Easter Island Holidays

I booked the Easter Island extension with Exodus at a cost of £1299 plus compulsory single supplement of 345. There was no loyalty discount. Flights from Santiago to EI were not included but if you book your own flights with LATAM it is possible to add the EI return to your ticket for far less than a standalone return ticket which costs around £800.
For the money charged by Exodus you get:- group transfer from Santiago hotel to airport for EI flight (a taxi would cost £25-30)
Picked up from airport and taken to hotel in EI (hotel offers a free pick up service)
3 nights at the Hotel Otai – per notice in reception charge for single room was $190, double room $260 us dollars
Two separate half day tours in a minibus and one full day trip – these cost around £25 for each half day tour and £70 gor full day with lunch but are multi lingual. We had mainly English speaking morning trip but Spanish/English in afternoon and mostly Spanish on day trip. When asked, our Guide suggested that you could have a private guide for around £100 a day – this would be preferable as English speaking and you could visit the various Moai sites at the best times of the day.
Transfer back to EI airport – again offered free by hotel.
Pick up at Santiago airport and taken to hotel – taxi would cost £25-30.
One night B&B at Santiago hotel
Airport transfer from hotel to airport for homeward flight but be warned – Exodus expected us to leave hotel at 05.20 for a flight leaving at 17.00 because they were only offering one transfer and one of our group was flying to Mexico on an early flight. Attempts to contact Exodus in UK went unanswered and local agent only arranged transfer after we had booked a taxi through hotel.
I fully appreciate that Exodus need to make a profit on their tours but there is a difference between making a profit and ripping off loyal customers.
It is much easier for couples to make their own arrangements than solo travellers but you could save almost half what Exodus charge by making your own arrangements and it would be straightforward to pre book tours, hotel etc.

Linda Stalker Easter Island Extension

We added Easter Island to our Discover Chile tour (which was excellent) but were very disappointed with the Exodus service. The accommodation in Hotel Otai was very good but could easily be booked direct and there are lots of alternatives near the centre. The main reason for the review was the very poor guide service. We expected Exodus to maintain it usual high standard especially in a location as dramatic as Easter Island. On the 1 day tour our guide was hugely disappointing – she didn’t accompany us around the sites; her knowledge was very shallow; and she was just not interested. On day two we had a younger male guide who was engaged and knowledgeable but catering for a group of 21 across 2 languages was a major shortfall. We also found that the flight costs wold have been cheaper if we booked direct. My recommendation is definitely to visit the island; make the arrangements directly; three nights is sufficient; book a day long individual guide locally; and rent bikes to revisit the places you liked.

Eamon Keating Easter Island Extension