If you are trying to figure out where to stay on Easter island, I have good news for you: it’s not very hard to narrow down your options and find a place because the island and main town are so compact.
Still, you want to have some insight into the hotel situation before booking.
I recently spent over a week on Easter Island and we hopped around to different hotels in different areas of the island, so that we could report back on the best places to stay on Easter Island based on real experiences and not just summarizing reviews.
So below, I’ve broken down our experiences and also included some of the properties we were considering staying at so you can look into those as well.
Table of Contents
Where you’ll likely be staying: Hanga Roa
Almost all of the hotels on Easter Island are located in the town of Hanga Roa or its nearby outskirts.
This makes planning a lot easier because you’re not having to choose from several cities like you would in most of their destinations.
You’ll just need to think about things like if you want to be close to the coast, near restaurants, farther from the city, etc.
In reality, as you’ll see below, everything is so close, that even if you are “farther away from it all,” you are still pretty close via a short car ride.
Things to look for
AC/fans
One thing to inquire about is the air conditioning or fan situation in your hotel room. Some lodges may not have these and they may not have the power to support them throughout the night if they rely on solar.
If you’re visiting during the peak of summer, it can get pretty hot and if you don’t have access to a fan or to air conditioning, it can be really difficult to get comfortable if you’re not used to the warmer temps.
If you have the room in your luggage, it might be helpful to bring a battery-powered portable fan with you just in case you end up getting too hot. Luckily, some of the hotels have really good air conditioning units and it’s possible to cool down your room.
Internet
The other thing you want to think about is the internet situation.
Luckily, Easter Island recently added Starlink so some places have very fast internet connections. If you don’t have enhanced Internet, you could be dealing with extraordinarily slow connections. For people planning to get off the grid that could be a very good thing.
But if you’re like me and need to remain reasonably connected, some of the hotels can make that borderline impossible! Hopefully, as Starlink continues to roll out on the island more hotels will pick it up.
Hotel locations and getting around
Getting to and from the airport
Lots of the hotels will offer a transfer service from the airport to the hotel, often included in your price.
If you’re staying in town, the airport is literally just a few minutes away, so it’s a very short journey.
Even if you are staying in one of the rural areas, it’s still probably only about 15 to 20 minutes away. I wouldn’t necessarily prioritize getting a hotel close to the airport but there are some hotels that are extremely close like Hotel Puku Vai.
There’s also a little pocket of hotels near Ana Kai Tanata at the west end of the airport, which is a really beautiful area to explore. If you stay near here, you’ll also be close to Mirador Rano Kau and the hiking trail that goes up and down into the crater.
Getting to the city
The town of Hanga Roa is very small and basically has one main road. Here you will find a lot of different mini-markets, shops, restaurants, etc. Think of it as downtown Hanga Roa.
Unless you are staying on the outskirts of the city then you should be able to get to that main area within about a 10 to 20 minute walk.
A lot of the restaurants will be on this main road but you can also find a lot of them near Playa Poko Poko which is along the coast.
Easter Island hotels near beaches
You might be drawn to the idea of staying at a hotel right by the beach but you don’t really have that option on Easter Island.
There are some places with nice ocean views like the Iorana Hotel, Kona Koa, etc. and some hotels are very close to some swimming and snorkeling spots like Hotel Boutique La Perouse but you’re not going to find high-rise hotels overlooking beaches like you would in some place like Hawaii.
Instead, to access the best beaches you’ll have to drive out from the city which brings me to the next point.
Getting to main attractions
To get to the most of the main attractions on the island you are going to have to venture “far” out of the town.
For example, if you want to get to the main beach of the island, Anakena Beach, it’s about a 20 to 25 minute drive. This is also the case if you want to get to Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki, etc.
For this reason, when you visit Easter Island you need a vehicle to get around or you need someone to take you around. Uber is not an option.
Some of the hotels may allow you to rent a vehicle through them. Other times, they will work with a tour provider who can pick you up and take you around. So this is something to be thinking about when choosing your lodging.
