After a few days in chilly Patagonia hiking and hanging out with Penguins, we made our way to the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island).

After landing in Hanga Roa we made our way to our hotel, which was really cool and homey, and we had an amazing view of the ocean. The town of Hnaga Roa is where all the residents of the island live, the rest of the island is deemed a national park and is uninhabited.

My 40th birthday happened to take place shortly after arriving in Easter Island. To celebrate we went to a dinner and a show in town (Hanga Roa), showcasing traditional Rapa Nui dance and food.

We spent the next day driving around the Island in our rental car. At the time there were only certain places tourists were allowed to go on the Island without an official guide (like the main town of Hanga Roa). We spent most of our day at Anakena beach swimming and sunbathing. The beach was awesome and we even got to see a few Moai. The Moai here represents the site where the legendary chief Hotu Matu’a first landed on Rapa Nui.

After the beach we headed back home until it got dark. That night we walked to a park which was a popular sunset spot Ahu Thai. Watching the sun set over the Moai was magical.

The next morning we woke up extremely early as we had a full day tour with a certified guide to explore the island, our guide worked with us to curate a customized itinerary hitting all the spots we wanted to see. There are so mazing sites to see, you could easily stretch your guided tour over multiple days. Our day took us to the following sites:

Ahu Tongakiri: Sunrise

Ahu One Makihi: Fallen Moai

Rano Raraku: (Quarry where all Moai were carved)

Orongo Village/Rano Kau/Motu Nui: Place of the legend of the bird man.

Ahu Akivi: (Archeological site positioned to face the setting sun during the spring Equinox)

Ana Te Pahu: Lava tube/cave

That night after our tour we walked back to Ahu Tehai for another magical Sunset.

The day after we had booked a snorkeling tour around Moto Nui, the water was very choppy and a bit cold, but when we got back we found this little protected area with puffer fish and Sea Turtles swimming about so we spent s bit more time snorkeling.

After snorkeling I rented a surfboard and spent a couple of hours surfing.

The next morning we woke up and decided that a Tattoo would be an amazing souvenir from our trip. My tattoo combined both Rapa Nui and Polynesian symbols.

Our time on Easter Island was so cool. The people, the food, the weather, the culture, the Moai were beyond amazing. Hopefully you enjoyed my story. Thank you for stopping by and as always, Saif Travels!