The meaning of Hanga Roa is wide or long bay. It is the only town on the Easter island and is located on the south west part of it. The town is home to 90% of the population of the island whose composed of mainly 50% locals and 50% continental Chilean plus some foreigner but in small numbers.
It is here that everything is located. Airport, ports, shops, renting agency, travel agency, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets…
Something to be aware is that mainly everything will be open from 9:00am to 1:00pm and 4:00pm to 8:00pm.
Mapping the day
Supermarket
On the map, we pin point one supermarket but there are many of them all along the main street. We personally found out that the supermarket had quite a lot and that we could really find most of what we would need to cook.
Different supermarkets will also have different products to offer. If you do not find what you are looking for, go to another one. We did it quite a few times in order to find all the vegetables we wanted.
Another great spot for vegetables is what is called local market. It is open mainly in the morning and is located behind the agricultural and handicraft shop (local shop). There, you will find what is made on the island.
In terms of price, we also were quite surprised. We were expecting all products to be much more expensive:
- Wine bottle: 5 800
- Oatmeal: 2 200
- Tortellini: 1 800
- Pasta: 950
- Milk/Yogurt: 3 100
- Tomato sauce: 750
- Asparagus can: 1 950
- Heart of palm can: 2 450
- Egg: 250
- Tuna can: 990
- 4 Bananas: 1 500
- 2 Avocados: 2 200
Restaurant
Eating in a restaurant on the Easter island is quite expensive. Going for a piece of pie and a coffee is affordable though. But a complete meal would quickly come with lots of expenses.
- Pisco sour: 4 500
- Cocktails: 5 000 to 9 000
- Wine: 15 000
- Empanaditas de la case: 10 000
- Camaron al Pil Pil : 13 500
- Pasta con vegetales: 13 500
- Rissoto de Vegetales: 14 000
- Pulpo al Olivo: 17 000
- Baby black Ribs: 18 000
- Ceviche: 14 500
WIFI and INTERNET
You need to be aware that there is almost no WIFI on the complete island, but you can still find it in some accommodations or restaurants in Hanga Roa, closed to the city centre.
There are two public WIFI spot. One of them is at the end of the main road and one behind the ATM’s. We tried both on them and none worked.
For restaurant, we asked a few places but all of them didn’t have it. We tried Temoai sunset, but the connexion was really slow. If you are looking for a good WIFI, we would recommend Rapa Nui café, you can’t miss it. It is the coffee shop with an ILLY sign on it.
ATM
There are 3 ATM’s on the island, all located in Hanga Roa. There are working fine. They didn’t run out of cash as we withdrawn to pay our accommodation. Only problem is that you get charged some huge fee to withdraw.
Pharmacy
Also present on the island. You can find it across the local market. It is a pretty big one.
Things to do in town
If you are looking for things to do in town, there are a few options.
Watch the turtle in the port: At the end of the port, on the left between the boats and the peer look down and try to spot sea turtles. It is also there that you can ask for scuba diving.
Visit the Cemetery: Experience a cemetery like you have never seen before. As here colors and Moai are present on the tombs.
Visit the local market: Looking for souvenir? Pay a visit to see local handicrafts and souvenirs.
Visit the beach: You don’t need to go all around the island to be able to swim. Small beaches are also in town.
National park ticket
One of the first thing to do when arriving is to buy a ticket for the national parks. To access all the main site on the island a ticket will be needed. You can buy in the ticket office in town for 54 000cu. It gives you unlimited access to all site and 1 time entry to Orongo and Rano raraku for 10 days.
The ticket office is located in a street near the Pharmacy.
The money stuffs
Here are all our expenses on the Island except for the accommodation. (Another post will follow for it)
“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville
