How to get to Easter Island: flight routes, real costs, entry rules, and honest tips from a traveler who’s actually flown there.
I can picture the exact second the seatbelt sign switched off. The woman beside me leaned across and said, “We are right in the middle of nowhere now.” She was right. All around us stretched 3,700 kilometers of open blue Pacific. The nearest piece of land was so far away it barely counted as an answer. Welcome to Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, as the islanders prefer. It’s one of the most remote inhabited islands on earth. That isolation is half the fun of getting there, long before you lay eyes on your first moai. If you’ve landed here after searching “Where Is Beevitius Islands? A Travel Guide, you’re probably curious about some of the world’s most remote island destinations. Easter Island is one place that absolutely deserves your attention.
If you’ve been googling “how to get to Easter Island,” you’re probably one of two types of readers. You’re either “mildly interested,” or you already have three travel sites open comparing airfares. Either way, I can help. I’ll walk you through exactly how I got there, what caught me off guard, and what I wish I’d known. I’ll also cover everything else you need to make this trip happen.
The Short Answer: There’s Only One Way In
If you just want the quickest answer to “How do I get to Easter Island?” — here it is. Let’s get straight to it, because I know that’s why you’re here. The only practical way to reach the island is by plane. There’s really only one airline that does the service: LATAM Airlines. There are no ferries. No cruise lines even treat Easter Island as a stopover point. There are no ramshackle backpacker boat routes either. Unless you’re planning to attempt Thor Heyerdahl’s raft crossing, you’re getting on a plane.
When I first learned this, I’ll admit it scared me a little. I’m used to having choices: budget airlines undercutting each other, red-eye trains, that one desperate bus line. Easter Island isn’t like that. There’s a strange kind of honesty in it. There’s exactly one door, and you either walk through it or you don’t go.
Flying From Santiago, Chile: Your Main Route
This is the route I took, and it’s the route roughly 95% of visitors use. Here’s the deal:
- Departure city: Santiago, Chile
- Arrivals airport: Mataveri International Airport (IPC), one of the most isolated commercial airports in the world
- Flight duration: 5 hours 30 minutes
- Airline: LATAM Airlines, and only LATAM Airlines
- Frequency: Around 7–12 flights per week, more during summer peak
I booked my ticket about six weeks in advance, and it turned out to be the ideal window. Historical travel data shows the optimal booking period is around 40 days before departure. Cheap fares also tend to show up on Tuesdays. I didn’t know any of this at the time I just got lucky. You don’t have to rely on luck, though.
Here’s an analogy that helped me wrap my head around the flight time. Flying 5.5 hours over open ocean is roughly like flying from New York to London. Except instead of landing in a city of 9 million people, you land on a tiny volcanic rock. Only about 8,000 people live there, and horses wander freely near the runway. I’m not exaggerating I watched a horse stroll past the airport fence. The Boeing 787 I’d just landed on was still taxiing at the time.
What the Flight Actually Feels Like
By hour three, I gave up on the flight tracker map. It looked almost comical just blue water and our tiny plane icon, with no other landmasses or flight paths in sight. It’s a strange, eerily quiet feeling. It’s not exactly scary, more a sense of how small a dot you really are on the planet. If you’re afraid of water, I won’t lie to you: this flight will test that a little. But the moment that tiny green triangle of land appears in the window, it’s genuinely moving. I actually heard a woman behind me let out an audible “Whoa.”
Flying From Tahiti: The Alternate Route
There is one other way in: flying via Papeete, Tahiti, in French Polynesia. LATAM has historically operated this route as part of a Santiago–Easter Island–Papeete triangle. And by “historically,” I mean loosely. This route has had a rocky history. LATAM has suspended it, reinstated it, cut it to weekly service, and suspended it again — largely due to lower passenger demand than the Santiago route.
If you’re coming from Europe, or combining this trip with French Polynesia, this route looks great on paper. Then you check the schedule and realize it might run just once a week, if at all. That weekly frequency means you could be stuck on Easter Island for six or more days if you fly in from Tahiti. That’s not necessarily bad there’s plenty to do. But it’s a very different trip than a quick weekend hop from Santiago.
My honest advice: check LATAM’s current route map yourself before planning around the Tahiti connection. Don’t assume it exists and build your whole itinerary around it.
Getting to Easter Island: What Is the Best Route? At a Glance
| Route | Departure Airport | Flight Time | Frequency | Reliability |
| Santiago → Easter Island | SCL | ~5h 30m | 7–12 flights/week | Reliable, near-daily service |
| Tahiti → Easter Island | PPT | ~5h | Historically ~1 flight/week | Frequently suspended — check before booking |
Is It Possible on Cruises or Boats?
I get this question a lot, so let’s settle it. There’s no ferry service passenger or cargo that tourists can book to Easter Island. A few expedition cruise lines do stop there on longer South Pacific itineraries. But these trips are sporadic, seasonal, and entirely weather-dependent. They’re not a reliable transportation option. If your goal is simply to reach Easter Island, a cruise is a roundabout and expensive way to do it. Think of it like taking a cross-country road trip to reach an airport three blocks from your house. Feasible. Not wise.
