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Prepare your visit to Easter Island

by vtveen

Off course you want to prepare your visit to Easter Island before you are leaving from home. The more you know the more you will understand of the mysteries of the island. And you will be able to have the right questions on a guided tour.Reading a guidebook (and off course the tips on Virtual Tourist) is the best way. But I can highly recommend 'The complete Guide to EASTER ISLAND'. This book, edited by the Easter Island Foundation, has much more depth than the usual travel books (like Lonely Planet and others).This guide is a mixture between latest scientific and tourist information. There are sections on history, legends, conservation, antiquities. Besides the chapter on the Rapanui language, there are a lot of interesting maps, also if you will decide to explore Rapa Nui on your own.On the website you will find more books about Easter Island.You can order this book for USD 25...

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Take a guided tour

by vtveen

Of course we did read a lot about Easter Island and found excellent information on the internet (also VT), but we HIGHLY recommend to take at least one guided tour on the island. Otherwise it is almost impossible to understand the mysteries of the moai and the very special culture of Rapa Nui.We still regret we didn't take other (half) day tours !!We did a whole day tour with AO Tour, with Patricio Ballerino. This guy is really one of the best guides we ever had during our travels. Patricio has always small groups, because he has to transport his 'guests' in his mini bus. He speaks English very well.He was more a host than a tour guide. Always willing to explain things, never in a hurry. Besides he is a great guy.Website: http://aotour.cl/Easter_Island_Tour_and_Cabin/English.htmlE-mail: patricio.aotour@gmail.com

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My story of the MOAI

by vtveen

Our visit to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) was part of an around the world trip. A more or less affordable way to visit this most remote inhabited island in the world. We were attracted by an article in a travel magazine and a TV documentary. Off course we saw pictures of some standing moai and thought that might be all.We were so curious to ‘discover’ Rapa Nui and to see the giant stone statues with our own eyes. The reality was so different from the pictures, it was almost unbelievable. We saw 38 re-erected moai standing on 8 altars (ahu) all over the island. But we never realised there were much more moai. Most impressive is the ‘moai factory’ on the slopes of the Rano Raraku, where almost 400 moai in all stages of carving can be found.Some facts about the moai, which we heard, read or saw with our own eyes.If you have more or supplementary information about the moai of Rapa Nui please let...

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Making the most of your time

by TheWanderingCamel

Originally posted in 2007, this tip started out as a link to an excellent site that I wish I'd found before I arrived on Easter Island. It was jam-packed with excellent advice on how to get the best photos of all the island's sites, especially the best time of day to visit the various ahu so that you have the benefit of the optimum lighting of the moai. 2010 update VT 's not the only website to have been revamped lately - the Island Heritage site that featured this excellent photography advice has also been given a new look, and in the process the photography page has been removed. Maybe it will be restored - I certainly hope so.Maybe some compensation for its demise will be this page of excellent advice on how to spend 5 days on the island. There's also a page on the impact of tourism on the island that should be mandatory reading for anyone thinking of visiting this most remote and...

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Rapa Nui people are the best local guides

by Erikaperez

We hired a local guide who also owned his taxi and he was the best tourist guide ever. My two American tourists were delighted to hear his stories, with his local accent, and so much passion about his ancestors. Chile has made up the term 'certified guide' but locals are much more trustable and they really know what they are talking about. We learned a lot of Rapa Nui words, went to the local restaurants and mini markets that he knew well and his price was totally fair. His name is 'Vaito' and as soon as I heard from him I can give you further details. We had a wonderful experience! Let's help local Rapa Nui people to keep money in the island to preserve their culture! The green grass moving like little soft waves and the ocean against the rocks while feeling the wind on my face. Hearing our guide Vaito telling all details about Moais, boat houses, and ceremonies, how we felt he was so...

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In the beginning, there was speculation.

by melosh

One of the most important activities I can recommend is that you read about this island before you arrive. There is a lot of speculation and guessing about the cultural and environmental history. Some important aspects of the most popular theories have been challenged.Guides tend to tell a single version. They try keep the story simple and dramatic, and to ignore or at least fail to mention alternatives. They have difficulty with uncertainty partly because people prefer to hear 'what happened' rather than 'what might have happened'. People prefer a good story. The uncertainty of what happened on Easter Island was highlighted for me when I read in the airline magazine on my flight to Easter Island a version relating Buddha to this history. Despite my earlier reading, this was new to me. Even in the museum, I read a display that gave a quite unusual dating for the arrival of humans to...

How long to stay?

by melosh

There are probably thousands of getaway islands in the world but none more away from it all than Easter Island. Is is physically (1,700 miles from the next closest population) and culturally removed from the mainlands of the world. Because of the limited availability of transport to and from the island, you are almost forced to decide upon the length of your visit before your arrival.You could probably see it all in 2 days, although three days makes more sense, but what most makes people sad to leave is the relaxed friendly atmosphere. The local people are in no hurry. In fact, stores just close up between 1 and 5 pm. There are some nice places to eat, a small but beautiful beach and you might even catch a great sunset. This can be addicting. I think my best memory was that moment when I lifted up my field glasses and saw that I was indeed headed directly to the quarry mountain. I had...

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Not quite treeless

by TheWanderingCamel

The image of a totally bare island is somewhat belied by the photos here. Certainly by the time the first Europeans came to Rapa Nui, the rapacious demands of the moai cult had seen the island all but completely denuded of trees. The great stands of palm trees similar to Chilean wine palms were completely gone, and the few specimens of the hauhau, from the fibre of which they made their ropes, and the toromiro - a good firewood tree - were poor stunted things. When Thor Heyerdahl arrived even these sad specimens were reduced to a single, sickly toromiro that struggled on until 1964, and then was gone. The native trees of Rapa Nui were extinct.The arrival of European settlers - Chileans and a British livestock company that leased the island for many years as a sheep farm - saw the introduction of eucalypts as plantation trees, and guava. The guava are everywhere now and form an important...

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Practicalities

by TheWanderingCamel

There is only one bank and one ATM on the island. The ATM operates 24/7 but only accepts Mastercard, so if you will need to bring traveller's cheques (US dollars only) or cash (Chilean pesos or US dollars) if you don't have Mastercard. The bank is only open in the mornings from 8am to midday.There are several internet cafes on the island - access can be frustratingly slow and is quite expensive, but it is there if you can't bear to be deprived of your regular contacts withthe outside world. Petrol is cheap as it is subsidised - there is only one petrol station on the island, in Hanga Roa, near the airport. There is only one paved road outside the town, this crosses the middle of the island out to Anakena. All the other roads are unpaved, some little more than very rough tracks. If you're heading for somewhere off the main tracks ask about conditions before you set out as heavy rain can...

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Weather

by sswagner

Visitors to the island in the summer should expect both sun and rain. The good news is that I never experienced a downpour. Rain was usually light and did not last a long time. The vast majority of my week long stay was in sunny or partly cloudy skies. Nevertheless, some rain protection for you and your camera equipment would be a good idea. Temperatures were in the mid 60's (just under 20C) at night and maybe near 80 (25C) in the daytime. Wind is common on the island. Of course, the strongest gusts were on top on Maunga Terevaka. The sun is strong here, so I do recommend a high degree of sunblock in addition to a wide brimmed hat while exploring.

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Questions and Answers

ANNE930 profile photo

Q:  Hi All, I live in Macau PRC and am thinking of visiting Easter Island which is always one of my dream places. But travelling to... 

langlanglangpelikan profile photo

A: Hi! Was on that amazing island a few years ago. And then the only flights from South America was from Santiago, Chile. But there were also possible to fly there from... 

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