Air Travel

Easter Island's shoe-box-size Aeropuerto Internacional Mataveri is on the southern edge of Hanga Roa. LATAM Airlines operates all flights from Santiago to the east and Tahiti to the west. Eight flights a week arrive from Santiago throughout the year (twice on Monday and Thursday, none on Tuesday), and one from Tahiti. Planes are often full in January and February, so it's best to book well in advance.

Tickets to Easter Island are expensive—up to $1,000 for a round-trip flight from Santiago. There are better deals, however, if you buy your Santiago to Easter Island ticket as part of a multileg ticket that includes your flight from your city of departure to Santiago.

At the airport, the CONAF (national parks service) office outpost sells tickets for Rapa Nui National Park, which you need to get into all archaeological sites. As these tickets are sold in only two other places (Central Comunidad Indígena Ma'u Henua on Atamu Tekena Street and the CONAF office in the Mataveri neighborhood), it’s usually best to pay the US$80 fee right at the airport.

Contacts

Aeropuerto Internacional Mataveri. Av. Hotu Matu'a s/n, Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Valparaíso, 2770000. 32/2210–0277; 32/2210–0278.

LATAM. Av. Atamu Tekena s/n, Hanga Roa, Hanga Roa, Easter Island, Valparaíso, 277000. 32/2210–0279; www.latam.com.