Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands on the planet. It is famous for the moai, the enormous stone ancestor figures carved by the Rapa Nui people between roughly 1000 and 1600. There are around 900 of them scattered across an island you can drive across in half an hour.
Formally part of Chile, Easter Island gets skipped by most South America travellers. Likely because it is expensive to get there, stay there, and do anything there. Which, fair. It is not a budget destination.
But there is also a perception that it is logistically hard to visit. Yes, there is admin. Online entry forms, national park tickets, pre-arranged guides, hotels from an approved list. But it is more about being organised than it is about being difficult.
There is also a total lack of up-to-date info online. Wrong prices, outdated rules about visiting sites without guides, dead links to buy tickets. So here is what actually applies in 2026. Prices, rules, the admin, and the bits nobody warns you about.
Looking for more info on the sites themselves? Check out Things to Do on Easter Island for more.
And you should also check out my guides on:
Where to eat on Easter Island – to make sure you can pick the best restaurants while you’re there!
Where to stay on Easter Island – a run down of the best accommodation options to fir your budget!
Easter Island quick facts
| Local name | Rapa Nui. Also Isla de Pascua in Spanish. The airport code is IPC (Mataveri) |
| Country | Chile. The island sits 3,700km off the mainland |
| Currency | Chilean peso (CLP). Bring cash |
| ATMs | Available in town at the Santander branch |
| Time zone | Two hours behind mainland Chile |
| Getting there | LATAM only, from Santiago. Roughly 5.5 hours, once or twice daily depending on season |
| Entry form | FUI, completed online before you fly |
| Max stay | 30 days |
| Park ticket | 95,000 CLP for foreign adults, valid 10 days |
| Guide | Mandatory for all park sites except three spots |
| Language | Spanish and Rapa Nui. |
How to get to Easter Island
There is one way in and out. LATAM flies from Santiago to Mataveri, and no other airline serves the route. Flights run daily, twice daily in peak season.
A Tahiti connection existed before the pandemic. But the last scheduled Papeete flights ran in 2020 and there have been none since. Sad.
Book early. The plane is a widebody, but it still fills up. And get to the airport earlier than you would for a normal domestic flight. Easter Island departures carry extra checks and extra queues.
The FUI form
Every visitor completes Chile’s Formulario Único de Ingreso before boarding. You do it online here, and it is free. Works in English and Spanish.
There’s two things you need to input:
- Your outbound and return flight details
- Your accommodation booking at a SERNATUR-registered property, or an invitation letter from a resident
You do not upload any confirmations with the form. But what you enter has to match the proof you show at the airport.
Checking your hotel is registered
Do not bother trying to search the SERNATUR database. Easter Island gets lumped in with the Valparaíso region, so you are scrolling through hundreds of properties, and the keyword search is unreliable. Our hotel was on the list but did not come up when I searched for it.
Just start filling in the entry form instead. Page two gives you the dropdown of approved properties, and you can check yours is there in seconds. It is alphabetical. Most decent hotels also state on their own listings that they are registered.
LATAM check you have done the form at check-in. Easter Island departures then have their own area within domestic departures, with an immigration booth. They check the form and your hotel reservation properly there.
I was worried our hotel booking only had one name on it, because Booking.com would not let us add two. It was no problem. We showed the booking was for two people and that was that.
Do the form at least 48 hours before you travel. If you make a mistake, you cannot edit it. You have to resubmit it.
You get a confirmation email. Check it carefully. I clearly did not, because I only spotted my first error and not the one I made on the second attempt. Cue a panicked third attempt two days before flying.
There was no issue with me having done the form 3 times. I just showed them the accurate one.
The Easter Island national park ticket
The ticket costs 95,000 CLP for foreign adults aged 13 and over, which works out at roughly $100. Children aged 7 to 12 pay 38,000 CLP. Chileans and residents pay a fraction of that.
The price went up in October 2025. If you see $80 quoted online, that page has not been updated since.
Make sure you buy the foreigner ticket. The park warns that picking the wrong ticket type can stop you entering.
Where to buy the Easter Island national park ticket
You have two options. Buy online in advance, or buy in person once you land.
A public service announcement first. The official park website looks not exactly legit. Dated design, odd layout, not confidence-inspiring. It is real though.
Loads of sources online tell you to buy your ticket on that site. You can’t. It only has a button that sends you elsewhere. The actual sales platform is TUR. Do not try to buy anywhere else.
If you would rather not do it online, there are digital kiosks in the arrivals area at the airport. They are giant touchscreen versions of the TUR site. You enter the same information and pay by card at the attached reader. Handy if your card was getting rejected online.
The kiosks also print a paper ticket, and you get the email copy too.
The paper ticket turned out to matter. Every site asked for the ticket, and each one has its own stamp which they put on the back. I am not clear what they do if you only have a digital version. Print a copy if you buy online, just to be safe.
