The shoulder seasons between April and June and October and December are the best times to visit Easter Island. The warm climate of the Southern Hemisphere combined with the light crowds during these months makes them an ideal time to discover the many highlights of the island.
Between January and March is summer in the Southern Hemisphere and high season, when visitors flock to the island. The Tapati Rapa Nui Festival takes place every year at the beginning of February, a celebration that brings the Rapa Nui culture to new generations of the island’s people and tourists. Activities during this festival include horseback races, dancing, a triathlon, swimming, and canoeing.
Exploring Easter Island on exciting outdoor adventures can include biking in the interior of the island, hiking up volcanoes, and, of course, venturing around the ancient giant statues that put the island on the map when it was discovered in 1722.
There are around 1,000 statues located all around the 63 square mile island (163.2 square km), weighing as much as 80 tons and standing at about 26 feet tall (9.8 m). Recently, archeologists have discovered that the statues had lower bodies that were buried under the ground.
April, May, and June
The months of April, May, and June are between fall and winter when the weather isn’t too hot as tropical breezes keep things cool. While there are the chances of rain, the temperate climate affords travelers the opportunity to get out and explore the island’s archeological sites as well as get some beach time or a horse ride along the coastal cliffs.
Rapa Nui National Park covers almost half of the small island. The protected area was established in 1935 and is home to the Rano Raraku quarry, where the Rapa Nui people carved these giant statues for five hundred years until the 18th century. There are statues at different stages of completion in the quarry that show the stunning examples of the work that went into creating them.
October, November, December
Falling between winter and spring, October, November, and December are pleasant months to travel to this remote Chilean outpost as they give you the best of the winter months and the room to stretch your legs while exploring the manmade and natural wonders of the island while the crowds are at bay.
Popular activities during this time include surfing, snorkeling, and diving in the crystal clear waters of Easter Island’s shores. For those that would rather explore by land, the Ana Kakenga Cave is part of the island’s underground complex of taverns where spelunking gives you great views from cliffside vantage points out over the sea. This activity can also double as an excellent rainy-day activity.
While there is a small but healthy population of descendants of the original inhabitants of the island living on Easter Island today, little is known about what happened to the first settlers. Some think that they lost their way by cutting down the island’s trees for farming projects, and subsequently faced starvation as a result.
For more information about your options for travel to Easter Island, contact one of our travel experts so they can set you up with a trip that fits both within your schedule and budget.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.