There's something liberating about hopping into a tiny rental car and charting your own course, especially in a place as remote as Easter Island. With its pastoral scenery, towering moai statues, and rugged coastline, the island invites adventure at every turn. There are no set schedules, no guides—just you, the car, and miles of untamed beauty.
We started our week on Easter Island by exploring Hanga Roa on foot, focusing on the free activities. On our second day, we joined a full-day tour of Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki, and other sites that require a guide.
Once we'd seen a little of the island, we rented a car for our final three days, blending half-day guided tours with independent excursions. We often felt like we had the South Pacific island to ourselves while driving our compact Suzuki along its paved roads.
Based on our experience, I've compiled a one-day itinerary to illustrate what you can see and do independently. But first, let's look at some of the rental options and costs available to travelers.
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Renting a Car
One of Easter Island's great charms is its diminutive size. On the day our LATAM flight from Santiago landed, we checked into our seaside guesthouse and took a leisurely walk through Hanga Roa, the island's only town. From the moment we'd committed to visiting Easter Island in 2024, Kel was intent on renting a car so we could have maximum flexibility to photograph the moai.
As we walked down Atamu Tekena, one of the main streets running north-south through Hanga Roa, we stopped at several shops to inquire about rental car rates. The quoted prices got progressively cheaper, which shows that it's worth shopping around.
Our first stop was Haunani Rent a Car, where the menu ran from a compact, automatic Suzuki Celerio for 90,000 pesos ($96) to a manual Land Rover Defender for 250,000 pesos ($268). All prices are for 24 hours. We were quoted a slightly discounted price for a two or three-day rental.
The cheapest price was on the same street at O Nei Rent a Car, where an automatic Suzuki Spresso went for 70,000 pesos (about $75 per 24 hours). In addition to the low base rate, we received a discount for renting the car for three days. The total cost for our Easter Island rental car was $208.
Moreover, the vehicle was practically brand new, with less than 5,000 miles on it. Given the island's remoteness, rental car insurance isn't available, so use a travel credit card with some coverage.
Since the island is so tiny, you're unlikely to use a lot of gas to get around. Even in our little car, we didn't use a full tank. Refilling it at the central gas station, Bomba de Becina, cost us $18.42. Now that I've shared the logistics and costs of renting a car on Easter Island let's explore what an epic day of self-driving can look like.
Easter Island Attractions
Sunrise at Ahu Tongariki
Watching the sunrise at Ahu Tongariki, at the northeast end of Easter Island, is a popular activity. For a few months of the year, the sun rises directly over the Pacific Ocean behind the ahu (platform) with the 15 restored moai statues.
However, as we'd learned previously on a guided visit, May was not one of those months. Instead, the sun would rise further north over the nearby Poike volcano and hit the statues at an angle.
Of course, we were up for whatever nature had in store, so we departed our guesthouse in the rental car at around 6:30 a.m. for the 12-mile drive across Easter Island. It takes about 30 minutes, and traffic is one thing you won't have to worry about! About a dozen other cars were parked in the small dirt lot adjacent to the site when we arrived.
Without a guide, we had to remain outside the stone wall encircling the protected area to take photos. Kel had her Canon DSLR, and I took pictures with my iPhone Pro as usual. I'd brought a light tripod I bought for our trip to Big Bend National Park.
As the sun began to rise into a mostly cloudy sky from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., we watched the sky change colors multiple times. At first, there were fiery reds, oranges, and yellows. These gave way to a cooler purplish hue, and then streaks of pink reflected across the clouds.
At 8 a.m., a group of horses trotted to a pond behind us just as a rainbow appeared. The rainbow began in a field and ended over Rano Raraku volcano, the quarry site the Rapa Nui people used to carve the island's moai statues.
We spent about an hour and forty-five minutes photographing and watching the sunrise over Ahu Tongariki. Since we weren't on a group tour, we had the luxury of time and witnessed everything that emerged that morning, from the sun, surf, and horses to a beautiful rainbow.
Cave Paintings
When you leave Ahu Tongariki, drive south briefly along the coast for about 0.8 miles to the turnoff with a road leading north to Rano Raraku. There should be a sign for it.
Park on the ocean side of the road and look for the entrance to a cave (I geotagged it on Google Maps). We only knew there was something to see because another car had already parked there.
Inside, visible rock art depicting birds adorned the walls. Before our trip, we'd read about how the Rapa Nui people used these naturally formed volcanic caves. But nothing in the books brings them to life, like standing where they were created hundreds of years ago.
I never did get the name of this particular cave. However, there are many others, some of which are accessible and others that are not.
Ana Kai Tanata is just south of the airport runway along the coast and visible from above (or by boat). It's nicknamed the “Cave of the Cannibals.” Another well-known cave is Ana Kakenga, north of Ahu Tahai. In Spanish, it is called Cueva de las Dos Ventanas (“Cave of Two Windows”).
Ahu One Makihi
Just south of the cave Kel and I visited is Ahu One Makihi, an ahu that doesn't look all that interesting from the road. While it hasn't been restored, it's still worth a closer look.
As we walked around the side of One Makihi, two fallen moai were resting on their backs, one heavily eroded and the other with a very distinguishable nose. The top knots carved from red scoria lay nearby.
Rudimentary signs (here and wherever moai are found) warn visitors against touching them. And while we both longed to get closer, we remained at a safe distance so as not to disrupt the archaeological site.
