Easter Island Add-on Tour

Name: Easter Island Add-on Tour
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 1 (2 reviews)

2 reviews

Activity Level

Easy

Activity

Culture

Overview

Extend your holiday with a trip to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and see the mysterious moai of Easter Island

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 4,000km from the coast of Chile, is an island that still holds a very special magic and mystery. The Europeans discovered ‘Rapa Nui’, as the local population calls it, on Easter Sunday and to this day it is simply referred to as Easter Island. However, this island holds an intrigue far greater than one might imagine. So distant from everything and everyone, isolated by the largest ocean in the world, it demonstrates a rich history, art, language and interestingly once even suffered a civil war ‐ all upon an island not 25 km across.

This add-on tour will enable you to explore this triangular shaped island, with extinct volcanic cones in each of its three corners. Amidst an atmosphere of friendly Polynesian hospitality, the entire island is today an open‐air museum with approximately 900 moai (statues), the tallest of which is 21m high. There is also the Orongo Village and many traditional cave dwellings open to view.

Key Information

Trip Code: XTNEAST5
Countries: Chile
Carbon Footprint: 535kg CO2e per person per day

What's Included

All breakfasts and 1 lunch
All accommodation
All transport and listed activities
Tour leader on excursions

Highlights

The mysterious moai
Rano Kau crater
Enjoy friendly Polynesian hospitality
The unique history of the island

Itinerary

First Destination: Hanga Roa
Next Destination: Akahanga

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

First Destination: Hanga Roa
Next Destination: Akahanga

Transfer to the airport for the morning flight to Easter Island. On arrival we transfer to the hotel. Free time, options include a visit to the local museum of Hanga Roa ‐ ‘Padre Sebastian Englert’. Hanga Roa is the small capital town of the island. This is where the great majority of the population lives (about 4,000 inhabitants).

Accommodation: Hotel Otai (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

Visit Ahu Akivi this morning, one of the few Ahus not located by the sea. The seven resurrected moais are sited according to the equinox, which indicates the advanced knowledge of astronomy once known on Rapa Nui. The next stop is the Puna Pau quarry, where the headdresses made of red stone that were set on many moai were produced.

This afternoon, enjoy a half‐day excursion to Orongo, the ceremonial site for the Birdman Cult, whose stone houses are set right by the circular crater of the Ranu Kau volcano. The Birdman Cult only emerged after the collapse of moai culture and was focused on fertility rites and the Birdman competition. Visit an interesting cave with cult rock paintings at the foot of the volcano. Later, from the rim of the crater, savour a spectacular view overlooking the crater’s large lake, as well as the sea and the three Motu Islands. These small islands were the focus of the young men chosen during the ceremony of the Birdman Cult, held at Orongo. One individual per clan swam out to the Motus, to climb and steal the first swallow’s egg of the year. The winning clan was allowed to nominate Rapa Nui’s king for the following year.

Accommodation: Hotel Otai (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

We take a full day excursion today with visits to Ahus Vaihu and Akahanga along the south coast. Later we drive on to Rano Raraku, which is the site where moais were carved out of the island’s very unique bedrock. There are still approximately 400 statues standing and lying here in different stages of completion. The largest is nearly 22m tall and weighs approximately 250 tons. From here we drive to Ahu Te Pito Kura and the ‘Navel of the World’. Finally we visit the beach of Anakena with its Ahu Nau Nau before heading back to our hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel Otai (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch

The morning is free before we transfer to the airport for the flight back to Santiago.

Accommodation: Hotel Providencia (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

End Santiago.

Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

Accommodation

Hotels

We stay in comfortable three-star hotels. Rooms are en suite and of a good standard. The hotel that we typically use in Hanga Roa has a swimming pool and is within walking distance of restaurants.

Single accommodation is available on request.

Essential Information

This is not a demanding add-on tour. Due to the size of the island, journey times are relatively short and the roads are in good condition. There will be some short walks to and from the moai sites as well as a walk to Rano Kau Crater but none with significant climbs.

The order of the excursions on Easter Island can be subject to change. The excursions will be guided but there will not be a leader with the group all of the time.

Please note the tours are shared with non-Exodus passengers and the group size of the excursions can be up to 25 people. The guides may also give explanations in a different language if there are people in the group from another European country.

Only one hospital offers attention on Easter Island and its facilities are limited. Therefore it is very important for travellers to purchase travel insurance that includes emergency evacuation, as those suffering from serious illnesses or injuries are often flown by air ambulance to mainland Chile for treatment.

Booking: If you are the only person booked onto the add-on tour, a compulsory solo traveller supplement is added. This rate is based on a single room, so no extra single supplement is required. Should additional passengers book onto the same departure, your compulsory solo supplement is removed and your booking based on twin-share rooming. You can choose to upgrade to include the optional single supplement if preferred.

Chile

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Chile. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

Please note, a PDI tourist card will be given to you by migration at Santiago airport, upon arrival to Chile, and asked for upon departure from Chile (please retain this important slip of paper). The PDI certifies that you are a visitor and must be given back to migration upon departure from Chile.

Easter Island

You must fill out your Rapa Nui Entry Form (FUI), which you can find here: ingresorapanui.interior.gob.cl. This form can only be completed within 20 days of arrival to Easter Island.

Restaurants offer good quality international meals. Main courses generally focus on freshly caught seafood.

