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Easter Island


tatabea
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We are wanting to take our granddaughter to Easter Island. We’re not even sure if a cruise is the way to go, vs a tour. We are thinking of spring or fall of 2019.

What is the best time to go? Cruise or land tour? Can those of you who have done this please give us any insight?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you!

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Easter Island access from cruise ships is by tender. The port area has a very small access through a narrow channel, with large rocks on both sides. Therefore very few cruise ships manage to get passengers ashore. Weather [waves wind] being the major factors.

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If you have your heart set on visiting Easter Island, I would not do it with a cruise. There’s always a chance that sea/weather conditions will result in cancellation of the call, and then you will be very disappointed. The risk here is even bigger because this is a tender port.

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I spent 5 nights independently on Easter Island, flying in from Santiago and out via Tahiti. I did a day tour then hired a vehicle and drove around the rest of the time. I was lucky to be there during a full moon so visited the different moai for both sunrise and sunset. A day visit by cruise ship would not have covered all the sites that I wished to see.

 

You could always do a cruise starting or finishing in Papeete and tag on a visit to Easter Island for a few days.

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If your prime consideration is visiting Easter Island, I agree with previous posters that flying is your best alternative. Our 2 scariest tender ports over the years were Easter Island and St. Helena. We were lucky to actually get ashore; even crew members said their ships had to skip these ports multiple times because of rough seas. Unloading from a tender between rocks to a pier moving from above our heads to below our feet was dangerous and frightening! Insure your ability to actually visit Easter Island by flying in. Enjoy!

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  • 4 months later...
I spent 5 nights independently on Easter Island, flying in from Santiago and out via Tahiti. I did a day tour then hired a vehicle and drove around the rest of the time. I was lucky to be there during a full moon so visited the different moai for both sunrise and sunset. A day visit by cruise ship would not have covered all the sites that I wished to see.

 

 

 

You could always do a cruise starting or finishing in Papeete and tag on a visit to Easter Island for a few days.

 

 

 

Planning to visit Easter Island in a few years independently. Did you feel 5 nights was adequate to see everything? We want the trip to be long enough to allow for a leisurely exploration of the island.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 3 weeks later...
Planning to visit Easter Island in a few years independently. Did you feel 5 nights was adequate to see everything? We want the trip to be long enough to allow for a leisurely exploration of the island.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

5 nights should be more than enough to see the island, Ive been there twice now but on cruise ships and if I had a reason such as you I would definitely look at flying there via Tahiti or Chile.

 

Ive met the British Consul James Grant-Peterkin a few times and he has a travel company that does tours of the island and wrote a really interesting book about the Island "A companion to Easter Island" which is a great read.

 

Fascinating Island.

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We were extremely lucky on the 2015 WC, as the ship got into Easter Island for the first time in about 7 years. Therefore, if Easter Island is your primary destination, I agree with the others and suggest it is best to fly.

 

BTW - it is a brilliant island.

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  • 7 months later...

I agree with other posters that if the primary destination is Easter Island then flying in would be the best option.  When I look at the photos of the wave actiity when tendering, it is obvious that we were lucky to get ashore.  We had an extra day there because we had a medical emergency and had to skip one of our other ports to facilitate an earlier arrival.  Lucky us!  We left after two full days wishing that we had longer...no leisure time as we were on tour both days.  I would really recommend the tour with Peterkins group as our guide was wonderful.  He was very educated and explained what we were seeing very well.  Loved our visit.  

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