Post #107024 by tikibars on Sun, Aug 8, 2004 11:59 AM

Christiki, that price is a rip-off!

Some of the things they advertise are horrible scams - like 'admission to the national park'. When you go to Orongo, site of the Birdman rituals, there's a little guardbooth there and they'll ask you for about the equivalent of $10 (but in pesos). That's the admission fee for viewing the entire island. If you don't go to Orongo, you don't have to pay at all... but anyone who goes to Rapa Nui and skips Ornogo is a fool, and $10 to see Easter Island is money well spent, indeed. But my point is that advertising a $10 fee as a perk on the tour is sort of lame!

Also: 'box lunch'?
Who the hell wants to go to an expoic foreign land and eat a pre-made box lunch?
For US$5 you can get a huge, fresh tuna steak, just pulled out of the ocean that morning.

And the guided tours suck. They whiz you past all of the major spots for 5 minutes each, just long enough to snap some photos and then move on. Georgia Lee's guide book rocks, and being at Anakena or Tongariki when there are no busses full of touristas is THE way to go...

Also, in 2000, I paid US $125 TOTAL for two people to stay four nights in a "residential", or essentailly, a bed and breakfast.

Okay, enough of my diatribe - verdict: cheaper (possibly under $2000 total cost) and cooler to skip the package tour!

So: you in?
:)

[ Edited by: tikibars on 2004-08-08 12:01 ]