Easter Island, Chile
Explora Rapa Nui: A 30-room, all-inclusive exploration lodge outside Hanga Roa.
Explora Rapa Nui is a 30-room, all-inclusive exploration lodge on Easter Island, positioned for guided days rather than Hanga Roa nightlife. The house organises full- and half-day explorations around guest interests and fitness, with certified bilingual guides and groups of no more than eight. Its current overview says 30 guided explorations, while the complete official archive contains 35 live cards; treat the daily guide meeting as the real planning tool instead of assuming every archived activity operates on every date.
The room choice is straightforward but consequential. The 26 Varúa Rooms are 32 m², and the four Raa Suites are 44 m²; both are arranged with one king or two twins, have a jetted bathtub and list an occupancy of two. Views are described inconsistently as sea versus garden-and-ocean, so book the outlook directly rather than treating either as guaranteed. The Raa Suite is the only category that may take the conditional extra bed for an age-2–12 child; cribs are subject to availability. The lodge publishes no connecting-room, accessible-room, terrace or room-service specification.
The base programme includes meals, beverages, wine, open bar, guided explorations, National Park fees and round-trip Mataveri airport transfers. It also includes meals/snacks on full-day explorations, trekking poles and necessary cycling and snorkeling equipment. Be precise about the exceptions: spa treatments, private guiding, private airport transfers, taxis, calls and laundry are extra; official scuba cards and the destination FAQ say diving is third-party and extra despite broader inclusion pages listing it among explorations. Premium alcohol may also carry a supplement.
Arrange arrival details and the first guide meeting before you fly. Mataveri is roughly 15 minutes by Explora van; check-in is after 13:00 and check-out is 10:00. Hare Vaka has a sauna, outdoor pool and hot tub with basic facility access included, but treatments are extra and no spa/pool hours are published. The dining room’s public dinner service is 7:30 PM–9:00 PM with 24 hours’ notice for non-residents; that is not a published reservation rule or meal schedule for staying guests. Wi-Fi can be variable and there is no cell coverage at the lodge.
Book Explora for a guided, small-group way into the island, particularly with four or five nights to let the guide team match routes to your fitness. Skip it if you need town access, a villa-sized room, fixed resident dining hours, an independently operated spa schedule, or every water activity included. Retained traveler aggregates are high, but their lower room/value sub-scores reinforce why the Varúa-versus-Raa and included-versus-extra distinctions should be settled before arrival.
First day
- Share flight details for the included Mataveri transfer and aim for the recommended noon arrival if you want an afternoon exploration after check-in.
- Meet the guide team each evening to set the next day by fitness and interest; National Park visits require a certified guide.
- Arrange Hare Vaka treatments before arrival or at the lodge, and settle whether a private guide, scuba or premium alcohol belongs in the budget.
What guests say
Hotel Flock Score
Exceptional
Based on 971 published ratings
Category breakdown
Guests Love
Guides and island access
Retained traveler evidence values the guide-led structure, archaeological landscapes and a lodge base that makes full exploration days easy to plan.
Quiet lodge setting
Retained traveler evidence values the low-key, remote lodge atmosphere after active days rather than an in-town hotel environment.
Guests Warn
Room scale
The retained room evidence supports choosing deliberately: Varúa is 32 m² and Raa is 44 m², rather than treating either as a villa-style category.
Programme exceptions
Retained value feedback should be read with the house’s stated extras in mind, particularly treatments, private arrangements and third-party scuba.
The overall score is a review-count-weighted average of named public platforms, normalized to /10. Category scores — including cleanliness and location — are Hotel Flock editorial readings of those reviews, not a platform's private formula. Hotel Flock is not affiliated with Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Trivago, or any other review site.
Awards & Recognition
One MICHELIN Key
MICHELIN Guide
First hotel in South America to receive LEED certification (2009)
U.S. Green Building Council / Explora
In the stay
- Accommodation, meals, beverages, standard wine and open bar, plus meals/snacks on full-day explorations.
- Guided explorations, National Park entry, round-trip Mataveri transfers and the listed cycling/snorkeling equipment and trekking poles.
- Basic Hare Vaka spa-facility access, including the sauna, outdoor pool and hot tub.
Usually extra
- –Hare Vaka treatments, private guiding, private transfers, taxis, calls and laundry are outside the programme.
- –Scuba is described on official cards as third-party and extra; premium/specialty alcohol may also cost extra.
Good to Know
- Round-trip Mataveri transfers are part of the all-inclusive hotel programme; private transfers cost extra.
- Varúa Rooms are 32 m² and Raa Suites 44 m². Only a Raa may take the conditional extra child bed.
- All National Park areas require a certified guide, even though park entry is included.
- Wi-Fi reliability can vary and the lodge reports no cellular coverage. Paid landline service is available.
- Hare Vaka facility access is included; treatments are extra and official hours are not published.
Editor's Note
The guide programme is the point. Reserve a Raa only if the child extra-bed rule or additional 12 m² matters, and do not treat public dinner hours as the resident schedule.
Reviewed by Hotel Flock · Last updated August 2026