Moai at Rano Raraku, sunsets at Tongariki, the crater lake at Rano Kau. The world's most remote inhabited island, with guides who speak Rapa Nui and know every stone.
Easter Island — Rapa Nui to those who live there — sits 3,700 kilometres from the nearest continental landmass. There is no other inhabited place on earth this isolated. The people who arrived here a thousand years ago didn't just survive: they carved nearly a thousand monumental stone figures, moved them across the island without wheels or draft animals, and erected them facing inward to watch over their villages. The question of how has never been fully answered.
What makes an Easter Island trip exceptional is not just the moai — it is the density of meaning in a small space. A single day can take you from the quarry at Rano Raraku, where hundreds of statues lie abandoned mid-carve, to the ceremonial village at Orongo, perched on a cliff above the Pacific, to Anakena beach where Polynesian history still washes in on every tide.
We work with local Rapa Nui guides whose families have lived on the island for generations. Their knowledge changes what you see. The official sites are extraordinary; the stories behind them are what make them unforgettable.
A short list of what most Easter Island journeys include — though no two of our programs ever come out identical.
The extinct volcano at the island's southwest tip holds a freshwater lake covered in floating reed islands. From the crater rim, the view drops to three small islets and the open ocean. On clear days you can see the curvature of the earth.
Nearly 400 statues remain in and around the volcanic crater where they were carved — many still half-finished, as though the sculptors simply stopped one day and never returned. One of the strangest archaeological landscapes in the world.
The largest restored ahu on the island, with fifteen moai standing in a row against the Pacific dawn. Arrive before first light. The walk from the car park in the dark, then the silhouettes appearing as the sun rises behind you — there is no photograph that prepares you for it.
The only white-sand beach on the island, and the site where legendary chief Hotu Matu'a is said to have first come ashore. Two restored ahu stand at the edge of the sand. An afternoon here — swimming, then watching the light change on the statues — is one of the island's quiet pleasures.
Perched at the edge of Rano Kau's crater, Orongo was the site of the annual Birdman competition — a swimming race to a nearby islet to retrieve the first sooty tern egg of the season. The stone houses, the petroglyphs, the sheer cliff below: everything about this place is at the edge of something.
Beneath the island's surface, a network of ancient lava tubes shelters one of Easter Island's most unexpected landscapes — a lush underground garden where bananas, taro and native plants thrive in the cool, humid dark. Ana Te Pahu was used as a refuge and food source by the Rapa Nui people for centuries, and walking through it today still feels like discovering a secret the island kept to itself.
Easter Island is a subtropical destination — there is no bad time to visit. But February holds Tapati Rapa Nui, the island's extraordinary two-week cultural festival, and those who plan around it rarely regret it.
Spring. Warm and uncrowded. Good conditions for hiking the volcanic craters.
Temperatures rising. Fewer visitors than January. Hotels easier to book on short notice.
Summer begins. Long days, warm water. Island fills with Chilean and international visitors over the holiday period.
Warmest and busiest month. Book accommodations 6+ months ahead. Excellent for Anakena beach and snorkeling.
The two-week Tapati Rapa Nui festival transforms the island: canoe races, body painting, traditional dance, triathlon. The most extraordinary week in the Rapa Nui calendar. Book a year ahead.
Late summer. Warm, calmer than February. Excellent light for photography at the ahu.
Autumn light. Fewer visitors, easier access to major sites. One of our favourite months to visit.
Quieter and cooler. All sites remain open year-round. Accommodation rates typically lower.
Winter. Mild by most standards — rarely below 15°C. Strong winds can affect the west coast. Very few other tourists.
A small uptick in Chilean winter-holiday visitors. Still quiet. Moai often photographed with dramatic storm-light skies.
End of winter. Whale watching possible offshore. Nights cool enough for exceptional stargazing conditions.
Spring arrives. Wildflowers on the crater rims. Good surf at Hanga Roa. The island at its most unhurried.
LATAM operates daily direct flights from Santiago to Mataveri International Airport (IPC), 5 hours. Occasional direct flights from Lima and Auckland. We handle all ticketing and timing coordination.
Easter Island has its own entry restriction: visitors may stay a maximum of 30 days (separate from the 90-day Chilean visa allowance). You must show onward travel at immigration. We prepare all required documentation.
Light layers for evening winds, reef shoes for snorkeling at Anakena, strong sun protection — the UV index is extreme year-round. A small daypack and comfortable walking shoes for the volcanic sites. We send a tailored packing brief once your trip is confirmed.
Most sites involve easy to moderate walking on uneven volcanic terrain. Rano Raraku and Rano Kau involve short uphill sections. All itineraries can be calibrated to the group's pace — we never rush these sites.
Easter Island runs on its own time zone: UTC −6 (2 hours behind Santiago in summer). Currency is the Chilean Peso. Most hotels and restaurants in Hanga Roa accept cards; remote sites and local stalls are cash only.
Wifi is available at most hotels and some restaurants in Hanga Roa. Mobile coverage is reliable in town and at major sites, but patchy in the island's interior. The disconnection is, for most travelers, a feature.
Easter Island pairs naturally with Atacama (both remote, archaeological, austere) and is a logical extension from Santiago. Most travelers don't combine it with Patagonia in the same trip — the gear, pace and mood are quite different.
The moai and ceremonial sites are sacred to the Rapa Nui people. Climbing on statues or ahu platforms is strictly prohibited and can result in heavy fines. Our guides introduce the cultural context before each site — it changes everything you see.
Tell us when you'd like to go, how long, and with whom. We'll come back within one business day with first ideas, the guides we'd suggest and questions about the trip you have in mind.