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Old Jan 14, 2011, 7:04 am
  #12  
iahphx
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Join Date: Mar 2000
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Originally Posted by nomadic.relief
Awesome info! Thanks so much, am travelling there solo myself in April (actually getting there on Easter, unintentionally I might add!) and the absolute lack of solid info was definitely a bit daunting. I have heard more than once that pre-booking isn't really necessary, but how does that work once I'm on the ground? Is there an info centre I need to find, or will simply walking the streets find me lots of lodging options?
Well, that's obviously the rub. A lot of people meet the flights (there are fewer than 2 a day) and no doubt some are offering accomodations. Whether these are the best deals, I don't know. You could simply walk into town (10 minutes on foot), go on the main drag, and shopkeepers will offer you accomodations. The main tourist office is probably a 20 minute walk from the airport (I think they have a counter at the airport, but I'm not 100% sure).

The best solution would be to rent a car upon your arrival and drive around looking for accomodations, but then you have to negotiate the price of the car (or perhaps pay a little extra to pre-reserve it before you arrive).

Another solution would be to book one-night in a central location in Hanga Roa (they'll pick you up at the airport for free) and then spend your first hours looking for your more permanent accomodations. Whether this is worth the time on a short stay is, of course, debatable. Walking the town upon your arrival, though, is a good way to get your bearings.

BTW, the population is pretty religious and, as you might expect, they seem to make a big deal about Easter! So it should be interesting to arrive then.
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