We chose to just rent a vehicle for the entire duration of our stay. That gave us the ultimate freedom to explore the island whenever we wanted and I thought it was a great decision looking back, although the company we went through left some to be desired.
We rented through Insular rental car company and while the car was mostly fine, the service was a bit iffy.
They “accidentally” canceled our booking after the refund cut-off date (but would not respond to any of our emails even though we had pre-paid), they told us at booking they would deliver the car and then said they couldn’t, and then when we were able to get over to the rental car building they told us it would be only five minutes and it ended up being like 45 minutes. It just felt very disorganized.
Some people do get around via bicycle or some other type of motorized vehicle such as ATV so those are also options.
Related Easter Island content:
- The Best Places to See on Easter Island (Recommended Reading)
- Complete Guide to Exploring Easter Island’s Rapa Nui National Park
- How to get to Easter Island: Everything You Need to Know
- 21 Things You Need to Know About Easter Island Before Visiting
- Interesting Facts About Rapa Nui’s Geography
- Is Easter Island a Wonder of the World?
Luxury hotels on Easter Island
If you want to have a bonafide luxury hotel experience while on Easter Island there are basically only two established hotels in that category I’m aware of.
First, there is the Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa, which we stayed a couple of nights at. The service at this hotel was great and it has a beautiful and unique design inspired by Orongo, the ancient village found at Rano Kau. It’s also pretty equipped with multiple restaurants, a bar, pool, gym, and spa.
They had only been re-opened for a few months when we visited so they were still finding their stride, but I’m sure as time goes by the experience will be smoother.
Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa can go for $500+/night and it even has an all-inclusive option that includes food along with excursions, so it can actually be a pretty good deal depending on how you find the price. You can read our full review of that hotel here.
There is also the Explora Rapa Nui, which is located farther from the city and has some pretty nice ocean views (from a distance). We tried to check out this hotel during our stay but it was tucked away on the hillside — it definitely has a very secluded feel from what I could tell. This hotel is even more pricey at around $1,800 per night.
I saw a couple of other hotels with high price tags but they did not have the established reviews for me to feel good about booking with them or recommending them.
Mid-tier hotels
If you’re thinking about spending somewhere in the middle tier range between $200 and $400 per night, here are some options:
- Kona Koa
- Taha Tai Hotel
- Hotel Hare Uta
- Iorana Hotel
- HOTEL OHANA
- Hotel Puku Vai
- Hare Nua Hotel Boutique
We stayed at the Kona Koa Lodge which is one of the more remote hotels. It’s located farther away from the city than almost all of the hotels on the island but you’re still relatively close as you can get to the “city” in about 10 minutes while driving.
This distance gives it a very peaceful vibe. Moreover, the bungalows, which are fully equipped with mini-kitchens and private bathrooms, face west so you can enjoy those awesome Polynesian sunsets right from your patio.
There are only a few bungalows and the owners give each guest special attention to help them get acquainted with the island. Moreover, they are only steps away or are reachable by phone in case you need them for anything.
I really enjoyed the four nights we stayed with them and if you want something a bit removed from the city life, Kona Koa Lodge is an exceptional choice. You can read the full review here. Rates are around $250/night.
We also stayed at the Taha Tai Hotel. This hotel is located right in the city very close to Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa and only about a five minute walk to the main street area.
The owner was very friendly and we enjoyed the property. Rooms were very spacious and cool with good AC. They even had TVs!
They also have a really nice pool area. In addition to hotel rooms, I believe they also have villa-type lodging.
Budget hotels
You can find quite a few hotels and hostels for under $100.
We did not experiment with any budget properties but I did see quite a few like: Camping y Hostal Tipanie Moana, La casa del Kori, Cabañas Henua Iti, and Hostal Marari.
The only thing I did not like about some of the budget options is that they did not have many photos or reviews so in some cases it could be hard to know what you are getting into.
Final word
Choosing a place to stay in Easter Island is not that difficult because your options are fairly limited.
Once you decide on a budget, chances are there will only be a few hotels that stick out based on your preferences, photos, and reviews.
I really enjoyed Kona Koa Lodge and for the luxury experience, I also would recommend Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