There is rumoured to be a ticket office in Hanga Roa. It is however apparently not reliably open, and there is no real reason to bother. The airport kiosks worked fine and we did not queue, despite being nowhere near the front of the plane.
Either way, carry the ticket everywhere. Every site is staffed and they check before letting you in.
What the national park ticket covers
The ticket gives you 10 consecutive days of access, starting from your first entry rather than the date you bought it. Within that window you get unlimited visits to most sites.
Two are different. Rano Raraku and Ōroŋo allow one entry each per ticket. Plan those two properly, because you only get one go at each.
Do you need a guide on Easter Island?
Yes, for almost everything. This is the single biggest thing outdated online guides get wrong.
Since the island reopened after Covid in August 2022, you must be accompanied by an accredited guide to enter most national park sites. That covers Tongariki, Rano Raraku, Ōroŋo, Ahu Akivi, Vinapu, Te Pito Kura, the caves and the rest. Read more on all of these sites here!
Staff check for your guide at the entrance alongside your ticket. Turning up alone does not work.
The rule confuses people all the time. I regularly get asked by friends planning to visit whether it is true, because the information online is so mixed. Blogs from before 2019 describe hiring a jeep and wandering the sites at leisure. That is not a thing anymore.
The three places you can visit without a guide
There are only three. They are not the main sites, but they are useful if you have spare time around your tour.
Anakena Beach. You can visit the beach without a guide. You cannot enter the ahu sector, which is the bit with the moai on it. You can see the statues from the beach, but not up close.
Tahai Ceremonial Centre. On the edge of town and the classic sunset spot. You get the view of several Moai, against a beautiful sea backdrop.
Terevaka summit. The island’s high point at 507m, reachable on foot without a guide. Allow three to four hours round trip from the trailhead near Ahu Akivi. The path fades near the top, so aim for the highest ground. You get a genuine 360 degree view of the whole island. Take two litres of water and something windproof.
That is it. Everything else needs a guide.
Booking a guide on Easter Island
Book before you arrive. Guides get taken during high season, and turning up hoping to join something is a bad plan.
The park site lists all 99 accredited guides with email and WhatsApp. WhatsApp gets a faster response than email.
I went with Atariki Cristino Vargas, recommended by a friend, and I recommend him too. Knowledgeable, knew which spots worked at which times, and flexible enough to let us refuel on much needed coffee. I asked him to build a half day, full day, half day structure, and he did. I was clear about wanting sunrise, the main sites, no hiking and no horses.
The official list shows his language as Spanish only, but he speaks English perfectly well. Do not filter him out on that basis. You can reach him on WhatsApp. His website exists but is sparse.
Group tours vs a private guide
There are several group tour options covering the headline sites over one or two days.
One and a half to two full guided days covers the main archaeological circuits. A third day gets you the quieter sites. A fourth gets you caves and hikes.
I was surprised to find group tours bookable on GetYourGuide.
Being honest though, the pricing did not stack up. For a two day tour covering the same sites I did, including sunrise, a group booking for two people cost more than what we paid for a private guide over the same time. And you lose all flexibility on timings, duration at each site and route. Plus, there’s other people.
There are no-frills options that are genuinely cheap. This one day tour covers the main iconic sites for around $80 per person. It does not cover everything, and not always at the best times, so no sunrise. If you are doing Easter Island on a tighter budget, it is a solid option.
If you get desperate, several agencies in town sell group tours last minute. You will not be stuck. You will lose control over the experience, the timings and how much you actually learn.
If there are two or more of you, get a private guide. The price is almost the same and the experience is much better. You control which sites, what order, whether you do sunrise, when you leave and where you stop for coffee.
You have flown all this way. What is another $50 to $100 for a far better trip?
Getting around Easter Island
The island is small. Hanga Roa is the only town, and everything sits within a 20km drive.
Almost all hotels offer airport pickup and drop-off, so arrival is sorted. Confirm it when you book.
If you are staying in town, you will not need much. Everything is walking distance and guides have their own transport for the sites.
If you are staying further out, you need a plan.
Taxis are easy.
There are no ride share apps, which is unsurprising on an island this size. We stayed outside town and it was no issue. Restaurants and hotels will call one for you. A couple of drivers gave us their WhatsApp for future trips, which made it even simpler.
Rentals
Rental cars are available on the main street. Cars, jeeps, quads, scooters, even bicycles. Insular Rent-a-Car is one of the local options, and you can find them here on Maps.
Automatics are limited. Book ahead or get comfortable with a manual.
It is pricey. A small car starts around $90 a day, a 4×4 runs $150 and up, and a jeep can hit $250. That is the price of a remote island. Sort of worth it for a group if you’re staying outside of town and/or planning to drive to the sites that don’t need a guide. Or if your guide does not have their own vehicle.