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

Reviews

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Linda Stalker

Added December 2024

Fantastic place but make your own arrangements

I booked the Easter Island extension with Exodus at a cost of £1299 plus compulsory single supplement of 345. There was no loyalty discount. Flights from Santiago to EI were not included but if you book your own flights with LATAM it is possible to add the EI return to your ticket for far less than a standalone return ticket which costs around £800. For the money charged by Exodus you get:- group transfer from Santiago hotel to airport for EI flight (a taxi would cost £25-30) Picked up from airport and taken to hotel in EI (hotel offers a free pick up service) 3 nights at the Hotel Otai - per notice in reception charge for single room was $190, double room $260 us dollars Two separate half day tours in a minibus and one full day trip - these cost around £25 for each half day tour and £70 gor full day with lunch but are multi lingual. We had mainly English speaking morning trip but Spanish/English in afternoon and mostly Spanish on day trip. When asked, our Guide suggested that you could have a private guide for around £100 a day - this would be preferable as English speaking and you could visit the various Moai sites at the best times of the day. Transfer back to EI airport - again offered free by hotel. Pick up at Santiago airport and taken to hotel - taxi would cost £25-30. One night B&B at Santiago hotel Airport transfer from hotel to airport for homeward flight but be warned - Exodus expected us to leave hotel at 05.20 for a flight leaving at 17.00 because they were only offering one transfer and one of our group was flying to Mexico on an early flight. Attempts to contact Exodus in UK went unanswered and local agent only arranged transfer after we had booked a taxi through hotel. I fully appreciate that Exodus need to make a profit on their tours but there is a difference between making a profit and ripping off loyal customers. It is much easier for couples to make their own arrangements than solo travellers but you could save almost half what Exodus charge by making your own arrangements and it would be straightforward to pre book tours, hotel etc.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Moai.

Thoughts on Group Leader

You're on your own!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read up on Easter Island before you go and make your own arrangements.

Reply from Exodus

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts regarding your Easter Island extension, Linda. We’re truly sorry that you felt the trips pricing did not match your expectations and we completely understand your concerns. At Exodus, we always strive to offer competitive pricing while ensuring that all aspects of the trip meet the quality and service expectations of our guests, as well as align with our Responsible Travel ethos. The costs associated with this extension reflect the services provided, including transfers, accommodation, guided tours, and the logistical support required. Still, we fully appreciate that you felt it did not represent the best value, especially when compared to arranging everything independently. In addition to your concerns about the overall value of the trip, we deeply regret that your transfer from your Santiago hotel was scheduled earlier than anticipated, which resulted in a longer wait at the airport before your flight. We can only imagine how frustrating it must have been to receive this information and while we are glad to know that you were able to source alternative arrangements to mitigate this inconvenience, we acknowledge how disappointing it must have been to face the possibility of waiting around at the airport, especially after an exciting adventure. Although the standard for this extension has been to offer a single transfer for all guests on the same day, we take your feedback seriously and will be reviewing this process as we want to ensure that future travellers have more flexibility, with the possibility of adjusting departure times based on flight schedules, so that no one is left waiting unnecessarily. Your feedback plays a vital role in how we continually refine and improve our services. Rest assured, we are committed to listening to our guests and making necessary adjustments to enhance the travel experience for our travellers and will take your comments into account to refine our offerings. We hope that despite the challenges you encountered, you were able to enjoy your time on Easter Island and found the overall experience enriching. We are truly grateful for your support and hope you will consider allowing us to serve you again in the future. Sarah Ahern ~ Exodus Product Manager

Eamon Keating

Added January 2019

Visit but not with exodus

We added Easter Island to our Discover Chile tour (which was excellent) but were very disappointed with the Exodus service. The accommodation in Hotel Otai was very good but could easily be booked direct and there are lots of alternatives near the centre. The main reason for the review was the very poor guide service. We expected Exodus to maintain it usual high standard especially in a location as dramatic as Easter Island. On the 1 day tour our guide was hugely disappointing – she didn’t accompany us around the sites; her knowledge was very shallow; and she was just not interested. On day two we had a younger male guide who was engaged and knowledgeable but catering for a group of 21 across 2 languages was a major shortfall. We also found that the flight costs wold have been cheaper if we booked direct. My recommendation is definitely to visit the island; make the arrangements directly; three nights is sufficient; book a day long individual guide locally; and rent bikes to revisit the places you liked.

Most Inspirational Moment

The quarry and the large platform nearby

Thoughts on Group Leader

We have travelled on 8 occasions with Exodus and the quality of the guide is a major reason to remain loyal. On Easter island the service used by Exodus fell woefully short of our expectations – both in terms of quality and also in terms of group size – I was sitting on the pull down seat in the aisle of a small minibus for the duration of the tour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Definitely to visit the island; make the arrangements directly; three nights is sufficient; book a day long individual guide locally; and rent bikes to revisit the places you liked. Hanga Rua and Pea restaurants on the seafront are recommended

Reply from Exodus

We would like to thank Eamon for his review, although we are very sorry that he was disappointed with the guide service on this trip. We appreciate that there is a difference between a tour leader and a local guide, but we expect that the guides we use will provide a positive experience for our clients at the sites they are guiding. We understand that the first guide was feeling unwell on this day and that this may have affected her performance, but we nonetheless regret that this impacted Eamon’s experience. Whilst we were pleased to read that Eamon found the guide on day 2 to be engaged and knowledgeable, we regret that he was disappointed with the size of the group he guided and that he was required to speak two languages. We have updated the trip notes to include more information about this in order to help better prepare our clients for what to expect on the Extension, as we recognise that the set-up is rather different to those on our main tours. The prices we charge clients are reflective of the costs we incur, but in our flight-inclusive prices we also include an amount to cover the cost of flight related issues for which we may be liable in accordance with our obligations under the Package Travel Regulations. Our customer services team have written to Eamon in more detail regarding all of the issues he has mentioned. Malcolm Parkinson – Product Manager

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