Rano Raraku from a Distance
Restaurante Julio Calderon Chave is about 0.8 miles from Ahu One Makihi, near the exit of Rano Raraku. While you need an official guide to enter the quarry where moai were sculpted, you can still admire the scenery from afar.
Kel and I had already taken a tour of Rano Raraku when we got our rental car, so we'd seen the moai up close. But I'm glad she wanted to return, as it's such a unique spot. The massive moai and their placement on the volcano's slopes make them visible even from a distance, offering a breathtaking view.
Ahu Hanga Poukura
Drive about eight miles west toward Hanga Roa town from Rano Raraku, and stay to the left instead of veering right on the paved road to reach Ahu Hanga Poukura. This unrestored site along the coast features many partially buried moai. The guardrails surrounding them are also a bit neglected.
A warning: You'll be on a stretch of dirt road for a minute or two, and I'd advise against this if it's raining. The only time we grew concerned about our little Suzuki's capabilities was in the rain on this dirt road when the tires, caked in mud, lost traction, and the car began skidding (fishtailing). Kel slowed down, and we made it to the platform and back to the paved road, but it was momentarily harrowing!
Lunch at Akankena Beach
Chances are you'll be eating most of your meals in Hanga Roa town, so I recommend driving to Anakena Beach for lunch. From Ahu Hanga Poukura, it's about a 10-mile drive that takes about 20 minutes. And it's not much further if you're driving from Hanga Roa. Anakena offers the only sand beach on Easter Island and a nice scenery change from the rough volcanic rock coastline.
Several vendors will be happy to prepare delicious food and drinks for you. They take credit cards, so there's no need to carry cash. I had one of my best meals of the week at Kona o' Pule: a Polynesian ceviche with local tuna. Once you've eaten, you can walk over to the restored moai at Ahu Nau Nau and Ahu Ature Huki and swim (FYI, the water was super cold).
One thing I regret not doing is taking the time to walk to the Mirador de Veleros at the far end of the beach. It would've been a good vantage point to capture the entire scene.
Ovahe Beach
Anakena is far and away the most significant beach on Easter Island. However, nearby Ovahe Beach is also worth a quick look. A small caldera (that appears as a grassy hill) separates Anakena from Ovahe. Unless you want to hike around it, hop in your rental car and follow the Easter Island roads south and northeast for one mile to a small parking lot.
You'll see “Ovahe” carved into a rectangular rock and a beat-up metal sign warning of dangerous currents and falling rocks. Walking down a small dirt path, you'll see a gorgeous coastline view. Looking south in the afternoon toward Poike volcano, it's easy to imagine the molten lava that once flowed into the ocean.
An outcropping, like a tongue of black volcanic rock reaching out toward the waves, is marked with a slender wooden sign with some words in Spanish. The sign says to be respectful as these rocks were once used as a cremation site.
If you look north from this point, you'll see a small cove home to Ovahe Beach. We were there in the afternoon when the caldera shaded it from the sun. It appeared to be high tide, so water covered most of what I presume was the beach.
Photos from users who've left reviews of Ovahe Beach on Google Maps show there is sand there, though it was hard to tell if that's still true. Given that the beach was mostly covered by water due to high tide and that you had to climb over volcanic rocks to reach it, we didn't get closer.
Papa Vaka Petroglyphs
Driving your rental car about two miles east of Ovahe Beach will take you to Papa Vaka, the site of the largest petroglyph discovered on Easter Island. The immense rock slab in the ground features a carving of a canoe with two hulls measuring 39 feet (12 meters). The site is named after it, as Papa Vaka means “stone canoe.”
The figures carved into the rock have a marine theme, signifying the importance of fishing in Rapa Nui culture. In addition to the canoe, a fish hook, tuna, shark, octopus or squid, and crab are depicted.
Despite the grass blown across the rocks, we could recognize and appreciate some carvings. However, this is one site where you'll benefit from a local expert who can show you the best places to stand, what you're looking at, and what it means.
We also noticed a small entrance to a cave at the site. Regarding lighting, the best times to visit Papa Vaka are in the early morning and toward dusk, when the sun is lower in the sky.
Pu o Hiro
One mile east of Papa Vaka is Pu o Hiro, a small rock with a hole through it that was once used as a musical instrument. Pu o Hiro means “trumpet of Hiro,” the god of rain. This ceremonial stone would've been used to call for rain during periods of drought.
At the time, I was more interested in the dramatic view looking northwest, back to where we'd come from. The turquoise waters starkly contrasted with the dark and gathering storm clouds.
See also: Staying at Nayara Hangaroa Hotel on Easter Island
Kel and I managed to snap some photos just before the sky opened up with more rain. May, the month that worked best for our trip to Easter Island, is historically the wettest of the year.
Sunset at Ahu Tahai
It's about a 13-mile, 30-minute drive from Pu o Hiro on the northeast coast to the Tahai Ceremonial Complex north of Hanga Roa on the west coast. Get the timing right, and you can end your day as it began, watching the sun move through a colorful sky with moai and the ocean as your backdrop.
Wrapping Up
Easter Island's small size and open roads make it perfect for a day of self-guided exploration in a rental car. Renting a car allowed us to discover its iconic moai, hidden caves, and sweeping coastal views at our own pace. From watching a colorful sunrise at Ahu Tongariki to winding down with a sunset at Ahu Tahai, we soaked in every bit of the island's beauty. I hope this one-day itinerary inspires your adventure on this remote, magical island.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
