Easter Island -- my experience
#91
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Austin
Programs: AA P4L, WN, BA, DL, UA, HHonors, IHG
Posts: 3,485
When I went about 3 or so years ago, there was a big crowd of local inn owners awaiting our arrival at the airport. I assume that you will see a similar group. Any of them should be able to call their friend to give you a tour.
There are also commercial tour buses, and any of the inn owners can probably set you up on one of those with very short notice.
I think everybody knows everybody on the island.
There are also commercial tour buses, and any of the inn owners can probably set you up on one of those with very short notice.
I think everybody knows everybody on the island.
#92
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: MN
Programs: Lots of programs, dirt on all of them!
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Thanks for the input! I know, it is a bit short, but I had to book something before the changes to the program, so this is what I got. And given what the current BA program looks like I sure am glad I got it booked! Also, fyi I am on the LIM flights which are operating starting February 2012.
So, does anyone have some idea what is a fair price for someone to drive me around for a day and/or had a good experience with some particular guide/company? I certainly want to see some Moai, but my main preference is nature.
So, does anyone have some idea what is a fair price for someone to drive me around for a day and/or had a good experience with some particular guide/company? I certainly want to see some Moai, but my main preference is nature.
If it were *me* with such limited time on the island, I would not be waiting until I got to the airport to be working something out. If you had someone waiting for you at the airport, you would be gone very quickly vs. negotiating with some lodging owner who knows someone who knows someone who has to get to the airport to pick you up, etc, etc. Just my own travel style I guess, wanting to maximize my short time in a place.
#93
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Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,341
Thanks for the input! I know, it is a bit short, but I had to book something before the changes to the program, so this is what I got. And given what the current BA program looks like I sure am glad I got it booked! Also, fyi I am on the LIM flights which are operating starting February 2012.
So, does anyone have some idea what is a fair price for someone to drive me around for a day and/or had a good experience with some particular guide/company? I certainly want to see some Moai, but my main preference is nature.
So, does anyone have some idea what is a fair price for someone to drive me around for a day and/or had a good experience with some particular guide/company? I certainly want to see some Moai, but my main preference is nature.
#94
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: USA expat somehere south of Valpo
Posts: 852
Thanks for the input! I know, it is a bit short, but I had to book something before the changes to the program, so this is what I got. And given what the current BA program looks like I sure am glad I got it booked! Also, fyi I am on the LIM flights which are operating starting February 2012.
So, does anyone have some idea what is a fair price for someone to drive me around for a day and/or had a good experience with some particular guide/company? I certainly want to see some Moai, but my main preference is nature.
So, does anyone have some idea what is a fair price for someone to drive me around for a day and/or had a good experience with some particular guide/company? I certainly want to see some Moai, but my main preference is nature.
I can recommend this guy:
http://tekarera.com/entour.htm
His experience goes back to being the youngest member of a research team on Easter Island back in 1968.
Suerte.
#95
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Location: MN
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If you like to hike, there's a trail that goes along the back of the island (town to the beach) where you can see a few moai, ahu, etc. Took us <4 hours with a lunch stop. Very pretty but very desolate, sooooooo many rocks. Saw one person the whole time. Cab to drop us off and pick up at the beach was 25k. You can see the 7 moai facing the sea on the start or end depending on the start direction.
#96
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SLC / SCL
Programs: Delta - Plat
Posts: 38
Cash money for the discounted tickets. Both USD and CLP work at the booth if i remember right. Most things I found on the island prefer cash and will charge you extra to use a card. If you have a chance, get cash in SCL as the few, 3, atms in IPC can have issues.
#97
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: USA expat somehere south of Valpo
Posts: 852
I can confirm cash CLP or USD at the park ticket booth at the airport before going inside the terminal to retrieve your luggage.
I can confirm the island runs on cash over credit.
Don't forget there is a Cirrus only Banco Estado ATM in Hanga Roa which I mentioned in previous posts is Chile-side fee free.
I can confirm the island runs on cash over credit.
Don't forget there is a Cirrus only Banco Estado ATM in Hanga Roa which I mentioned in previous posts is Chile-side fee free.
#98
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO bay area
Programs: UA 1MM, AA EXP 1MM, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,729
car rental and guidebooks
We're headed to IPC next April.
A couple of questions for those who rented and used guidebooks.
I can drive a manual, so I'm planning to rent a 4x4 manual. However, my in-laws will likely be joining us, so there will be 6 of us (4 adults + 2 little kids, 10 and 6). Will we have trouble renting a 4x4 or any car to fit us?
Also, the prices mentioned, ~$30k Chilean pesos, is that including insurance? Or there are other add-ons?
Finally, which guidebook is best suited for touring Easter Island with a car? Good maps, etc?
A couple of questions for those who rented and used guidebooks.
I can drive a manual, so I'm planning to rent a 4x4 manual. However, my in-laws will likely be joining us, so there will be 6 of us (4 adults + 2 little kids, 10 and 6). Will we have trouble renting a 4x4 or any car to fit us?
Also, the prices mentioned, ~$30k Chilean pesos, is that including insurance? Or there are other add-ons?
Finally, which guidebook is best suited for touring Easter Island with a car? Good maps, etc?
#99
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,341
We're headed to IPC next April.
A couple of questions for those who rented and used guidebooks.