The roads are rough once you leave town. Potholes are frequent and fairly deep. Drive slowly, in daylight, and stay alert.
Think carefully about renting at all. You still need a guide to enter the sites, so a car mainly buys flexibility on timings and access to the three unguided spots. A guided tour plus taxis in and out of town often works out cheaper and less stressful.
Staying connected on Easter Island
Connectivity is better than the internet suggests, but only in Hanga Roa.
I used a Holafly eSIM and it performed brilliantly in town and for roughly 3 to 4km around it. Fast enough to upload, stream and work. Use code LOTM for 5% off any Holafly travel eSIM, or 10% off Holafly plans for the first 12 months.
Step outside that main town radius and you have nothing. No bars, no data. That covers most of the island, including Rano Raraku, Tongariki and the north coast.
Honestly, I quite liked the tranquility of being off-grid.
Starlink has arrived on Easter Island, and some hotels and restaurants now run it, which beats the old satellite connections. Not everywhere has it. Ask before you book if you need to work.
How long do you need on Easter Island?
Three days felt right.
An afternoon after landing covering two or three sites. A full day on day two, including sunrise at Tongariki. By day three we had seen all the main moai, so we did the villages and the birdman sites (read more on that here). We felt we had done everything we wanted and still had time to chill.
If you want hikes, caves, or a genuinely slow pace, add a day or two.
The caveat is weather. It rained heavily on our third day and it made the visits miserable. We were soaked, and the sites sit on grass that turns to mud fast. We were lucky the rain did not land on our full-day tour, because we would have called it off and waited. And then rushed all the sites on our last morning.
It rains here often and without much warning, all year round. Losing a day on a two-night trip can wreck your itinerary. With a late afternoon flight on day three, you keep some flexibility. Our guide was checking the forecast constantly to make sure our Tongariki sunrise was an actual sunrise and not grey cloud.
When to go to Easter Island
Summer – December to March – is warmest and busiest. Prices peak and accommodation books out. But weather is ace.
The first two weeks of February bring Tapati Rapa Nui, the island’s cultural festival. It is apparently spectacular. It is also the hardest time to find a bed.
April to May and September to November give a better balance. Fewer people, cheaper flights, weather still fine.
We went in July. It rained a lot. We still got a full day of sun. Take your chances.
Money and costs
The Chilean peso is the currency. Cards work at hotels, larger restaurants and tour operators (with a small fee usually 3%). Our tour guide accepted card for a fee. And was also willing to take dollars or euros. Smaller places will want cash in pesos though.
There are ATMs inside the Santander branch in Hanga Roa. I read online that they run out. Which is totally possible, it is an incredibly remote island. But we went at 6pm and they were fine. They charge for withdrawals. But then so do most ATMs in South America when taking foreign cards.
Withdraw cash in Santiago before you fly if you can, to avoid the hassle and risk. But you will be fine if you forget.
Everything costs more than the mainland, because almost everything is imported. A very basic dinner for two with a couple of beers runs upwards of $60. Go in with that mindset and you will enjoy yourself more.
Easter Island FAQ
How much is the Easter Island national park ticket in 2026?
95,000 CLP for foreign adults, around $100. Children aged 7 to 12 pay 38,000 CLP. It is valid for 10 consecutive days from your first entry.
Can you visit Easter Island without a guide?
Only three places. Anakena beach but not the moai, Tahai Ceremonial Centre (some moai), and the Terevaka summit hike. Every other park site needs an accredited guide.
Where do you actually buy the national park ticket?
On the TUR website. The official park site only links through to it. You can also use the digital kiosks in the airport arrivals hall, which print a paper ticket.
Is the Rapa Nui National Park website legitimate?
Yes. It looks unconvincing, but the Rapa Nui National Park website is the official website. It just does not sell tickets directly. But it does have loads of info on sites
How many days do you need on Easter Island?
Two nights and three days as a minimum. One and a half guided days covers the main sites. The extra half day gives you the quieter spots and a buffer for rain. Hikes and caves need more.
Will my phone work on Easter Island?
In Hanga Roa and roughly 3 to 4km around it, yes. My Holafly eSIM worked well there. Beyond that, expect nothing. Download offline maps first.
Can I rent a car and drive myself around the sites?
You can rent a car, but you still need a guide to enter the park sites. A car only helps with timings and the unguided spots. The roads are also badly potholed. But it will help you get to and from/around Hanga Roa.
Do I need to book anything before I fly?
Yes. Your return flight and a SERNATUR-registered hotel must be booked in advance, and you must complete the FUI form. All three get checked before you board in Santiago. Book your guide in advance too, because they get booked up really quickly.
Planning the rest of your Easter Island trip
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