Anakena beach belonged to the royal family in ancient times, and it is easy to see why. With its crystalline water, white sand, coconut palms and royal moai, it truly is one of a kind.
At ten metres tall, here lies one of the tallest moai ever to be erected, now but a vestige of its former glory. Nearby sits the famous magnetic circular stone which legend says came to Easter Island from the ancient homeland of Hiva with the first king, Hotu Matuʻa.
One Makehe is an unrestored conglomerate of ahu platforms sitting as they have been for over two hundred years since the islanders turned on the traditions of their ancestors and began toppling the hundreds of moai found throughout the island.
Spend a bulk of the afternoon absorbing the grandeur of the moai that sit half emerged from the soil in Rano Raraku, the volcano crater that acted as a stone quarry and birthplace for these immense figures. Here, hundreds of handsome heads and torsos sit in various stages of carving, still waiting to be transported to their various ahu located all over the island.
Stand in awe at the restored site of Ahu Tongariki, where fifteen stone giants stand watch over the land as silent sentinels, dwarfing all who come into their presence. Restored between 1992 and 1996, this is the most inspiring of the various platforms. Here, fifteen of the largest moai set their stone faces like flint, looking eternally toward the setting of the sun, as well and the comparatively insignificant tourists who come to pay them homage.
Patricio is a fantastic guide! It was a pleasure to spend the day with him. He quite knowledgeable and passionate about the Rapa Nui culture. I don’t feel we missed anything.
My 70-year-old mother and I (40s) used Green Island Tours for our whole trip (multiple tours) to Rapa Nui. From booking to the details, everything was simple and clear. Our guide for most tours, Ludo, made us feel like family. He also tailored our tour for my mom’s physical abilities, avoiding rougher terrain. Great value for the money; I cannot recommend this group enough!
Jojo was an excellent guide. We only had a day and he made the most of it. We saw everything we wanted to see and more.
Our guide Patricio we had for the privat tours Historic pathways and Monument Tour was a nice man and full of knowledge. The Tongariki sunrise we had with Tokerau and the Hidden Treasures tour we had with Joyo. All 3 guides where perfect and had a lot of knowledge. It was interresting and fun. And there was room for small changes. We really recommend this company 🤗
What an amazing experience we had with green island tours 😃. We took the full package... monument tour accompanied by patricio- his knowledge was phenomenal and his enthusiasm for his island uplifting. The start gazing with mark was very special....the sky and stars were endless. Lovely touch of hot chocolate and cake nicely rounded off on the beach # amazing photos. The historical tour was a really interesting insight into local legends with an amazing empanada stop! Our island visit was rounded off with sunrise over tonariki- a little cloudy but still great shots and what a back drop. Highly recommend booking with this great company . Great communication throughout from booking to each day trip
We did multiple tours with Green Island during our visit to Rapa Nui. Yo-yo was our guide and he was excellent. It’s a long day but there is so much to see. Bring your hiking shoes as we walked almost 5 miles. Great tour worth ever minute.
The tour with our guide was incredible. Our guide Patricio was very knowledgeable and took the time to explain everything to us. I strongly recommend this tour as it shows how magnificent is this island.
The trip with Patricio was incredible! We really enjoyed. Patricio was a great guide and gave us very good information. He was always on time and great company! We highly recommend Patricio! You can contact him on this number +56 9 8892 2917.
We had several activities booked through Green Island Tours for our four-day visit to Easter Island; our first day was an island "highlights" tour, the second day was a six-hour trekking adventure to the top of one of the craters and the third day was a sunrise visit to the Moai monuments at the beach. All of these activities were private activities with only the two of us and our guide, YoYo. We had an excellent time on all of these activities; YoYo was a fantastic guide and he clearly has great pride in being Rapa and showing his home to visitors. With a mixture of historical perspectives, philosophical musings, humor and deep knowledge about the island, the Rapa culture and the history of the monuments and places, YoYo immersed us in the history, customs and lifestyle of island living. Except for the time that he was away at university, YoYo grew up on the island and is raising his family there. YoYo speaks excellent English and was extremely interactive during all of our activities; more importantly, he instinctively knew when to tell a story and when to allow us to simply marvel at the sanctity of some of the sites. It was truly awe-inspiring to take in the island in this way; it is clearly a special place. Most importantly, YoYo made us feel welcome and comfortable as visitors to his world; he was prompt in picking us up in the morning and was very mindful of our comfort when hiking or when in the car on our way to various sites. We joked how everyone was seemingly related on the island and he seemed to know everyone. He was extremely flexible with our schedule and allowed enough free time for us to hang out at the beach or to spend a little more time at one of the many sites. Although he has been leading tours for many years, we never felt like he was telling us stories by rote or routine; he was clearly engaged in all of the discussions about the sites, the history, the special plants and animals on the island and the activities of his own childhood. He helped make the visit unforgettable for us. We were also fortunate to visit Rapa Nui during the Tapati festival, which was a special view into Rapa culture and the importance placed on their history. Although there were many visitors at these activities, we truly got the sense that this festival was *for* the Rapa people *by* the Rapa people and that they would be holding the same activities regardless of whether there were any visitors. That experience was also very cool and YoYo gave us special information about which activities to watch as several of his children were participating at various times during the festival. Green Island Tours was very flexible to work with and communicated very well; we would recommend them highly for future tours. They made excellent suggestions to help tailor a schedule for us that worked for our visit. Even though we visited during the high season and there were many tour groups of ten or more people at the monuments, we always felt the privacy and intimacy of our days out with YoYo.
