Easter Island Travel Info

Aloha!

I'm looking into booking travel with some close friends to Easter Island and wondered if anyone had any good advise? Anyone been there? I'm looking for a good travel company, cost effective of course. If you know of a good tour company, maybe one that includes air, and some do's and dont's from your travels, that would be very helpful. I plan to save up the money starting now and probably going in 2009, 2010... it's not that far off!

Thanks in advance for any constructive advise, I really appreciate it!

Mookie

Here is the travelogue from my 2000 Easter Island trip:

http://www.tydirium.net/writings/rapanui.html

Here is one thread about my return trip:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10258&forum=6

And here is another:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=11815&forum=1

And here is an excellent travel guide that you can buy:

Georgia Lee's uncommon Guide to Easter Island

http://www.amazon.com/s/104-0176239-7609514?ie=UTF8&keywords=uncommon%20guide%20to%20easter%20island&tag=tikiroadtrip-20&Go.x=0&index=blended&Go=Go&Go.y=0&link%5Fcode=qs

We're going in January '08.
I'll post info on our trip after we get back, so look for some tips there.

I booked the whole trip ad hoc myself - not with a tour company, but I travel a lot, so have a good familiarity with how to book things, etc. I just did a lot of research on where to stay, what to see, how much time to allow, etc. from books, websites, as well as tikibars' write-ups of his trips, which were quite helpful. Booking it all yourself can save $$, if you're willing to take the time to do the reading yourself. & I think you're probably more likely to get a more customized itinerary - to exactly what you want - not just whatever a tour operator offers.

That's my 2 cents on the front end of our trip....
Happy planning!

Hello. I went to Easter Island less than a year ago and toured the South Pacific for 3 weeks mainly to go to Easter Island. I saved $$$ by taking care of most of the arrangements myself. Since I wasn't sure of accommodations on EI, I found a great travel agency to help me with that. John Bell at Travel Portfolio in Sherman Oaks, CA (818) 907-7981 set me up with the Hotel Otai. Very reasonable, a nice breakfast and right off the main street. The accommodations and price also included a few days with a tour group which gave me an overview of the island. After that, I rented one of the little Subaru jeeps on the island ($50.00/day) for the rest of my stay in which to explore the sights in greater depth. The roads are rugged, but driving
around in the little Samurai was great fun. The hotel made the arrangements to have the jeep dropped off
for me which was even more convenient.

The Hotel O'tai is one of the better hotels, more quaint, yet still modest regarding American standards which didn't bother me a bit. Nikko and family run the hotel and I don't recall needing anything that they couldn't provide. Very nice people. The hotel also has some Moai props from the movie Rapa Nui around the premises which are cool to see and a great Tiki find to brag about with pictures.

There are plenty of resources which I'm sure you have found and I might be able to offer a few more
tidbits not always published.

All of the tour groups leave the Rano Raraku crater in the afternoon, so its not uncommon to be alone with the Moai at sunset which is awesome. Free-ranging horses also are common and meander around the Moai all over the island. I found the late afternoon 5-7pm very serene and soulful on the crater.

The bank has limited hours and the only cash machine (found outside the bank) only accepts Mastercard. That could have changed in the last six months, but I would recommend exchanging your money before you get there. American dollars and euros are accepted, yet I found it easier to have local money.

Since I live on the East Coast of the US, I was able to book my flight from Atlanta to Santiago to Easter Island to Papeete, Tahiti with lengthy stopovers in each. I enjoyed more places for the same price it would have cost to leave for EI from the West Coast. Delta/Lan Chile.

I can't guarantee this b/c I mainly bought bottled water to drink, but the locals told me the bottled "Rapa
Nui" water is the same as the island tap water and both come from the same water filtration plant on the island. I never did get sick when I drank tap water and thought it was fine.

Definitely take some sort of windbreaker and hat to the island. The winds can be fierce anytime of year and
I'm sure even the most diehard sporters and hikers would agree such garments dramatically improve the sightseeing experience.

Since there are many many Moai lying face down on the island from being tipped over (tribal warfare?), I found it interesting to see where the topknot to the statues went. Often the topknot, made from red lava which greatly contrasts the darker color of the Moai, is not in close proximity to the statue. The topknot can often be found further down a hill or in the ocean where it rolled away when the statue was toppled. It can be very interesting trying to put the pieces together by surveying the whole area versus just concentrating on a moai.

The locals are looking for larger-sized clothing not easily accessible to them.

Food is very expensive, but plenty of restaurants abound. Next time, I'll take more energy bars
and snacks that will save mucho money rather than eating out.

Anyway, I could go on, but will stop for now. If you have further questions, I will be more than happy
to be of assistance. I'm going back in 2008 for a month long stay so am planning again myself.

If you are going to spend money in a restaurant, there's a French restaurant in town run by a French ex-pat who does amazing things with seafood. Try the Paella! It's enough for two at least. We snubbed our noses at eating in a French restaurant on Easter Island but, after eating plain fish for several meals, this was a great experience. Try to eat there near sunset time and get a window. The owner's a kick!

there was an article Snapshots from Chile: Hot Dogs and Sandwiches at Rapa Nui in case you're traveling thru Chile on your way to Easter Island.

Has anyone visited for Tapati? Is it better to go for the festival? Or avoid it?

On 2008-07-14 17:00, BettyBleu wrote:
Has anyone visited for Tapati? Is it better to go for the festival? Or avoid it?

Do you think that visiting New Orleans at Mardi Gras is a good idea, or do you think that visiting New Orleans at Mardi Gras is the worst possible week to visit?

Same thing, but Tapati is a lot less obnoxious.

On 2008-07-14 21:47, tikibars wrote:

On 2008-07-14 17:00, BettyBleu wrote:
Has anyone visited for Tapati? Is it better to go for the festival? Or avoid it?

Do you think that visiting New Orleans at Mardi Gras is a good idea, or do you think that visiting New Orleans at Mardi Gras is the worst possible week to visit?

Same thing, but Tapati is a lot less obnoxious.

Did you go? I read your blogs/posts but I didn't see mention of it. I'm wondering if the cultural significance (dancing, ceremony) outweighs the overwhelming tourist cluster and extra cost.

'Iorana from Rapa Nui!

I arrived Tuesday and have a few more days to go. I like that it isn´t too overly crowded with tourists now, but I say just pick whatever time works for you and get here! This place is amazing. You gotta meet the Moai!