We spent four days on Easter Island, primarily to visit the iconic moai statues. The island is a very, very long way from anywhere. In fact, the nearest inhabited land is 1150 miles away and mainland Chile is over 2000 miles away. It’s extremely remote, very expensive and there’s not a huge amount to do here other than visit the moai statues. Our accommodation was poor and as a tourist, I felt like a rather unwelcome but necessary source of much needed income, rather than a welcome guest. However, the statues are fascinating and the island is ruggedly beautiful, so I would probably still recommend visiting.
How to get to Easter Island
There are daily flights between Santiago and Hanga Roa. Departure is a little complicated, as Easter Island is not quite international, yet not quite domestic. So at the airport it has its own (not particularly obvious) departure area.
Getting Around Easter Island
The capital, Hanga Roa is easily covered on foot. There are also plenty of great hiking options nearby. With three full days on the island, we spent the first and third day following the two main tourist circuits; North East and South West. Both are around 30 miles in length. There are plenty of tour options available, but we opted to rent a car and drive ourselves. It is possible to hire a car in town, however many hotels also have vehicles you can rent. On the middle day, we went for a hike along the coast.
Where to Stay on Easter Island
We stayed at the PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows. The accommodation is well located, with bungalows set in a pretty garden with verandas offering great views over the South Pacific. However, the rooms were tired and rather damp. It offers free airport pick up, which failed to materialise and left us stranded.
Easter Island in 4 Days Itinerary
| Day 1 | Flight to Easter Island Accommodation – PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows Hanga Roa Ahu Tahai Dinner at Restaurante Hivamana |
| Day 2 | North East Circuit Akahanga Tongariki Rano Rararaku Te Pito Kura Anakena Beach Dinner at Te Moana |
| Day 3 | Museo Rapanui Ana Kakenga Dinner from Club Sandwich |
| Day 4 | South West Circuit Ana Kai Tanga Rano Kau Orongo Vinapu Puna Pau Ahu Akivi Ana Te Pahu |
| Flight to Santiago |
Easter Island Day 1
Flight to Easter Island
Today, we’re flying 2350 miles west to Easter Island; a tiny dot in the South Pacific. It’s an early start as we head for the airport and attempt to check in for our flight. Easter Island belongs to Chile, so we proceed to the domestic departure gate, but are sent away and told to go to the second floor. The second floor appears to be just airline offices. We think we’ve misunderstood, so try to go to the international departure gate. Again, we’re sent to the second floor. So, we descend to the second floor, past a range of offices and storerooms and finally find the Easter Island departure area.
We have to complete a detailed Easter Island arrival form and pass through immigration. We produce our Chilean departure cards, but are told to put them away until we leave Chile. We are then issued with identical cards to present for our non-departure from Chile. It’s all very confusing. We board the plane and I spend the five hour flight watching Bohemian Rhapsody and eating the worst cheese sandwich ever.
We arrive at Easter Island – the runway spans almost the entire width of the island and has cows and horses grazing either side. First, before we are even allowed to enter the terminal building, we have to pay our National Park entry fees of $80 each. As I already mentioned, Easter Island is expensive.
Then, the other 298 passengers are picked up, greeted with flower garlands and taken to their hotels. The airport is locked up (there’s only one flight a day), leaving us standing alone in the empty car park. Our accommodation (also not cheap) included complimentary hotel pick up. We are not happy. After a bit of searching (the airport is closed, after all) we manage to find a taxi to take us to PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows.
Accommodation – PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows
The landlady apologises for failing to collect us (she says her friend told her the flight was delayed. She tries to put flowers round our necks in a typical Polynesian welcome, while the old man continues to rant about being abandoned and having to pay $10 for a taxi. He has a point. You can see/hear the daily plane land from from virtually anywhere on this tiny island! To make matters worse, the room is damp and smelly and the WiFi is broken.
