Since being young, one of the ultimate places I’d always wanted to visit was Easter Island. The enigmatic and remote speck of land in the vast south Pacific Ocean was a draw for so many reasons… culture, adventure, curiosity. I finally booked my trip, and I travelled there in April 2019. To stare back at the world famous moai, face to face, was more special than I had ever predicted. I will share one or two thoughts of my trip there, as I relied heavily on the blogs of previous travellers.

My first thought is that anyone considering to travel to Easter Island should go! One thing worth noting is that Easter Island is very remote, one of THE most remote islands on Earth. For me personally, the island’s remoteness was part of it’s appeal, though travelling there should be well planned. The only realistic flight route into Easter Island is via Santiago, Chile. The island is regarded as an interior territory of Chile (despite being thousands of miles away in the Pacific Ocean), and Chile is also the closest continental landmass to the island. I flew there with LATAM Airlines, I had to, this is the only commercial airline that serves Easter Island, and for this reason flights can be very expensive, as they have the monopoly. I found return flights (Santiago-Easter Island) for around £280, which after being eagle-eyed on LATAM’s website for a few months, I concluded was the definition of cheap flights to Easter Island. My advice to anyone looking to find cheap flights to Easter Island would be to purchase flights directly through LATAM’s own website, try to buy as far in advance as possible, and travel at an off-peak time. I travelled in early April, this was ideal…  the overall weather was very good, sights were not crowded, and flight prices were cheaper than the previous months of Jan, Feb, and March (which are the peak season).

Another piece of advice I have is in regards to how to travel around the island. Before going, I did a lot of research into the option of cycling around the island, and a number of blogs seemed to promote this form of travel. Therefore, I decided I would cycle. Easter Island is a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right?… so cycling around it will be no challenge at all?… WRONG! On the first day, me and my friend decided we would cycle across the island to Ahu Tongariki from the main settlement of Hanga Roa, this was a mistake! It took us HOURS to make the journey one way, it was utterly EXHUSTING, and we had no protection from both the intense sun and then the pouring rain, as the entire route has no shade or shelter. The terrain is hilly, so on a number of occasions we also had to walk our bikes up the inclines. Cars would frequently whiz past us, and I have never been so jealous. There were two other cyclists that we encountered along the route, and both felt the same way as me and my friend. I would certainly encourage cycling to some of the sights closer to the accommodation you are staying at, but for travel to sights across the length of the island I wouldn’t recommend cycling unless you are very experienced and have the time for a slower travel method. One thing the cycling did make me appreciate is that the island isn’t as tiny as I’d anticipated. Also, upon finally reaching Ahu Tongariki after hours of arduous cycling, I would argue that the euphoria of FINALLY witnessing this stunning sight was heightened, as opposed to simply travelling there by car. It’s safe to say, after day one I opted to travel by car instead, or by foot to the nearby sights. To conclude this point, my overbearing advice and lesson from experience is DO NOT CYCLE ACROSS THE LENGTHS OF EASTER ISLAND!

From Ahu Tongariki, to Anakena Beach, to the moai of Rano Raraku, to Orongo, to Ahu Akivi, to Ahu Tahai, to the many other sites across the island and the wonderful Rapa Nui people and culture… I had an incredible time, and I would recommend Easter Island to anyone.