A5Globetrotter

Hi all -

Will be heading to Easter Island in a couple days and had a question about hotels having not been there.

Consensus seems to be that it's worth waiting to book hotel until there as there are many that are similar. How would anyone that's been there recommend navigating/negotiating this. As context, I will be arriving early morning, at about 6:30am.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
A5

nomadic.relief

I am surprised no one has contradicted this - unless things have changed a lot in the last 2 years since I was there, you absolutely CAN walk there and if you're even halfway fit I totally recommend it. There's something about exerting yourself before getting view that makes it seem so much more impressive! As I recall, there was a path from Mataveri, takes maybe 2 hours from town centre (could be a little off on that, it was a while ago now). Definitely take lots of water and sunscreen if it's sunny though, there isn't much shade along the way!

A5Globetrotter

Hey all - just following up here. Can anyone comment on the best way to navigate getting reasonable hotel prices upon arrival/negotiating? What's the best way to approach this? Haven't been before and leaving in a day.

Thanks so much for all your help in advance!

nomadic.relief

Sorry, not much help there - I was there in the off season (late April) and staying a whole week so I was able to get a room with breakfast for $35/nt. Possibly could have had less, but I'm not a negotiator, went with the first person who spoke English and gave a discount for a week! I think it's now called Hotel Hotu Matua ... not great by western standards, but bug free and basically clean.

iahphx

As mentioned above, the town is very small and adjacent to the airport. If you're not burdened with heavy luggage, you could simply walk around and find something. There are also many locals who meet the flight and would be happy to help you (but not sure if they'd offer higher prices than walking around).

The problem, of course, is that this wastes time. If you have a few days on the island, it would be worthwhile. You'll get better accomodations at a lower price.

Pondflyer

I saw that someone else is traveling on the same days, I would like to meet up with anyone who might be there even overlapping my days and make it more interesting and comfortable.

Thanks to LAN's sale on this route, which goes on till April 30, '13 and the 15% bonus they added or reduced the fare by in auspices of "Thanksgiving", (I did not know that colonials south of the Equator had such friendly experiences upon landing in that part of the New World I booked and am on my way as I speak to Rapa Nui, Isla de Pasqua or as we know it, Easter Island.

I'll be on LA 848 Sun Nov 18; and LA 847 on Wed Nov 21. I'll be wearing a black rain jacket made by Columbia, in other words their moniker is all over it. Looking forward to making new friends; and folks, I really appreciate all your comments, but especially those by IAHPHX!

sk8uno

Ah, looks like I'll just miss you by a few days. Thanks to the same sale, I'll be visiting from Nov. 28 - Dec. 2. Thanks LAN!

Do you know where you are staying yet? I am currently deciding where to stay. I don't think I'm going to play the decide-at-the-airport game.

frank_10b

anybody going to be there this weekend?

kandylandmo

hi we are flying to chile and one of the things we thought of doing is going to easter island. we have been to argentina so touring through chile didn't seem too much different. we are going to be there for a week. do you think easter island is worth going to vs touring through chile?
am traveling with my husband, 15yo and 19 yo sons.

iahphx

This is kind of like asking whether it's worthwhile to visit the Middle East if you're going to be in Europe.

First, it's very expensive to get to Easter Island. So unless money is no object, you have to consider that.

Second, Chile IS different from Argentina. There are many, many worthwhile sites to see. Before I go through a list, though, you need to tell me what season you're visiting in.

Personally, I didn't head to Easter Island until my 5th visit to Chile, and I did it in conjunction with a visit to Chile's Lake District. As I probably said in my first post, I don't think Easter Island, by itself, is worth an expensive 8000 mile journey.

BlackBerryAddict

Then again, I went to Easter Island and not much else on my first and so far only visit to Chile (although admittedly not my first visit to South America).

I took my my two teenagers (14 and 15 at the time), and they did enjoy visiting such a special place. We used air miles to get there, so mitigated the cost element very much. I am sure there are many other worthwhile sites to visit, and I would like to go back to Chile one day and explore a bit more, but in the limited time we had I felt that Easter Island was special enough to make it the destination.

MeeTaeKori

Well, Easter Island is really a different kind of destination than Chile/Argentina. Instead of being about wine, cities and food it's about archaeology, legends, myths and musical culture. It's all about what you're interested in. Many that come to Chile never go to Easter Island, and many that come to Easter Island (I guess most people) never see anything else of Chile.

iahphx

"wine, cities and food"

I don't know anyone who goes to Chile for its "cities." Santiago (the only int'l city) is much better than it was 20 years ago, but it's still no Buenos Aires.

I also wouldn't go to Chile for the food, but I have had some great seafood. And, ironically, it's actually hard to get good seafood on Easter Island.

The wine is quite nice, though.

Thanks to the world of frequent flyer miles (and related "tricks"), we do have some people who travel 8000 miles for just Easter Island. This is basically nuts, and I'm sure such travellers are almost exclusively American, as they fit the unique characteristics necessary for such an odd journey: access to the miles (or crazy flight deals), little vacation time, high disposable income, and/or a general lack of awareness about South American travel highlights.

mrkymark

There is something magical about Easter Island.

Admittedly I used pre-Avios miles to book a complex South America trip that included Easter Island so it was a huge deal for me. I had heard about the island but it was never a "I must see" kind of place. It's not a huge tourist magnet but then again it is profoundly interesting with the huge heads, Moai and archaeological culture. And one must not forget it is expensive to get there, eat there etc. With this balance of things, it almost regulates itself the type of people who go or would be willing to spend the money (or miles) to go.

In my opinion, I am glad I got the opportunity to check it out. It is a profoundly breathtaking island with lost of history and mystery. But I would not think this is fun for a full family with kids. Maybe more of a couples trip exploring or going by yourself.

Would I go again? If I wanted some peace or a get away that was no frills with friendly people, yes, I would.

iahphx

Do you have any kids? IMHO, Easter Island is probably a better destination for families than adults-only (assuming you have the miles or money is no consideration for you). This is because there is very, very little to actually do on the island, so everybody has to slow down. It's basically an all-rural island. Kids tend to like simple pleasures. And they can appreciate the moai. It's not like endless time spent in museums looking at art.