Location: Isla De Pascua

Commonly known as the "Navel Of The world", Easter Island remains to be one of the most remote and habited places on earth. It is distanced from most of the world, falling into the Polynesian straits of the Pacific. It is home to one of the greatest mysteries on earth, the ever famous Moais that can be found scattered amongst the island. Getting to visit this gem of a rock in the middle of nowhere, is high on many a traveler¨s bucketlist, and I am here to help shed some light on the ins and outs of visiting Isla De Pascua.

GETTING HERE

As of now, the means of reaching the island is via LAN airlines, mostly originating from Santiago, Chile.  However, there have been the occasional flight coming from Lima, Peru as well. The average flight time is 5 hours and 30+ minutes. Booking the tickets can be pricey depending on the season. I had traveled in the month of June, which is considered to be low season and even then, the price from Santiago to IPC, was more expensive than my flight from New York to Chile. Also, there has been some experiences of delayed flights during the low season, and this is due to the ferocious winds that can sometimes disrupt flight itineraries. So be mindful of this when booking your flights. Also, it is at the airport that you pay for your ticket to entrance to the Rapa Nui National Parque at the booth before entering the airport. For Non-Chileans, it rounds out to about $60 USD. Although as of June 2015, the fee has been rescinded as there is debate as to who should receive the benefits of this entrance park fee.

GETTING AROUND

The island is fairly small, and you can easily just hop in your car and drive around the whole island in a day. Please note, that is not to say that you can see and experience the island in one whole day. I highly recommend that you rent either a car, an ATV or even a mountain bike in terms of getting around. It is quite difficult to get around without some form of transportation as there is no local transportation that brings you to the other parts of the island, unless you take a taxi tour, or a single day-multi day tour, which rounds out to be the same price as renting a car. Renting a car gives you a bit more flexibility and the scenery around is amazing, that you will want to pull aside occasionally and take photos or even just digest the scene. The prices are as follows

Rental Car (Manual) 35,000-50,000 Chilean Peso ( $55-80 USD ) PER 24 HOUR

Rental Car (Automatic) 60-70,000 Chilean Peso ( $90-110 USD ) PER 24 HOUR

ATV: 35,000-45,000.00 Chilean Peso PER 24 HOUR

BIKE: 8,000.00 Chilean Peso PER 8 Hour

12,000.00 Chilean Peso PER 24 Hour

$$$

Chilean Peso is the main currency here on the island. The second best currencies to carry on you are the US Dollar and the Euro. Some establishments such as restaurants and cyber cafes accept the US dollar as collateral. Now, even though there is a set rate for exchange, the island actually has a lower exchange rate for the US Dollar in comparison to the mainland, so exchanging the US dollar may not work in your best advantage. You will get a higher rate if you withdraw from the ATM. There are two located on the island, one serviced by Banco Estado, which is found when you take a right off the main street at the junction of the artisan market and the pharmacy, and the other one is Santander which is located on the shoreline, right next to the Haka Honu restaurant. Note that because of the remoteness of the island, everything is quite expensive. Compared to mainland Chile, you get less bang for your buck on the island. A usual meal at a restaurant will cost around 9,000-12 Chilean Pesos on the low end. A basic empanada will cost around 2,000 to 2,500 Chilean Pesos. So safe to say, Isla de Pascua is not the friendliest when it comes to the backpacker budget.

Accomodation

Now there are plenty of accomodations on the island. The "hostels" tend to really just be residentials that have turned large rooms into dorms. So whatever you perceive the usual dorm is, it takes a turn for change on the island. These are the budget friendly options, as the hotels tend to cost extensively, with $70 USD for a room being the cheapest for that option. I stayed at Casa Fatime De Hotu and it was enough. The shower was warm and the rooms were spacious enough. However I did find the beds to be quite uncomfortable and the window did not seem to close fully, so at nights it would get cold (especially during the low season). If you do not book before hand, there are hostel representatives at the IPC airport that you can speak to if you would like to book a last minute accomodation.

WIFI

Wifi is a big issue when it comes to travelers worldwide. Due to the location of the island, know that the signal of the wifi is not very strong. This is one place that I suggest you can unplug and disconnect from the supposed outside "world" and connect with the world before you. Most of the "hostels" and hotels on the island are lacking of wifi, and by that I mean there is NO wifi option. The best places to get wifi is at the local library, which is the only place with actual "free wifi", where all you would have to do is present your passport to get the wifi password.The other option is at the cyber cafes found mostly on the main street. Even then, the wifi can be spotty, depending on weather and the amount of people using the wifi. These establishments do also take USD as collateral payment. The usual charge is about $1,000.00 Chilean Pesos per hour.

Weather

The island has  subtropical climate. I visited during June, which is considered to be part of the shoulder/low season. Although the weather forecasts frequently showcased rain, it only really took a majority of 1 day out of my 5 day visit. 3 of those days were partly sunny with enough blue sky revealing to take awesome pictures. The other day was simply cloudy with just flashes of drizzling rain. The high season would be from Dec-March, as it is opposite from the summer of the Northern Hemisphere. I do suggest bringing at least a jumper as the nights can get chilly, especially when there are gusts of wind present.

THINGS TO DO

Now, the island is known for its mysterious Moai's which are scattered amongst the island. However, there is actually quite amount of things to do around the island. Referencing the map below, these are the places where you can go to visit the Moais.

HANGA ROA: Town portion of the island. This is where the town is situated. This area holds all the restaurants, cyber cafes, banks and a good amount of accommodation. The area named "TAHAI" is a great place to experience the sunset. Around this area is also where the Discoteka is located. It also has great night spots like "Te Moana" and such.

TONGARIKI: You know that postcard photo with the 15 Moai's standing side by side? This is the area where that picturesque landscape is found. It is about a 20 minute drive from Hanga Roa. Along the coastline is full of grassy plains, awkwardly molded hills and a rugged coastline with amazing views of the ocean. You will also spot the occasional wild horse or cattle roaming around.

RANO RARAKU: This is where the Moai nursery is. The other photo that Easter Island is well known for is located here. The Moai's are situated on the side of a volcano.

ANAKENA: This is where the beach of the island is located. It is a pretty chill beach with white sands and palms around. 

There are also options to go within caves on the island. Getting  there however is the tricky part, especially when driving on the roads towards these locations, and also it takes a keen eye to spot them as they are not so easily located.

All in all, this island may be small but it allows it's visitors to partake in many activities. For the active traveler, there are plenty hikes that you can do on the island, one of them being the trek up to Rano Kau, a caldera that holds Galapagos type features, as it holds rare, preserved and untouched flora and fauna within its crater lake.

And if you're a little bit more on the 'lax side, you can always just chill and watch the local futbol team play on their field at the shore line,

have an elegant horse ride

enjoy some local chilean cuisine such as empanadas or ceviche with chips and rice at one of the shore front restaurants

and revel that you're on one of the most amazing islands on earth.