Take the morning plane to Easter Island (the natives call their island Rapa Nui or Te Pito o Te Henua, "the navel of the earth") from Santiago, Chile. You are met at the local airport and transferred the short distance to your family-style hotel minutes from Hanga Roa, a small township where Easter Island's 2,500 inhabitants live. Or send your luggage ahead, and stroll to the hotel on foot, enjoying your new tropical home for the next few days.

The one-day, classic Easter Island tour, covering the entire coastal road of the island, and taking in some of its most majestic sites. Explore around the island in a clockwise direction, giving optimal light conditions at Rano Raraku and Ahu Tongariki in the afternoon.

Ahu Tahai
offers the best sunset views on Easter Island. It is an archaeological site which was restored in 1974 by an American archaeologist. Ahu Tahai comprises three principal ahus from north to south: Ko Te Riku (with restored eyes), Tahai, and Vai Ure.

RANO RARAKU
This stop could very well be one of the most amazing sites in the world.  The volcano of Rano  araku is also known as the statue factory.  It was from the volcanic stone of Rano Raraku that 95% of all of the statues on the island were carved.  There has been 397 Moai at Rano Raraku. Some were completely finished and left waiting on the slopes of the volcano for their transportation while others are in various stages of completion still connected to the mother rock of the volcano.  You will have the opportunity to hike to the top of the volcano and see the beautiful crater with its fresh water lake.  

Ahu Tongariki
The Ahu Tongariki is noted to be the largest monolithic monument in all of Eastern Polynesia.  This amazing platform holds 15 of some of the largest statues on the island.  With the surrounding sea cliffs and beautiful ocean background Tongariki is truly one of the most incredible site on the island. The unrestored Ahu Tongariki had been completely flattened and its 15 huge statue slid about as a result of a tsunami which occurred in 1960.  Needless to say the restoration of this Ahu in 92-96 was definitely considered to be an engineering feat led by the Chilean archeologist Claudio Cristino.

Other site visited: Anakena beach, Te Pito Kura

This culturally-fascinating tour covers the inland trail as well as the dramatic Southwest corner of the island. See how the landscape changes as you leave the coast, including a visit to the largest inland platform, Ahu Akivi. The tour culminates at the spectacular extinct crater of Rano Kau, and the former ceremonial village of Orongo – site of the Birdman Competition.

Ahu Akivi
Often noted to be the only platform whose Moai look to the ocean.

Rano Kau
One of three principal volcanoes which created the island. Inside this beautiful volcano you will see one of three crater lakes on the island. This lake is covered with a type of bulrush reed which is also found in Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.

Orongo
One of the most visually spectacular sites on the island. Orongo is also the best site to view the petroglyph carving of the island. This site is yet another site restored by Dr. Mulloy in 1976.

Other site visited: Ahu Vinapu, Puna Pau, Easter Island Museum, Island Lookout

This is a third full day tour that takes in many of the island’s ‘hidden gems’, sites that are difficult to find without a guide and which greatly reward the traveler hoping to see as much as possible. The tour is done by vehicle, with short amounts of walking at each site, and is another tour that we have devised ourselves and are the only ones to currently offer.

Ovahe Beach 
A secluded bay set on the northern coastline of Easter Island. Experience untamed beauty for a pleasant alternative to visiting the island’s giant moai statues. Ovahe Beach is instantly recognizable for its striking pink color, which is a blend of volcanic slag and weather-beaten white coral. Caves pierce the framing cliffs and are thought to be the ancient homes of the Rapa Nui people.

Ahu Akahanga 
Where King Hotu Mata is burried; a tomb of 81 meters long and 3,25 meters wide. The plataform has 13 Moais around it, which are between 5 and 7 meters high, all decorated with red stones and hyerogliphs.

Site visited: Papa Vaka (petroglyphs), Ahu Heki’i, Taharoa Bay, Pu O Hiro, Ahu One Makihi, Vaihu

Enjoy a relaxing morning in Hanga Roa before taking the flight back to Santiago, Chile.