Easter Island Moai

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Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is only accessible via Santiago, Chile or via Papeete. Since Chile has enough in and of itself to warrant a trip, we decided to interrupt our French Polynesian vacation with three days in Easter Island. For all the photos from this and many other trips, please visit - our Easter Island page



Easter Island is mainly known for its "moai", which are large stone statues with faces and bodies. They were left all over the island, mainly close to the sea. Tribal wars resulted in most of the moai being knocked over, but restoration projects are slowly erecting them on their original platforms.

From Papeete, there are only flights twice a week into Easter Island. So, either you go for 3 days, or you go for a whole week. We chose a couple of days, and it turned out that was more than enough time to see what we wanted to see and do a little bit of souvenir shopping.

Our hotel was the Mana Nui Inn. They met us at the airport. Watch out when you arrive: They make everyone x-ray their baggage as you exit the airport (?!) and the machines are not guaranteed to be film-safe. They will pass your film around without question however.

Mana Nui Inn

The Mana Nui Inn is located about a 10 minute walk from town (Hanga Roa), at a beautiful location overlooking the sea, with beautiful sunsets every night. The wind can get pretty strong, but we still had some nice walks along that stretch of the coast. The hotel owner or her daughter will pick you up at the airport, and greet you with a flower lei. It cost us $45US/night. The room is very clean, with its own bathroom and hot shower (run the hot water in the sink at the same time - then there's enough pressure and the gas stays on and the shower is great). The views are fabulous, and we were made to feel very at homme. We were greeted with fruit juice as soon as we arrived, and gave us a great map with pictures of the sites, and explained everything there was to do on the island. We had a great breakfast every morning. They also drove us back to the airport and gave us good bye necklaces they'd made themselves at the end of our stay! The daughter, Patricia, speaks great English as well.

The first day, we saw some of the moai that are located close to town - in fact, they are right in front of the Mana Nui Inn (we could see some from our balcony!). We saw Ahu Tahai, Ahu Akapu, and Ahu Tautira. It was a great introduction, and took only 2 hours at a leisurely pace.

Rano Raraku

With the help of a rental car the next day, we were able to see most of the moai. Although we saw some people walking the sites, or biking, we would recommend against it. The distances to get to the best sites are considerable. Unless you are planning to spend a week, we doubt you could fit everything in.

We arranged the rental car from Mana Nui Inn - it was a 4x4 jeep, in good condition. No A/C, but it's really not needed for Easter Island. Standard only, I'm not sure if there's any automatics on the island. It cost us $60 US/day. Apparently you can find $50/day in town, but it was more convenient to get it from our hotel.

Almost all the moai can be seen by driving around the ring road around the island, which is paved (except for a few km). We did a nice short hike up the volcano at Rano Raraku for a nice view of the eastern part of the island. Rano Raraku is the "Moai Nursery". It is thought that most of the moai were carved out of the volcanic rock here, and many can still be seen in place on the mountain, at various stages of construction. It was one of the highlights of all the sites we saw. Right next to it, Ahu Tongariki, is the most impressive display of moai.


The other must-see ahu for us was Ahu Akivi, which is the only ahu where the moai are facing the ocean, instead of towards the land.

The beach at Anakena is also well worth a visit. There is an impressive set of moai overlooking a beautiful, sheltered beach in a bay. It is the only place we saw outside of Hanga Roa selling drinks/refreshments.

We also visited the Orongo Ceremonial Village, which was a bit of a disappointment (we spent more time talking to the guy at the ticket booth than we did at the site.) However, the drive up to the village, as well as the views of the volcanic crater of Rano Kau, definitely made it worthwhile.

The museum Museo Anthropologico Sebastian Englert is a small two-room museum north of town. If it turns cloudy, it's a good thing to check out, with a good background on the history of the island. Make sure to ask for the English binder to provide translations of the signs.

Restaurants

We ate at two restaurants during our time on the island. Our first dinner was at Jardin del Mau on the seaside, which offered pasta, a great vegetarian option on the island. Wendy was very happy with her meal, but my mahi was not worth the price. Our second meal was at Kai Mana in town, which was also quite good, with a very friendly owner.

We also snacked on empanadas, (like a pastry sandwich, which is fried).

We had a great time on Easter Island! Everyone we met was very friendly and kind. It made the stay a real pleasure.

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