Camping Mihinoa

Easter Island may be small, but it packs a lot in. It’s only 64 square miles, so getting around most of it during getaways is a cinch. Start explores of the largely flat (and occasionally gently sloping) island by getting on a bike and cycling the pretty coast – the stretch from Hanga Roa to Rano Raraku and Ahu Tongariki is particularly highly recommended. The volcanic coast is undoubtedly stunning, but some hols just aren’t complete without a day on a sandy beach. The nearest is the white stretch of Anakena about half an hour’s drive from the site, which is spectacularly pretty and the rumoured site of the island’s first settlement. Of course, one can’t come all this way and not pay respects to the Moai (the famed Easter Island heads). It’s about 30 minutes to Ahu Tongariki, the biggest Moai site on the island, and 20 minutes to Ahu Akivi, the only Moai site where the statues face the ocean. For perfectly photographable moments, take a 25-minute walk from the site to Ahu Tahai, where most evenings a row of five Moai are silhouetted against the setting sun. There’s more history to the island than that too: the ceremonial village of Orongo is 15 minutes away, there are former cave dwellings to explore at Ana Te Pahu within 25 minutes, and the written story of the Rapa Nui is told in petroglyphs at Papa Vaka, half an hour from base.