Easter Island

[rikki]

We are thinking about going to Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Santiago, and Easter Island around Thanksgiving. Any advice or thoughts? Would love to know where to stay on Easter Island. Thanks!

[frlcb]

I would stay at Explora - www.explora.com/explora-rapa-nui/rapa-nui/. When I went to Easter Island it wasn't open yet but we stayed at one in Atacama and it was awesome. BA and Santiago are great cities to visit as well. If you have any extra time Atacama was really interesting. I loved Easter Island!

[rikki]

Jul 2, 2012 14:42:38 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I would stay at Explora - www.explora.com/explora-rapa-nui/rapa-nui/.

This is my first choice so far. It is so expensive, but looks amazing!

[frlcb]

I can't even remember where we stayed but they were building Explora when we were there and we were disappointed it wasn't open yet! Honestly we didn't spend much time in the room so our hotel was fine, it wasn't fancy but it was clean and safe!

[emilyinchile]

Explora is CRAZY expensive - if you can swing it though, good for you! A friend really liked Altiplanico, although it's not exactly cheap either. There are other less expensive options, but if you're considering Explora I'm assuming you're not on a tight budget for this portion of the trip That friend has a bunch of blog posts on her trip here.

How long are you planning for this trip? Seems like a lot for a Thanksgiving trip, which makes me think 9 days or so.

Easter Island is the only place on your list I haven't been, so if you have questions on the other parts of the itinerary I'm happy to help!

[Deleted]

I don't know if I'm too late for this post but we just visited in jan, you can check out more info on my blog. aroundtheworldwithrebecca.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Easter%20Island
We didn't stay at Explora due to some comments on tripadvisor about the tours, and seeing we we're there to see the Moai's we used that extra money on a seperate trip. We used Kai Koe tours, and I would recommend doing the full day tour and maybe hiring a car or using a bike to see the other sites in your own time. We stayed at Hotel O'Tai, which was basic but clean and in a great location.

[frlcb]

We also hired a car and did the sites ourselves. It was not an issue at all, and we liked being able to explore the island at our own pace. It really was an amazing trip.

[frlcb]

Oh, I wanted to add - you are pregnant right? I actually spent some time in the ER when we were there and I am not sure I would go there while pregnant, and I say that as someone who went to 8 different countries when I was pregnant with my son, and 3 with my daughter, so I am comfortable traveling overseas while pregnant. The hospital/ER was basically a big trailer, with dirt all over the floor. They had garbage bags on the beds that they changed out between patients. I *think* they have since built a new hospital, but I would just worry that if something happened you are literally as far away from anywhere else as almost humanly possible, and I would just be nervous about that. They treated me very well, they helped me, and it was cheap, but I don't know that I would want to be there pregnant.