes, and expect to pay at least $600 for the round trip in standard class (depending on the time of year and the exchange rate).
Getting there
Due to its isolation getting there adds a significant cost to the traveller’s budget. LanChile are the only airline that flies to the island and flights leave from Santiago. The flight normally stops in parts of French Polynesian before or after Easter Island so you could combine the trip with some interesting stopovers on other Pacific islands. There is one flight per day with a flight time of around 5 hours 40 minutes, and expect to pay at least $600 for the round trip in standard class (depending on the time of year and the exchange rate).
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Stonework
The large stone statues are known locally as moai and I’m informed reliably that there is a total of 887 although I didn’t have time to verify this! I was looking forward to seeing these statues but the experience far surpassed my expectations. The statues have a presence and the myth and mystery surrounding their creation on this remote island creates a unique experience. It’s difficult to describe and generally speaking amateur photography don’t really capture the full effect. There is one book I found shortly after returning from the islands that is an excellent photographic book the goes a long way to capturing the wonders of Easter Island. (Michael Kenna’s Easter Island)
The large stone statues are known locally as moai and I’m informed reliably that there is a total of 887 although I didn’t have time to verify this! I was looking forward to seeing these statues but the experience far surpassed my expectations. The statues have a presence and the myth and mystery surrounding their creation on this remote island creates a unique experience. It’s difficult to describe and generally speaking amateur photography don’t really capture the full effect. There is one book I found shortly after returning from the islands that is an excellent photographic book the goes a long way to capturing the wonders of Easter Island. (Michael Kenna’s Easter Island)
