4-day route through Easter Island
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- 4 days
- 4 nights
- 10 places
Four days on Rapa Nui: the Tongariki moai at dawn, the Rano Raraku quarry, the ceremonial village of Orongo and Anakena beach.
Four days on Rapa Nui are ordered by what the park does not let you repeat. ʻŌroŋo and Rano Raraku are entered only once per ticket, and both can close in prolonged rain or fog. That is why they go on the middle days and the last one stays free: it is the spare for whatever the weather takes. The day that starts at night is day 2, because that is where the Tongariki sunrise is.
What to sort out before boarding the plane
You do not board without three things: a return ticket, a booking at accommodation registered to receive tourists, and the entry form. If you stay with a resident, an invitation letter, processed at the Delegación Provincial, is valid instead of the booking. Confirm the form's deadline with the airline before flying and ask the accommodation whether it is registered before paying. Operators place the high season between December and March, and the Tapati is celebrated in February: that booking is the first to fill up.
The guide matters more than the car
The park's sites are visited with an accredited guide or within a tour, and renting a car does not change that. The park publishes the list of its guides, with languages and contact details, and has an office in Hanga Roa. Ask what the guide charges before hiring. It is worth talking to the guide for days 2 and 3 before arriving: those are the single-entry sites.
The ticket is personal, bought in advance and shown with a passport or ID at every access point. It is valid for ten consecutive days; four days fit comfortably, but confirm when buying it from when it starts counting.
A calendar warning
The Anthropological Museum is a day 1 stop and closes on Sundays, on Saturday afternoons and on Christmas, New Year, Good Friday and Labour Day. So day 1 must fall Monday to Friday: a Saturday only works if the flight lands early, and a Sunday leaves it closed. Fix the outbound flight with that in mind.
Days 1–4
Hanga Roa, the island's only town
Arrival day is the shortest, and Hanga Roa is covered on foot: it is the island's only town and here are the fuel, the police and almost all the food. Your landing time depends on your flight, and how much fits this afternoon depends on it. If you rent a car, it is picked up in Hanga Roa. The two afternoon stops are at Tahai, and the sunset site is next to the museum.
Stop 1 · 4 nights
Mataveri Airport
The island's only airport, right next to Hanga Roa. Products derived from honey may not be brought in.
Keep your passport or ID at hand: they are asked for when boarding and also in the park.
Stop 2
Hanga Roa
The town where you sleep all four nights. Here you fill up with fuel, rent the car, find the police and buy food; outside the town there is a canteen at Rano Raraku and stalls at Anakena, and nothing else.
The park office is at Kiri Reva s/n, behind the craft market. That is where you ask questions and hire a guide.
Stop 3
Museo Antropológico Padre Sebastián Englert
The island's museum, next to the sunset site.
Closed on Sundays, on Saturday afternoons and on some public holidays: day 1 has to fall Monday to Friday.
Stop 4
Tahai
A ceremonial complex and the sunset site, with the Hanga Roa cove nearby.
Included in the park ticket, and visited with a guide. Ask at the park office whether the sunset can be watched without a guide.
- Getting around
- On foot around Hanga Roa. To get to Tahai, ask the accommodation.
- Where to sleep
- Hanga Roa, in accommodation registered for tourists
Day 2
Tongariki at dawn and the Rano Raraku quarry
The day that starts at night. Ahu Tongariki is the sunrise, and the park opens that site according to sunrise: the guide or the tour tells you what time you need to be there. Then Rano Raraku, the moai quarry. You enter only once, with a guide, and it has toilets and a canteen. Watch out for falling coconuts, in Rano Raraku and in Anakena. When hiring, ask which goes first and how long it takes between one and the other. If the morning dawns with rain or fog, Rano Raraku may be closed: day 4 is for that.
Stop 1
Ahu Tongariki
The sunrise ahu of this route, the one that justifies getting up early.
Included in the park ticket. With a guide or within a tour.
Stop 2
Rano Raraku
The quarry the moai came from, with figures left half carved. It is covered with a guide, without repeating: it is a single entry per ticket.
18 km from Hanga Roa. With toilets and a canteen. Ask the guide for the opening hours. It may close in rain or fog.
- Getting around
- Rental car in Hanga Roa or a full-day or half-day tour, always with a guide at the sites. Fill up before leaving: there is fuel only in Hanga Roa. The paved south coast is in fair condition.
- Where to sleep
- Hanga Roa
Day 3
ʻŌroŋo above Rano Kau and Anakena beach
A day of two moods: the ceremonial village above the crater and, afterwards, the beach. Go to ʻŌroŋo first: it is the other single-entry site and it is 5 km from town. It closes in prolonged rain or fog; if it is closed, move on to Anakena and leave ʻŌroŋo for day 4. Before going down into the Rano Kau crater or to Ana Kai Tangata, ask at the park office whether it is possible today. At Anakena there are empanada kiosks and lifeguards only in season. The ahu are seen with a ticket and a guide; if the beach asks for a ticket, confirm it at the park office.
Stop 1
ʻŌroŋo, the Birdman village
The ceremonial village of the Birdman, on the edge of the Rano Kau volcano. You enter only once, with a guide, also if you go up by the trail on foot.
5 km from Hanga Roa. Ask the guide for the opening hours. It closes in prolonged rain or fog.
Stop 2
Anakena
The island's beach, with the Nau Nau and Ature Huki ahu. It has kiosks and, in season, lifeguards.
18 km from Hanga Roa. The ahu require a ticket and a guide; the beach is visited without a ticket, but confirm it with the park office. It has toilets.
- Getting around
- Rental car in Hanga Roa or a tour. The road to Anakena is paved and in good condition. Poike, Terevaka and Vaiatare do not admit motorised vehicles; bicycles go only on roads.
- Where to sleep
- Hanga Roa
Day 4
A spare day and the return flight
This day has no fixed site. It exists to recover ʻŌroŋo or Rano Raraku if the weather took one, and for whatever is left of the ticket. The return flight time is not in this route: ask the airline and the accommodation before planning anything. The airport is right next to town. Return the car in Hanga Roa and fill the tank beforehand, because the island's only fuel station is there. If you do not need the spare, the seven ticket sites that this route does not use can be seen with the same guide.
Stop 1
The seven ticket sites that remain
The ticket gives entry to twelve sites and this route uses five: Tahai, Ahu Tongariki, Rano Raraku, ʻŌroŋo and Anakena. What remain are Vinapū, Vaihū, Akahanga, Te Pito Kura, Ahu Akivi, Puna Pau and Ana Te Pahu. Ask your guide which are worth the morning.
With a guide and with the ticket. Each has its own conditions: ask about them.
Stop 2
Mataveri Airport
The island's airport, a step from Hanga Roa and the only commercial point of departure.
It is operated by a single commercial airline, with no stopovers to Santiago. Confirm the day and time with it.
- Getting around
- Rental car or a tour with a guide, and on foot around Hanga Roa if the flight leaves early.
- Where to sleep
- Return flight to Santiago
Map
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