I can drive a manual, so I'm planning to rent a 4x4 manual. However, my in-laws will likely be joining us, so there will be 6 of us (4 adults + 2 little kids, 10 and 6). Will we have trouble renting a 4x4 or any car to fit us?
Also, the prices mentioned, ~$30k Chilean pesos, is that including insurance? Or there are other add-ons?
Finally, which guidebook is best suited for touring Easter Island with a car? Good maps, etc?
A couple of questions for those who rented and used guidebooks.
I can drive a manual, so I'm planning to rent a 4x4 manual. However, my in-laws will likely be joining us, so there will be 6 of us (4 adults + 2 little kids, 10 and 6). Will we have trouble renting a 4x4 or any car to fit us?
Also, the prices mentioned, ~$30k Chilean pesos, is that including insurance? Or there are other add-ons?
Finally, which guidebook is best suited for touring Easter Island with a car? Good maps, etc?
The insurance thing on Easter Island is weird. Read up on it yourself, but my recollection is that, basically, there is no insurance! Not that anything is likely to happen to you or your vehicle on the island, but be careful. I'm not sure there's any way to buy insurance if you want to, as I don't think the car rental companies sell it.
The car rental company will give you a map -- at least mine did. There are so few roads on the island that you'll memorize them in about a day. Hanga Roa takes 3 days to memorize.
The problem with all the guidebooks is that they tend to be a little outdated. The Lonely Planet Chile guide has reasonable coverage of Easter Island (with maps), but it's getting long in the tooth. The good news is that there's really only a few things to do on the island, so you don't need a great guidebook. If it's history you're interested in, there are obviously plenty of books on the moai.
EDIT: Frommers puts their guidebooks online for free. I'm not sure how old this info is, but this is about the coverage you get in the guidebooks for Easter Island. I don't think I'd buy one unless I was also visiting mainland Chile. You could always check a guidebook out of your local library, or read the Easter Island chapter in your local Barnes & Noble store.
The Moon guides are also online for free; he probably has an Easter Island chapter, too.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/easterisland/
SECOND EDIT: I see this latest Frommer's guide was published in the summer of 2011. If you're lucky, maybe somebody made it to Easter Island to update it -- but maybe not!
Last edited by iahphx; Dec 17, 2011 at 7:47 pm Reason: more info
#100
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador, Radisson Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 3,618
You can't get lost on Easter Island, but this map is very good and worth the price. It identifies some moai that you might otherwise miss. I used it a lot and then just left it in the glove box of the rental car.
http://www.amazon.com/Easter-Island-.../dp/1553419278
http://www.amazon.com/Easter-Island-.../dp/1553419278
#101
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Seoul (GMP/RKSS) HNL/PHNL
Programs: A3 *G, fmr DL PM
Posts: 404
Thanks for the detailed account. Sounds like somewhere I would visit just to check the block off.
PS. I am always in awe of the number of Americans that cannot operate a manual tranny. In some countries, you will get a restriction on your license if you take the driver's test with an automatic.
PS. I am always in awe of the number of Americans that cannot operate a manual tranny. In some countries, you will get a restriction on your license if you take the driver's test with an automatic.
#102
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,341
There is basically no need to learn how to drive a manual shift vehicle if you live in the USA. Only 6% of cars sold in America are manual, and the number keeps dropping. If there's no need to know something, people don't learn it.
#103
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: USA expat somehere south of Valpo
Posts: 852
I paid $50 USD for a near full day rental of an automatic 4x4 truck from the owner of the house we rented.
No contract, no insurance (there is none on the island), no asking to see my license, you can pay later, just replace the gas you use, here are the keys, try taking this loop for your day self-tour, chao.
You will need a license though if you get stopped at the one paco checkpoint before reentering Hanga Roa on the road that goes to the beaches on the north end of the island.
Go slow, watch out for the cows and horses and the odds say there will not be a problem.
I do recommend at least one tour with a local guide. The insights to the conflict with the "continentals" which seem to not get reported much on the mainland and other aspects of island life are fascinating.
I am one of those who now want to return and personally do not see it as a checkoff the list destination. Of course, we only paid $409 USD RT pp for our flight.
No contract, no insurance (there is none on the island), no asking to see my license, you can pay later, just replace the gas you use, here are the keys, try taking this loop for your day self-tour, chao.
You will need a license though if you get stopped at the one paco checkpoint before reentering Hanga Roa on the road that goes to the beaches on the north end of the island.
Go slow, watch out for the cows and horses and the odds say there will not be a problem.
I do recommend at least one tour with a local guide. The insights to the conflict with the "continentals" which seem to not get reported much on the mainland and other aspects of island life are fascinating.
I am one of those who now want to return and personally do not see it as a checkoff the list destination. Of course, we only paid $409 USD RT pp for our flight.
Last edited by Viajero Perpetuo; Dec 18, 2011 at 7:16 am
#104
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: AA PLTPRO, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,556
I was able to get a copy of "A Companion to Easter Island" by James Grant Peterkin from my innkeeper. It's a great read and was very helpful when I drove around the island. I basically used it as my sole tour guide. It's very helpful because many of the road/turn-offs aren't always perfectly marked and the guide book tells you what to look for.
#105
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
I'm going there in February and the cheapest lodging I can find is $110/night for 2 people! Would it really be best to wait until getting to the island to get a room? I'm there the week of Feb 12, coming off the LIM flight. I'm just afraid of not having anything available when I get there ...