Two private full days, two of the strongest ratings on the island: a 4.9 moai monuments day at $230, and a $294 archaeology day whose every review has been five stars. Your own vehicle, a certified Rapa Nui guide working only for your party, and a clock that answers to you.
From $230 per person, private vehicle and guide, 48 traveller reviews between them, not one below four stars.
Short answer
A private day on Easter Island runs $230 to $294 per person and buys the one thing the group vans cannot sell: control of the clock. Same certified-guide requirement, same sites, but the vehicle waits while you photograph the quarry in changing light, and the itinerary bends around a toddler's nap or a photographer's patience. The $230 moai monuments day is the flexible generalist; the $294 archaeology day goes deeper at fewer sites. For parties of three or four, the per-person math starts beating the premium group tours.
Private touring solves the two frictions the group circuit cannot: pace and attention. The island's sites reward patience unevenly. Some visitors want twenty minutes at a platform; a photographer wants ninety at the quarry alone. In a shared van, everyone gets the average. In a private one, the average is you.
The guide rule makes the private format unusually good here. Because every park site requires an accredited local guide anyway, a private day does not add a guide, it removes the crowd around one. The conversation goes where your questions go: the toppling wars, the topknot quarry, what the ancestors mean to the family your guide grew up in. Both operators on this page are island companies with certified Rapa Nui guides.
Prices are the current from-price on each live listing and move with your date and group size, so the listing is always the authority.
Most reviewed in this category
A private vehicle, a certified guide, and the major ahu at whatever pace your group sets. Linger an hour at the quarry if that is your thing, skip what is not. The strongest-rated way to see the island without sharing the day with strangers.
Seven private hours built around the archaeology: Akahanga's toppled giants, the quarry slope at Rano Raraku, Tongariki, Te Pito Kura's giant fallen moai, the largest ever raised on a platform, and Anakena where the first king is said to have landed. Every review this listing has ever received is five stars.
Both run the island's great sites with a private vehicle and guide. The difference is emphasis: breadth against depth.
| Moai monuments day ($230) | Archaeology day ($294) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.9 across 28 reviews | 5.0 across 20 reviews |
| Length | Full day | 7 hours |
| Shape | The major ahu and quarry, sequenced to your pace | Fewer sites, longer: Akahanga, the quarry, Tongariki, Te Pito Kura, Anakena |
| Best for | First visits, families, photographers wanting flexibility | Archaeology-minded travelers who want the full story at each stone |
| Cancellation | Check the listing terms for your date | Free up to 24 hours before |
| The per-person math | Private prices are per person, and the gap to the $200 boutique group narrows fast: for a party of four, the private day's control of the clock costs $30 to $94 more per head than sharing a small van with strangers. For two, it is a bigger premium; decide what the pace is worth. |
|---|---|
| The park ticket | Separate as always: $100 per foreign adult, ten days, single entry at Rano Raraku and Orongo. A private guide is the best way to spend those single entries well; say what you care about at pickup and the day gets built around it. |
| Language | The operators here run bilingual Spanish-English guides; reviewers on both listings write in English and name their guides. If your party needs another language, ask through the listing before booking rather than at the van door. |
| Booking window | Private days are the scarcest product on the island: one party per guide per day. High season and Tapati sell them out first. Book as soon as your flights are fixed. |
A vehicle, a certified guide working only for your party, hotel pickup in Hanga Roa, and an itinerary agreed with you. Park tickets, lunch and tips stay on your side of the table, as they do on every tour on the island.
The two carded days focus on the moai circuit, and that is where their reviews were earned. Operators will discuss adjusting emphasis when you book; the crater rim and birdman village can anchor a second private day if your ticket's Orongo entry is still unused.
As soon as flights are fixed, and genuinely earlier than for group seats: a private day is one guide and one party, so the inventory is a handful of slots per date across the whole island. December through March and the Tapati window in late January absorb them weeks out.
Yes; the island's weather is fast-moving and the day flexes around it, which is another private advantage. A shower at the quarry becomes coffee in Hanga Roa and a return in sun. The exposed sites are windy in any season, so pack the layer regardless.
Worth a look when budget beats pace: the same headline circuit in a shared small group.
Worth a look for the whole island: both circuits, Orongo, and the Tongariki dawn.
The caves, the beaches, the diving and the crater hikes that fill the days between tours.
Reading first: How many days to plan · Where to stay in Hanga Roa · The moai, properly explained
