Easter Island on a Budget



My wife riding a motorbike on Rapa Nui



As a child I’d once read a book about mysterious places of the world and Easter Island was one of those places featured.  The book held that the moai, or the iconic large headed statues, may have been put there by aliens!  During my time in university I took a class about the collapse of different civilizations; Jared Diamond’s book Collapse:  How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed was on the curriculum and used Easter Island as one case study.  It talked about how the islanders, not aliens, erected the statues to the detriment of their society.  The statues were enormous art projects that tribal leaders would finance in order to gain power.  It led to deforestation, a dark period of cannibalism, and the near extinction of the islanders.  The island, so far from the coastline of Chile and so isolated from any other land masses, has held the imagination of many travelers and explorers, but it never seemed like a place to which I could afford to travel.  This, like the aliens, was a myth.

When my wife and I arrived on the island we were surrounded by wealthy tourists who rented expensive cars and stayed at nice resorts; it felt like we were somehow stealing a rich person’s holiday.  How did we, mere English teachers, afford to get there?  How were we able to get around the island without spending a fortune?  How did we get through the week without starving?  For the South American backpacker there are a few tips I’d like to offer that can make Easter Island a possible destination. 

The first tip is to book a flight early and to be flexible with your dates.  It seems obvious, but since there is only one airline, LAN, which offers flights to the island, a first look at prices can turn you off the entire idea.  Some of the flights are over two thousand USD; we managed to get ours for just over four hundred dollars.  The key to our success was flying from Lima, Peru.  In the past, the only flights to Easter Island were from Santiago or Tahiti, but from the start of 2011 they had just opened the route from Lima.  This alone saved us over a thousand USD.  Keep looking, keep checking for changes, do your research about routes and days.  If you’re persistent, you should be able to find an affordable flight.

So you’re on the island, but you can’t find an affordable hostel or hotel; camping is an option.  For about ten dollars a night, or fifteen if you want to rent a tent, you can stay at Camping Mihinoa (http://www.mihinoa.com/), which was by far the cheapest option we were able to find.  The family that runs the place is extremely friendly and respond to your e-mails in either Spanish or English.  You should book ahead and they will even pick you up at the airport.  It’s a bare bones operation that offers showers and a shack where you can cook – also a big money saver – but for the week or so you’re on the island it’s more than you need.  Likely, you’ll be spending your whole day hiking and exploring; when you come back you just need a soft place to lie down and listen to the crashing waves.

It’s a small island, but it’s not that small.  My wife and I did spend a day literally walking from one end to the other.  We started at the campsite mentioned above, went around Terevaka Volcano, and ended up at Anakena, which has a terrific beach.  This took almost the whole day and while it was definitely an amazing trek, including a few run-ins with bulls, I would only recommend walking if you have enough time.  Also, as there isn’t much shade on the island, it can get pretty tiring. 

For cheap transportation I’d recommend one of three options.  You don’t need to rent a jeep; you can either rent a bicycle or a motorbike for a pretty affordable price.  The motorbikes can get a little tricky when you’re off the paved roads, but if you take it slow, you’ll be fine.  The other, and cheapest option available, is hitchhiking.  Most people are up for giving you a ride if it’s on their way and when you’re heading back to town at the end of the day there is no shortage of available rides.  Sticking your thumb up is free, and on Easter Island, pretty safe.

Lastly, if you really are on a tight budget, stay away from the bars.  It’s the end of the day, you’re covered in red dust from a long day of exploring, and you’re sweaty, hot, and sick of the unrelenting sun.  The temptation to spend four dollars on drink may sound pretty appealing.  There is, however, an alternative.  Buy a bottle of wine from a market and find an alcove by the cliffs (please be careful and find a safe place).  As sunset approaches you can sit on the rocks, enjoy some of Chile’s fantastic wine, and talk over the adventure of the day and your plans for tomorrow.  It’s the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen.

I don’t mean to sound like a tight ass and there are a lot of nice restaurants around the island, but for those of us who don’t have vast financial resources to draw from, a few drinks at a bar on Easter Island are another day of backpacking later on.  It’s about choices and priorities.  Most backpackers I’ve talked to don’t even consider Easter Island because they imagine it’s out of their price range.  It doesn’t have to be.