The Moai Monuments Tour is an excellent summary of the highlights of Easter Island, and I can certainly recommend it to everyone visiting the island. The tour covers all "must see" places for which the island is famous. Also, the guides are very knowledgeable and speak English very well. Amazing experience!
There are no words to describe the magical experience of being on this Island. Our guide Marc took the day and showed us why anyone would fall in love with this incredible Island.
We booked 4 trips with Green Island tours, they were fantastic from the time of booking to completing the trips. Due to flight changes we had to change a couple of our dates and they were excellent at communicating with us and were able to swap dates which was amazing and we really appreciated their understanding and help. Sadly we couldn't do the stargazing which was one of the trips booked due to weather but again the communication with Green Island was great and they can't control the weather! The other 3 tours were 2 full days and a sunrise, we had Yo Yo as our guide for the 3 days and he was excellent. He is so passionate about the Island and its history and he really brought it all to life for us. We had the most amazing time on Easter Island and we can't thank Yo Yo and Green Island tours enough for exceeding all our expectations and making our visit so magical. Book with Green Island tours and you won't be disappointed.
Absolutely faultless tour. Ludo my guide had an incredible knowledge and passion. We visited all the important sites associated with the Moai’s, he inspired me to ask questions and was happy to take photos. Pickup was on time and I didn’t feel rushed at any point on the tour. A day to remember for a lifetime. Thank you
We were so lucky to have unbelievably wonderful guides. We visited many sites and learned so much about Rapa Nui history and culture. I left the island with so much knowledge and peace, knowing that an exceptional group of people exist and this tour company is so committed to sharing what they know and have.
I knew that going to Easter Island was going to be a life-changing experience, so the bar was always going to be set high. And yet I was still blown away. It's a testament to how awesome our guides were. Highly recommended in every way possible.
What a fantastic experience with Marc touring Rapa Nui . His passion for the island really was felt and for a while I felt like a true local. Additionally, Marc's eye for the camera truly captured the beauty of the island and left me with memories that I will take with me forever. Marc also opened up his home to me when I needed some Starlink internet for work - forever grateful!
At the age of 77, and fascinated with Rapa Nui since Thor Heyerdahl’s Aku Aku, I finally visited this mystical island two weeks ago with my son and his wife. Fortunately, my son had set us up with Green Island Tours. Tour guide Marc proved to be well schooled in the archaeology, history, and lore of the island, and he made Rapa Nui and its intriguing moai come alive for us. He was quite generous with his photographic expertise and assisted us in getting the best possible shots. After 2-1/2 days exploring the island with him, we found ourselves wishing we had earmarked more time for touring with him. We got abundant bang for our buck. Green Island earned an 11 out of 10 in our book.
Did three days of touring with Marc’s group and it was amazing! Five stars for sure! Everyone loved it.
We recently took Green Island Tours' Moai Monuments excursion. It was a private tour with Yoyo as our guide. He was very enthusiastic and helpful, full of information about the island and flexible and accomodating with our pace of travel, since we were visiting with our children. Highly recommended!
I selected Green Island Tours based on other reviews of this company and we couldn't have been more pleased! Jojo was our private guide - he's extremely friendly, a native, and knowledgeable of not only the Moi and parks but also the Rapa Nui culture. He notified us at our hotel that we should leave at 8:45 instead of 10am to get to the sites earlier and we were so glad that we did - we were leaving when the crowds were coming at many of the sites. I highly recommend Jojo and this company!
I had only one problem with this tour. The guide arrived 15 minutes late. This is unacceptable. I had reconfirmed the starting time the day before the tour. The guide was good and the sights are very good.