If you need WiFi on Easter Island, there are three free WiFi zones; the Tongariki Cultural Center opposite Pea Beach, Ringo Kainga Square in front of the town hall and Tekena Toro Square.
Hanga Roa
Once we’ve checked in, we go for a walk round Hanga Roa; the island’s only town. It’s very busy – tonight is the crowning of the island’s king and queen.
Ahu Tahai
We get to see our first moai statues at Ahu Tahai. Here, a group of five moai plus two individual statues on a cliff nearby all stand overlooking the ocean.
Dinner at Restaurante Hivamana
We find a beachside shack for some dinner; Restaurante Hivamana and dine on a verandah overlooking the ocean.
Then, we walk along the coast and back through town, stopping at one of the island’s three WiFi hotspots to contact home.
After a brief interlude to watch the firework display, we retire ready for a full-on moai onslaught in the morning. Easter Island is very expensive because almost everything (apart from fish and chicken) is imported from thousands of miles away. But they certainly didn’t skimp on the fireworks!
Easter Island Day 2 – North East Circuit
We had a good night’s sleep, until 6.45 am, when the hostel’s resident cockerels decide it’s dawn. Today, that’s fine because we haven’t adjusted to the time zone. Tomorrow, however I will probably hatch plans to murder cockerels.
We plan to hire the hostel car to follow the North East Circuit. This takes the island’s only paved road past various archaeological sites, finishing at a beach. The weather forecast for today is hideous, but tomorrow a cruise ship is due at this tiny island with minimal infrastructure. So we are torn between a storm and a massive influx of visitors. We settle for the storm. There are car hire options in Hanga Roa, but PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows has a Jeep which residents can rent for $60 a day. So, we sett off in the little Jeep, bouncing along the road in search of the island’s main attractions.
Akahanga
First, the ancient settlement of Akahanga, where we get caught in a torrential downpour.
Tongariki
Next, Tongariki; a spectacular row of 15 moai on a clifftop. This is the Easter Island of my imagination; this row of huge carved stone statues, staring at you as you try and fathom out how and why…
An added bonus; the combination of the island’s remoteness and the terrible weather means we have this amazing sight to ourselves.
Rano Raraku
Then, on to the quarry at Rano Raraku where the stone for the moai was carved before being moved, probably rolled on tree trunks, to other locations around the island. The site is littered with hundreds of rejected, half carved Moai – it’s quite a sight!
Te Pito Kura
Next on the circuit is Te Pito Kura, where a 10 metre long moai lies face down in the earth.
Anakena Beach
The road ends at Anakena Beach. Here, a group of 7 moai sit on a rock above the beach. It’s not exactly beach weather – the wind is fierce and it has rained intermittently all day. But I am determined to swim in the South Pacific. So, we decide to go for a swim (separately as we needed to bring our passports to access the Park and we don’t want to leave them unattended on the beach).
After our swim, we head for the changing rooms, but they cost $1. I’m not prepared to pay $1 to put on my pants, so we drive back to town still in our swimwear. We return to town, stopping en route (the old man is finding it difficult to drive as he’s accidentally put both legs through one leg hole of his pants).
Once showered and dressed, we set off in search of food. This is not as simple as it seems. Most restaurants are closed and we enter several restaurants which appear to be open, only to be told they’re closed. Next we try some supermarkets; one is closed, the other is open but doesn’t have much food – the shelves are fairly empty unless you include the cats.
Dinner at Te Moana
In the evening, we go for dinner at Te Moana. It’s rather expensive; a fish and chip platter costs £30. But it’s overlooking the ocean and the food is excellent.
Easter Island Day 3
We wake up and go for breakfast. Breakfast at PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows is actually quite good. The eggs are definitely fresh, as there are chickens roaming the hotel grounds. And I love how the butter has been modelled into a moai.
Museo Rapanui
Today, we opt for a quiet day with a walk north along the coast. We cover 8 miles in total, stopping first at the museum; Museo Rapanui to learn about the history of the island and its moais.
