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HOW TO GET THERE
The only airline going to Easter Island is LAN CHILE, national airline of Chile, either via Santiago de Chile or Tahiti,
French Polynesia. Unfortunately we cannot
sell airfares directly from Easter Island,
but all LAN CHILE-offices and your travel agent will be able to assist you. You might be able to obtain a cheaper airfare
traveling from the nearest airport to your city covered by LAN CHILE, like Miami or Los Angeles in the United States, Frankfurt in
Germany,
etc., or connecting with airlines being member of One World Alliance.
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS
From Europe and North America you can immigrate with a normal tourist visa, valid for 3 months. Vaccinations are not necessary, you might need
an International Driver's License in case you want to rent a car or a motorbike.
BEST TIME TO COME
It's not quite easy to recommend the best time of the year to visit Easter Island. Spring (Oct.-Dec.) and
autumn (March-May) are a very good time to travel; temperatures never go higher than aprox. 24°C, only some rainfall.
In winter (May-Sept.) more rain, still temperatures between 18-21°C during the day. These seasons have the advantage that
there are not so many tourists on the Island.
In summer (January-beginning of March) the temperatures could rise up to 28-31°C and the Pacific Ocean invites for a swim in its warm waters.
MONEY
The best recommendation we can give
is to bring US Dollars or Chilean Pesos from mainland Chile. Do not count on paying with credit cards, only a few restaurants and
stores; mostly hotels accept VISA and AMEX. At the local bank one can charge 200.000 Chilean Pesos (approx. 300 USD) per day
on a VISA credit card, do not try to change Traveler Checks in the local bank, they charge a considerable commission. Most
people prefer US Dollars cash; even accept US Dollar Traveler Checks in small denominations. No other currency is accepted
or changed on Easter Island, not even at the
bank.
The price structure on the Island differs very much from mainland Chile. Prices are 40 - 100% higher because of the high freight costs; almost
everything you buy is brought over from mainland Chile by plane or ship.
NIGHTLIFE
Easter Island does not have a nightlife to speak of, especially in winter. There are 2 very nice pubs, VAI MOANA and ALOHA
on main road Atamu Tekena, which also serv good meals. There are several restaurants, prices ranging from rather
expensive down to just affordable. Beginning with the most expensive :
TAVERNE DU PECHEUR (not very friendly owner,good food and winelist) JARDIN DE MAU MERAHI
RA'A PEA CAFE RA'A LA
TINITA all located either at the coast or Te Pito o te Henua o Atamu Tekena.
There is one
live music place - Topatangi on Atamu Tekena next to the biggest supermarket Kai Nene. Here the band "Topatangi"
plays on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, whereas Thursday is quite busy with the crowd dancing. Things get going at around
midnight.
Afterwards you can party on until 4-5 o'clock at the disco Toroko which you find down at the bay. This
place starts to fill up at about 1 o'clock.
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