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OK all, any ideas… I’ve just managed to get myself and my wife to Santiago in November, courtesy of the Swiss/Lufty sale, and we”d like to get onward to Easter Island. Skyscanner/Google simply returns no results, presumably as Easter Island is still ‘closed’, so no flights bookable. When they do reopen, any tips on LATAM, seemingly the only option, and even better a mileage redemption of some sort… can’t find since BA/OneWorld partnership stopped.
Have you checked LATAM Chile website? All domestic LATAM flights in South America are cheaper if booked via local websites. Just double check that they are not resident rates, for example LATAM Peru does not make any distinction between resident and non-residents since 2019 so if you book via Peruvian website it’s nearly half price then via foreign websites.
Also you can also still book them on Avios, but it requires a call and they won’t show on online search either. Best bet is to search either via Iberia or much easier on Delta and they have same availability as BA.
LATAM is no longer in OW, but they retained partnerships with OW airlines except with AA.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
OK all, any ideas… I’ve just managed to get myself and my wife to Santiago in November, courtesy of the Swiss/Lufty sale, and we”d like to get onward to Easter Island. Skyscanner/Google simply returns no results, presumably as Easter Island is still ‘closed’, so no flights bookable. When they do reopen, any tips on LATAM, seemingly the only option, and even better a mileage redemption of some sort… can’t find since BA/OneWorld partnership stopped.
I’m afraid I can’t help re flights as that will depend on when Easter Island reopens. Historically, LATAM was the only airline. I hope you are able to get there as it is one of the most magical places we have ever visited. I don’t know if you have looked at accommodation, but it may be worth looking at Explora; it’s very expensive but the whole setup is exceptional. It is not luxury; nowhere is on the island is, but the location, organisation, trips, generosity/quality of the included food & wine and the people make it very special. They also have places in the Atacama Desert and the glaciers which are also the best places in their locations.
In the event that they don’t reopen the island, I believe they are going to restart flights to Bariloche in Argentina, just over the Andes from Santiago, another quite remarkable destination and with the economic situation in Argentina, everything is a fraction of the price of Chile.
When Easter Island (or Rapa Nui as you’ll call it once you’re there) is open to visitors again, the flights will be on LATAM I’m sure.
We stayed on the outskirts of Hanga Roa and then took local tours, which were great. We took a private tour to see the statues and then a group one to see the volcanic sites. Hanga Roa is a nice place to be able to look round at your own pace with some really good restaurants. Explora is further out and in a different price bracket to everywhere else on the island.
You should definitely visit Easter Island if you can. We also loved the Atacama Desert.
This suggests maybe April
Hi
We did this as part of our 2019 RTW trip, mostly done with Award flights.
I was looking for a one way flight as our next stop was PPT-Easy and cheap with AVIOS.
I researched the SLC IPC route and found that in theory Avios flights could be booked, but there were never any available.
It was also possible to use American Airlines miles but the cost was too high.After research I used the https://www.latamairlines.com/cl/es web-site to book one way Business class flights SLC-IPC
They cost £300 pp and were actually refundable and earned AVIOS!Using the UK site these flights would have been £1500 pp
A return flight would have been the same £300 pp IIRC.
So have a play around with both the Lan Chile and UK site site to see what the fare differences are.
I had no problem buying and using tickets on the Chile site with my UK CC.
On Easter Island we used AirBnb, who then “hired” their car to us. Way cheaper than hotels and car-hire agencies.
There is no car insurance on the island so drive carefully.IMHO you do not need a tour as the island is very small and the tourist sites are well marked and easy to get to by car.
Roads are Ok and there’s very little traffic.
We stayed 3.5 days. Arrived 13:00 day one and left 23:00 day 4.
Ample time to see all the sites.
This suggests maybe April
I can’t add anything to the Easter Island info, but I can give a reference for the company that Masaccio’s link takes you to,
We had a 21 day tour of Chile and Argentina in March 20 which got interrupted by the arrival of Covid and both Arg and Chile closing their borders. We completed about 8 days. All the connections/routings/hotel choices they provided were very good. Would definitely recommend.
Apologies for the thread diversion.
IMHO you do not need a tour as the island is very small and the tourist sites are well marked and easy to get to by car.
I agree that you don’t want to go on some organised your, but it really is worth having a guide. There are some good one way treks where you want to be dropped at the start and collected at the end and the trails are generally not marked. Also, while the main tourist sites are marked, others are not and you need some local knowledge to visit places at particular times for the sun (to see and for photos) plus avoiding the rain in some places at certain times and they will show you things you would never have found. That’s all in addition to having someone who can tell you more about the island than you will ever read.
We stayed at Altiplanico Easter Island few years back. It’s not a luxury hotel, but the setting is beautiful and authentic.
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