Note: The museum is currently closed due to ‘conflicts of claim and compensation over lands usurped by the state of Chile’.
Ana Kakenga
From the museum, we carry on along the coastal trail to Ana Kakenga; a cave in a lava tube with two ‘windows’ overlooking the ocean. The entrance is tiny. I may be descended from a long line of miners, but I don’t do enclosed spaces, so the old man goes in while I stay on the surface.
On the way back, it finally stops raining and we catch our first glimpse of the sun in days. We head into town to see what impact a ship with a capacity of 3800 people has on an island with a population of 6700. The answer is none at all; the shops and restaurants are mostly closed and the cruisers have returned to their ship. The ship doesn’t fit in the tiny harbour; it has moored off the coast and passengers had to be ferried to the island. Apparently, the water was so rough, most passengers opted not to come ashore.
Dinner from Club Sandwich
We find a shop, Club Sandwich, which sells wonderful oven fresh empanadas and head home, followed by a very hopeful dog, to try and dry some of our ever increasing pile of wet clothes.
Easter Island Day 4 – South West Circuit
It’s our final day on Easter Island and our first nice day. Until now, our time here had combined the worst weather of our trip with the worst accommodation; outside has been wet and windy and miserable while inside has been damp and mouldy and miserable. But today the sun is shining and we hire the landlady’s jeep for another outing.
We’re following the South West Circuit. Basically, the runway runs almost the width of the island and the road forms a figure 8 around the runway. This is the bottom half of the figure 8.
Ana Kai Tanga
Our first stop is Ana Kai Tanga – a cave with petroglyphs.
Rano Kau
Next, we stop to take a walk along the rim of Rano Kau. This is a rather spectacular trail round the crater of a volcano which now contains a reed covered lake overlooking the ocean.
Orongo
Onwards to the ancient ceremonial village of Orongo, where you can see a series of ancient stone houses.
Orongo was the location for the annual birdman competition, where a representative from each of the island’s tribes competed to climb 200 metres down the cliff wall, swim out to the island of Motu Nui, retrieve an egg from the manutara bird, swim back and climb up the cliff again. The first competitor to return with an intact egg was declared the winner and crowned king for a year.
Vinapu
Then, Vinapu, which has a collection of fallen moai, with stone body parts lying scattered across the cliff top.
Puna Pau
We continue with a walk around Puna Pau – a quarry where moai topknots were carved. The rock carved from here has a reddish colour, making the topknot distinct from the main body of the statue. There are still several discarded topknots spread around.
Ahu Akivi
Next stop, Ahu Akivi. Here, seven moai standing facing the sea. These are the only statues facing the sea, all the others face inland.
Ana Te Pahu
And finally, Ana Te Pahu. Here, you can climb down into a lava tube cave.
That completes our tour of Easter Island. We drive back into Hanga Roa through the rush hour…
On our fourth evening, we finally find the proper supermarket and buy some dinner. After we’ve eaten, we return to the shore to watch the sunset. It doesn’t happen; the sun disappears behind a huge bank of clouds instead. And that pretty much sums up our time in Easter Island. Back to the forlorn PARAÍSO Sunset Bungalows to pack for our return to the mainland.
Flight to Santiago
We awake to the inevitable sounds of rain and cockerels. It’s been an uneventful night, apart from the old man waking to find a cat on his chest. Today, we are returning to civilisation. Although I have developed a cough and chest infection and am worried someone will notice and deny me boarding. After breakfast, we check out of our hostel. The bill is quoted in dollars then converted to pesos at a very creative exchange rate. The old man stands his ground and eventually she backs down and agrees to use the official exchange rate.
It’s a long day of travelling; a five hour flight backwards through two time zones, shuttle bus into Santiago, then the metro and a short walk, finally reaching our apartment in Santiago at 8 pm.
- Trip taken: February 2019
- Updated: March 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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