Easter Island with Road Scholar

I read the subscriber’s letter “Did Not Find Expected Amenities on Easter Island” (June ’13, pg. 24) and can sympathize with the writer’s experience, as most of us who are world travelers (125 countries so far, for me) have been disappointed when our expectations failed to meet with reality. However, on a tour I took to Rapa Nui, “The Atacama Desert & Easter Island: Different Worlds,” operated by Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768), I had just the opposite experience. 

The 20-day trip, Oct. 5-24, 2012, cost $7,925, including air from Miami and internal flights. Everything was included in that price: wonderful, experienced local guides; excellent, centrally located lodging; meals, including wine and specialty drinks, and all tips. When they say all-inclusive, they mean it!

I was thrilled beyond compare with the arrangements, the leadership, the lectures, the hikes, the accommodations and the exhibits we visited. We took drives throughout Rapa Nui and had lots of opportunities to walk among the monoliths with experts.

We were booked at Hotel O’tai, a beautiful garden hotel with excellent food and service, one block from the beach. 

The writer wrote of “stray dogs all over.” Yes, there were dogs, but I never felt any threat from them. The most dangerous encounter I had was when a horse and rider came up the hill toward me at a fast pace in the center of town. I quickly moved out of their way.

This tour was perfect in every way, including the part in Chile’s Atacama Desert, and therefore I make my most important point: if you travel to a part of the world that isn’t connected with the easy amenities we are used to, it may be best to travel with a tour company that is well experienced with those challenges. Rapa Nui’s remoteness was part of its charm for me, but I chose to visit with a tour group.

The thrill of the monoliths — unimaginable except in person — was well worth the 5-hour flight from mainland Chile.

MARILYN STENVALL

San Diego, CA