Here’s where I want to be straight with you, because prices on this route can swing wildly.
- Budget/off-peak booking (6+ weeks ahead, shoulder season): Round-trip fares tend to run $350–$700 USD.
- Peak season (December–February) or last-minute bookings: Prices often climb to $800–$1,000+ USD round trip.
- The sweet spot: Book 6–10 weeks ahead and fly midweek Tuesday departures are usually cheaper. This combination tends to give you the best balance of price and flexibility.
Given LATAM’s near-monopoly on this route, don’t expect the fare wars you’d see on a route like New York–Miami. No rival airline is going to swoop in with a $99 promotion. Chilean regulatory oversight does help keep prices from spiraling completely out of control. Still, budget for this flight as the special, remote journey it is not as a quick local hop.
Booking Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me
These are the small, practical details that make the difference between a relaxing trip and a stressful one. They matter most when you’re figuring out how to get to Easter Island for the first time.
- Book directly through LATAM when possible. Third-party sites sometimes show flights that are already full, outdated, or no longer operating. I was almost caught out by a route listed on a comparison site that hadn’t actually flown in months.
- Give yourself a buffer day in Santiago. Flights to Easter Island are limited, and you don’t want a delayed connection to make you miss the one flight of the day. I stayed overnight in Santiago before my flight. It turned out to be one of the smartest decisions of the whole trip, and Santiago is worth exploring in its own right.
- Pack as if you’re heading somewhere genuinely remote, because you are. Once you arrive, there’s no midnight run to the store if you forget sunscreen or a pill. The one grocery store on the island is charming, but it’s not a 24-hour superstore.
- Double-check baggage limits. LATAM’s baggage rules for this route can differ slightly from their mainland domestic flights.
A Quick Word on Entry Requirements
Easter Island is a Chilean territory, so the same entry requirements apply here as for Chile as a whole. There’s no separate “Easter Island visa.” If you need a visa for Chile, you’ll need one here too. Most travelers from the US, EU, UK, Canada, and Australia can visit without a visa for tourism. Still, check current Chilean entry rules against U.S. State Department guidance before you fly. Your passport should also be valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates — a good rule of thumb for international travel generally. Chilean nationals can use a national ID card instead of a passport on this domestic route.
On arrival, you’ll pay a small tourist entrance fee. It helps preserve Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. Think of it less as a tax and more as a small toll — the price of walking among some of the most extraordinary archaeological sites anywhere.
Why the Isolation Is Actually Part of the Magic
Here’s the thing I didn’t expect: the difficulty of getting there completely changes how you experience the place once you arrive. The extra effort and cost keep overtourism away the kind you see in Venice or Barcelona. My favorite moment: standing at dawn at Ahu Tongariki, watching fifteen enormous stone moai turn a warm orange as only a couple dozen other people looked on. That kind of scene simply doesn’t happen at easily accessible places. Easter Island’s remoteness is always present, and honestly, I like it.
I still think about that flight a lot those three hours of nothing but open water. It felt like decompression. It was as if the island were making me earn the arrival, slowly shifting my mind out of “errands and appointments” mode. By the time Rapa Nui shimmered into view, I was ready for it in a way I never would have been after a quick 45-minute puddle jumper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take a ferry to Easter Island? Nope. No scheduled ferry or boat going there can be booked by tourists. The only viable option is a seat on a LATAM flight.
What is the duration of the trip from Santiago to Easter Island? About 5 hours and 30 minutes nonstop, crossing nearly 3,700 kilometers of open Pacific Ocean.
Do I require a visa to go to Easter Island? Easter Island is a Chilean territory, so the same entry rules for Chile apply here. Many nationalities don’t need a visa for short-term tourism, but always check current requirements for your specific passport before booking.
Can I fly to Easter Island from anywhere but Santiago? Yes, historically via Tahiti, but that service has an irregular track record and is often grounded. Santiago is the more dependable route.
When is the best time to book flights to Easter Island at the cheapest prices? On average, booking 6 to 10 weeks in advance gets you the cheapest fares. Departing midweek, Tuesday through Thursday, tends to offer the best pricing too.
Is Easter Island worth this long trip? Having been there myself, I’d answer honestly: yes. The remoteness that makes it hard to reach is also what preserves its tranquility, untouched feel, and true grandeur once you’re standing in front of the moai.
The Bottom Line
To sum up how to get to Easter Island: it isn’t hard, but it does take planning. Fly into Santiago, book your LATAM flight to Mataveri Airport a few weeks ahead, and pack light. You’re heading somewhere with no backup Target to run to. When you finally step off that plane, tired from the long haul across the sea, you’ll feel the fresh Pacific wind on your face. It’s a trip worth every minute.
Additional Resources
- LATAM Airlines : Whether booking directly or checking fares, verify the current schedules for the Santiago–Easter Island and Tahiti–Easter Island flights.
- Rapa Nui National Park: Entrance information, regulations, and details on the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community that manages the park.
- Chile International Travel Information : The latest information on entry conditions, passport regulations, and travel advisories for Chile.
