My frugal Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Solo Itinerary And Budget for 5 days.

I snagged a cheap flight to Easter Island (Rapa Nui).
This is my multi-part guide to everything I did, how I did it, and what it cost.

Part 1: Getting to Rapa Nui & Where to stay
Part 2: Beyond the Moai: Exploring Rapa Nui, Its National Park & Statutes
Part 3: Food, Entertainment, Getting a Tattoo in Rapa Nui
Part 4: My Solo Travel Easter Island itinerary & Budget – 📍You Are Here

How long should you visit Rapa Nui to be able to see everything?

I’m a big believer in ‘you’ve never see everything or experience it all’ but in my circumstance, I booked 5 nights because, well, thats when the cheap flights were – on a Thursday and a Tuesday.

HOWEVER, on my tours there were people that were flying in from Santiago, doing a one day tour the next day, and flying out the third day – effectively only spending 1 day on Rapa Nui. These people admitted themselves that this was really tight and more of a ‘I always wanted to but I really don’t have much time’ trip but the 1 day tour I took did give a very comprehensive history of the island, the culture, and you saw almost all the iconic stuff.

For the time period I booked with only basic research before, I was happy with. I could have easily stayed another couple days. The beaches were gorgeous and you could easily spend a day lounging in the sand or in the shade nearby on the grass, visited more of the cultural places or museums, or taken a slower pace and experienced things more deeply. You can rent vehicles to get around and exploring the non national park areas independently would give you another dimension of life there.

My 5 day Easter Island Itinerary

This is where your personal experience may be different than mine, however, to give you a general idea of what you could do and the pace you would need to have, if you wanted to see everything I did.

Day 1

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11:25 Flight from Santiago to Rapa Nui
14:50 Arrival on Island and picked up at airport by the hostel
15:30 Check-in, unpack, talk to room neighbours, go grab some groceries
18:00 Meet up to go to Kari Kari Show
Watch sunset after the show on the coast and visit the local Christmas and nativity display (it was, after all, Christmas time!)

Day 2

10:00 – 17:00 Tour Day 1 – Many of the National Park Sites and a comprehensive trip around the island
Dinner with friends at Le-Frits Restorbar and a walk around town
Doomscrolling in bed exhausted and ‘going to bed early’.

Day 3

05:00 – Sunrise tour to Ahu Tongariki
07:00 – Home to hostel, breakfast, nap, laze around
10:00 -17:00 Tour day 2- Visiting the beach, other cave sites, and historical areas including the Bird Man competition area
Dinner at hostel
20:30ish Astronomy Tour

Day 4

Slow morning, catch a ride with a friend on an ATV around town
Mid-day tattoo appointment
Hang around town, shopping, touristing
Birthday dinner with friends at Napo’ea

Day 5

Slow morning, packing up, eating the last of my groceries
Saying goodbye to new friends
16:40 Flight off the island
3:10 Arrival back in Santiago.

How Much Did Easter Island Solo Trip Actually Cost?

$1,695.38 CAD

This is my budget from Santiago, Chile – I was already in Chile before my trip and where you live will greatly change the price of the travel to South America so this is for things that would be the same for everyone.

Flights from Santiago: $608.71 CAD/ $446.81

Hostel (4 nights): $297 CAD/ $211 USD

Transportation: $0 I paid for zero transportation methods and catching a lift with in the back of a truck with a local (the excitement of the state police was also free). Even my hotel to airport on the way there was free, and I crashed in the airport overnight after as my flight to canada was 8 hours after coming back from Rapa Nui.

National Park Ticket: $139.22 CAD / $97.62 USD

Tours and Entertainment:

Astronomy Tour $200.91 CAD/ $143.18 USD
2 Day Tour $305.92 CAD / $214.49 USD
Tattoo $95.33 CAD/ $66.79 USD
Kari Kari – Free for me!

Food: $143.61 CAD / $100.73 USD

Was Easter Island Worth it?

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

I’ve been a lof of places in the world and Rapa Nui was one of the few places where it was comfortable, educational, and still authentic instead of a manufactured tourism experience. Yes, there were plenty of tourist shops and places selling trinkets that were certainly manufactured in workshops far away in Asia and sold at a premium, but tourism is a large industry for the islanders and protections on residency and tourism requirements seem to have kept the island in a state where they can gain income from those visiting without making the place unaffordable for those that call it home.

I would say my trip would be classified as extremely budget with escorted tours. Food should have been more than it was. Most people would probably end up with some transportation costs. I was extremely lucky to make fast friends with 2 amazing sisters at the hostel from Santiago de Chile.

I am normally a lone wolf, especially in countries where my language skills are less than pristine. But C + M were sure to include me and we became fast friends, the type that can easily laugh at your absolutely abysmal spanish skills while still understanding your message.