We booked this tour for the 2 of us. Our guide, Tokerau, was friendly and knowledgeable, but most of all super passionate about his island, his history and his people. We toured the top sights of the island. We learned a ton about the history and culture. We were never rushed, and Tokerau was always happy to explain every nuance of the history and culture. He often displayed his knowledge of the astrological significance of things, which is another area he provides tours in through the Stargazing expeditions. He left us eager to try one of those too! Overall a perfect day of seeing the sights and learning the culture from an educated and passionate soul who cares deeply for this region and the world. Pro tip: bring sun screen and a rain coat, the weather this time of year is quite variable! I currently look like a lobster (aka laptop - ask Tokerau)
Can you imagine being the first person at every site on the island? No other people in your photos? Just you, the moai, wild horses and the wind in the grass? Thanks to Yo-Yo, that's the experience we had. He timed everything perfectly, keeping a relaxed pace, giving us plenty of time to explore on our own. And he knew the perfect places to get that special photo. The tour hit all the highlights of the island and I highly recommend it and Green Island Tours.
My wife and I had the recent good fortune to visit and tour Rapa Nui (Easter Island) with Green Island Tours. We took tours over four days including "Historic Pathways", "Moai Monuments", "Hidden Treasures" and "Tongariki Sunrise". We were well prepared for this trip in terms of background research (Highly recommended) and I have been desirous of visiting the island for over 40 years. Each of these tours provided bountiful "eye candy" stimulating endless snapshots. Best of all was the narrative from our knowledgable guides who regaled us with stories and theories to help explain the mysteries behind the Moai. In particular, we have to call out our fantastic guide, Shane, who made this tour amazing and captivating. His great sense of humor and insights were phenomenal. On parting, we felt that we were separating from an old friend. Ask for Shane and we recommend Green Island Tours without hesitation.
What an experience! Had 3 wonderful days with Marc and Patricio exploring all parts of this incredible destination. There is so much to see and to do - not just the "historic stuff". The island is much greener than expected, has several hills and great trails for hiking, a lovely coastline to explore, a variety of decent restaurants in and near town. If you wanna a great private tour experience - this is the way to go. Both Marc and Patricio (and I assume all other staff as well) have an in depth knowledge about the Rapa Nui history, all the sights around the island, the hiking, the people. 3 nights in the island is the minimum you should invest - better 4-5 (thats what I will do next time). Again - Māuru-uru for your great hospitality.
Our Green Island tour guide, Yoyo, was excellent; he had a fantastic knowledge of Rapa Nui history, culture, and legends, e.g., precise names and dates. He clearly explained the significance of site details, and like a good educator, quizzed us on what we saw.
1. Tour covered the east and northern part of the island (most dramatic and important sights) 2. Nice and easy tour pace of each site with great finish touch at the beach (for 1 hour) 3. Considering that the price of this tour does not include park entrance (USD $80) this tour is more on the expensive side
The team that works for Green Island is incredible. I did two full day tours, the two main ones listed other website, as well the stargazing tour. First, a few words about Marc. He lent me his tripod, and when i forgot it in the vehicle and hadn't picked it up from his home, he brought it to my hotel himself. He also saved a trip he wasn't leading when two people hadn't purchased the National Park pass. Marc did the work to solve the situation. My two tour guides were Yoyo and Amos. Yoyo has the knowledge from growing up there, and Amos is also very knowledgeable. Yoyo's constantly upbeat personalty and humour were great. Amos led the stargazing tour, and if you have an interested in the stars, I suggest you sign up. I also got some great photos. (Marc's book is beautiful.) Amos was generous enough to run the tour for me as the only person that night. Because the cost to me is the same, it meant he wasn't pulling in much for his work that night. It shows his dedication to the work as he said they don't want someone to lose out on something they want to do. The itineraries also move at a good pace. I showed the itineraries to the hotel staff, and a few of them thought they covered about 90% of the features. There wasn't a lot left for me to od. Both Amos and Yoyo were generous with their time, and were flexible when I wanted to take photos, and are still able to keep professional. Marc's personality and upbeat attitude is also great. While he didn't lead one of my trips, we had some times to chat in the office. I met some of their family members in the office as well. All of them were very friendly. The office was perfectly located for my hotel. It's a short walk on the edge of town if you are starting in the main area. I would suggest without hesitation to take Green Island tours.
It is a fantastic destination, something that everyone dreams of doing but: 1. It is a destination for no more than 4 or 5 days unless you travel for Tapati, in February. 2. Related to the above, the guides offer two or three excursions and there is not much more to see 3. It is mandatory to hire a local guide for most interesting things. Any Rapanui over the age of 18 can be a guide, but it is better to look and not hire the first one. Check at the Sernatur. 4. Only Anakena, Tahai and the Rano Kau volcano can be visited without a guide. 5. Cars and bikes are rented, both valid alternatives for touring the island at your own expense. 6. Study history before you go.
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