Not to be missed:-
Hanga Roa waterfront - Head to Pea restaurant, grab a cold drink or lunch out on the terrace – make the most of the shade, cool sea breeze whilst watching the locals surf and don’t forget to look out for the turtles swimming just below the terrace.
Tongariki for sunrise– don’t be put off by the weather, it’s beautiful regardless. Arrive early to get a good spot. Beware to horses and cattle on the road, especially when driving in the dark.
Tahai for sunset, take a picnic and sit on the grass (be careful of nipping ants) amongst tourists and locals alike to enjoy the sunset. Walking distance from town.
Ovahue beach – make some time to take a swim here, as its not in the main guide books its quite likely you will have this beautiful pink sand beach all to yourself.
Rano Raraku, Orongo & Anakena beach – nothing new here, all these places should be on every visitors agenda, but visit them early morning to avoid the tour buses and big groups. Check opening hours as they do vary.
Poike – another early morning needed for this one if you are here during the height of summer to make the most of cooler temperatures. Pack lots of water and maybe a picnic. Come off the main road onto a dirt track at the base, drive up until you get to a barbed wire fence, leave your car here as they are banned on this part of the island. Take the coast/cliff side route up between Maunga Tea Tea and Maunga Paretic, shortly coming through this gap you will find an Ahu and a Moai – Motu Toremo Hiua buried to his nose. Continue on this route and if you’re feeling energetic continue past the trees. On your return, take a higher route and look out for the petroglyphs, though very faded are worth a gander.
Inca style ruins – head out to the other side of the airport (take the road towards Orongo then branch left) to see the progression of Ahu building and the similarities to Inca styles.
Ana Kaitangata (cannibal cave) – at the bottom of Orongo, next to the children’s play park; climb down the rocky steps and sit quietly within the cave listening to the waves crashing on the rocks outside and looking at the cave paintings.
Te Peu – like a visit to Mars! Take the rough and bumpy road up the east coast (north of Hanga Roa) to Te Peu to escape people, see a different landscape and a little visited area. A fun off road drive assuming you have a 4x4 or similar.
Advice and useful information:-
How long? - Do not listen to the travel agencies that tell you 3 days is enough in this phenomenal place, if you can afford to stay longer; do. Even 7 days was not long enough and we crammed every day with activities mostly rising at 6am to fit it all in. If you can, avoid the organised tours – even with only 3 days you will fit more in, see more and learn more by buying the companion to Easter Island guide and renting a car. To really enjoy the island and have some time out to swim/snorkel/sunbathe a minimum of a week is required. After all, the journey, expense and isolation of the island makes it a once in a lifetime opportunity so try to see as much as you can.
Flights – Apparently it is common for flights to be delayed, so this is one of the situations where you really should re-confirm your flight to save a long stay in a fairly mundane airport. Also, to save confusion, the island to us is Easter Island, but it is also known as Rapa Nui and Isla de Pascua, so when you’re checking in, look for one of these names.
Best guide book? – A guide to Easter Island by James Grant Peterkin. Written by a Scottish guy who now lives locally after having originally travelled to the island to study their unique linguistic situation, Easter Island is the only place where Spanish is spoken alongside a Polynesian language. The book gives information on tour bus times (so you know how to avoid being in the same place as them), best time of day/light for photography along with an excellent account of the history of each area and must dos. A really well written book that will give you more information than most group tours! It can be purchased in most souvenir shops on the main street.
Shopping – shop for drinks, food and souvenirs as far away from the main strip as possible, the further you go the cheaper it is – ranging from a massive 2600 pesos in the centre to 690 pesos out of town for a can of diet coke! The shopkeepers definitely charge more to tourists and its hard to argue, even if you are fluent in Spanish as mostly there are no prices marked on items.
Eating – Food and drink availability in town fluctuates for popular items as cargo ship deliveries are relied upon for most produce. Expect to pay well over the odds for anything that is not grown or produced on the island. The cheapest alcohol is Mahena beers/stouts (brewed on the island);
cheapest food is Mahe Mahe or Rapa Nui fish both of which are caught locally and try to drink locally bottle water rather than imported. Tap water is safe to drink, but has quite a strong metallic taste which can be unpleasant.
Business opening hours – though there is not strictly a Siesta; shops and businesses tend to close from 1pm-5pm each day and as Easter Island is a predominately Catholic community nearly everything is closed on Sundays. During Siestas in peak summer, you will find many of the locals in Roa Bay surfing and the kids on boogie boards.
Swimming – stick to the ‘sea-pool’ (left of Pea restaurant, Roa Bay) during high water times in Roa Bay unless you’re going for a surf, the currents/rips are very strong and there are no lifeguards. Grab a snorkel/mask and go turtle spotting. Anakena beach has a part-time lifeguard, you will know when they are on duty as a green flag will be raised, this is the only location with a lifeguard. Pile on the suncream or wear a rash vest to protect yourself from sunburn.
Wild animals – there is nothing to be afraid of, be careful of sea urchins when swimming in rocky areas. Horses and cattle roam free around the whole island and dogs are everywhere in town, do not feed them or they will follow you for the rest of your stay.
Maps – during our stay we found that NONE of the maps we had brought with us or got in town were accurate. There are many roads un-marked and a few that are on the maps that don’t exist at all! In addition, I believe we saw one proper road sign on the whole island and even that had us confused, go with you instinct, if you’re staying on the main routes then you can’t really get lost as the main road does a full loop.
Mobile phones – within the town limits there is plenty of reception, but there is none at all outside the town limits so make sure your rental car has a spare tyre, jack and that you take plenty of water with you.
Car rental – If you feel confident steer away from the big car rental companies and head for the smaller outfits. They tend to be much cheaper, we paid approximately US$30 p/day (Jan 2011) whereas the larger rental companies quoted US$80 p/day. If you do rent a car, be aware that there is currently no such thing as car insurance on the island so if you have an accident expect to front up the cash. Read your contract agreement carefully, there could be no upper limit for what you will owe in this scenario.
Driving- there is only 1 petrol station on the island and it is located on the outskirts of Hanga Roa (near the airport) so fill up before you go out for the day. Approximately 10% of the roads on Easter Island are tarmac and even then they have huge pot holes, the rest of the roads are dirt tracks, rent a 4x4 or similar, you need something more than the clearance of a regular car to get over the rocks and decent suspension to keep your spine intact! Mind the wild horses and cows, they roam free and are often in the middle of the road.
Definitely take:-
A good camera and spare memory.
High factor suncream, the sun is very strong , though suncream is sold here it is very expensive. .
Snorkel and mask – it is possible to hire this equipment from the local dive schools in Hanga Roa but I feel safe in saying it is a rip off at 20,000 pesos for the day (£30-00) when for 25,000 pesos you can go scuba diving.
Pesos rather than US $ - thought US $ are widely accepted, the exchange rate is far better when paying in Chilean Pesos.
National Park entrance fee – US$60pp this is collected at Orongo or Rao Raraku, you will be issued with a ticket which you should keep with you at all times.
Location:Easter island, Chile
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