You’ve booked your trip from Santiago, Chile to Easter Island, now what?
Two weeks before my trip, I went online and filled out the FUI form that is required for Easter Island. Well, that did me no good because I had no proof to show the airline attendant when I was checking in to my flight in Santiago, Chile. I had to go to the website again and fill out the form again. This time, though, I received a confirmation email that I showed to the airline attendant. Not sure if you can’t fill out the form in advance or if there was a glitch and I just didn’t get my email confirmation the first time.
At the Santiago Airport, you need to make sure NOT to follow the crowd to the security line. There is a separate security line for travelers to Easter Island. It is located one level below (on the 2nd level). There, you will go through passport control where they will ask you questions about your travel. All they asked me was if it was my first time to Easter Island, how many days I was staying, and where I was staying. That was it! Super easy!
When I arrived on Easter Island, I thought they might do random covid tests, but I didn’t see anyone getting pulled aside for them so maybe they’ve done away with that now. I arrived there on April 19, 2023. I did have to show proof of covid vaccination at the airport in Argentina before I flew to Chile.
Once at Easter Island, there is really only room for one plane. It parks on the tarmac and you have to disembark using the stairs, then walk outside in the heat (hopefully, it’s not raining), and into the airport where you will go to baggage claim.
Departing out of Easter Island was a little more difficult. There was a monsoon that day (I swear – it was like Florida Tropical Storm weather), and the tarmac had so much water on it. So I would recommend rain gear or an umbrella or water proof shoes at the least in case this happens to you. Here is a photo of how deep the water was that we had to walk through just to get on the plane.
My shoes, pants, and shirt were soaked by the time I sat in my seat on the plane. But so was everyone’s. Our flight was delayed 2 hours because of weather but the rain didn’t let up at all when we were ready to board. People were getting shopping bags from the tiny gift shop to put over their shoes, and I doubt it helped.
You can only catch flights from Santiago to/from Easter Island. So you will have to use that as a connecting airport no matter where you come from. On your way back to the Santiago Airport, you will arrive at the domestic terminal. Most likely, your flight will be international (I was flying via Peru when I departed Santiago), so you will have to walk to the international terminal, which is about a 10 minute walk from the domestic terminal. They allow you to take the luggage trolley with you and there are people movers, but you can’t take the trolley on the people movers. I threw my backpack and carry-on onto a trolley and walked the 10 minutes to the international side with no issues.
Hopefully, you have a smooth trip to/from Easter Island and don’t get caught in a monsoon. LOL.
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