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I noticed that you traveled to Easter Island. I am going in a few weeks, and I have a few questions. What was your favourite part of the trip? What did you miss that you wish you could have done. What would you not do again. Any advice on how much time to spend on sites? I am staying for a week like you, am planning on doing some hiking. Now after reading your blog, I am reconsidering the "scooter" idea :-) Loved reading some of your posts!! Thanks for sharing and helping fellow travelers!! Audrey from Canada

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Hi Audrey,
The hike up to Orongo was definitely one of our highlights, it's about a 2 hour hike from Hanga Roa so no transport needed, though you can drive up there too. The site itself is very interesting with a little museum that explains everything, but the volcanic crater is just stunning!
Rano Raraku is the other site that is unmissable as it has loads of moai scattered up the hillside as it was where the statues were carved.
These two sites, Orongo and Rano Raraku are the only sites you'll need to show your national park entrance ticket which is $50 for 5 days, so if you're staying for longer than this it's worth thinking about. All of the other sites we went to you could just wander around and there was no ticket booth or anything.
My two other favourite sites were Tongariki and the one on Anakena beach.
As regards to transport, the cheapest way is to rent a scooter, but the roads aren't great so it depends on your budget and scooter ability really! Another idea would be to rent a scooter one day and a car the next and do everything you couldn't do by scooter.
You can do tours too, but we liked being independent, and then you can choose how much time you spend at a site, some are more preserved than others (the ones I've mentioned are the best in my eyes) and so we spent longer here than at others.
Hanga Roa itself is a really nice little town, and the only place where there are any shops etc, so take lots of water and food for day trips around the island! They do a film night once a week where they show a film about the island which in hindsight I wish we had done. Also the church and museum are worth visiting.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions! Have a great trip!
Lucy