The Complete Guide to Easter Island

This guide is absolutely fabulous, whether you want to plan a trip to Easter Island (in the South Pacific, about 7 to 8 hours flight from Santiago, Chile) or just want to read about this exotic and remote island. I found the Guide fascinating and extremely helpful about all aspects regarding Easter Island, including where to stay, what historic sites to visit, and the eclectic history regarding Rapa Nui (as it's Polynesian name is known). A lot of thought and detail has been put into this hearty book. If Easter Island is on your mind, I recommend this book whole heartily.

One of the best guides we have used. Lots and lots of helpful information. Accurate. Good history. Made our week in Easter Island with a car and no guide a very rewarding experience.

I traveled to Easter Island in November, 2005 and this book was essential for planning the trip. None of the major guidebooks such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides devote more than a few pages to Easter Island, but The Complete Guide to Easter Island is as good as its name implies. The book has a section titled Practical Matters that lists hotels and guesthouses on the island. The guesthouses are not reviewed, but the addresses, websites and email addresses are listed which is helpful. Restaurants are listed as well, but the most helpful part of this section is the discussion of prices so that you know what to expect. Buy this book for the section about the history of the island. The author is passionate about Easter Island and it shows in his writings about the history of the people and the Moai. If I had not read the history, I would have missed out on a lot while I was touring the island. The author goes as far as including appendices about the Rapanui language. However, the most important section of the book is the description of the sites on the island. The descriptions are short, but are hugely beneficial if you are touring on your own. (I don't like tour groups and so I rented a jeep). Plus the book includes a map of the island and sites which proved to be more useful than the map we got on the island. The author even includes a suggestion for five days of touring on your own. Really good stuff. Easter Island is an amazing place. Give it time so you can explore. We rented a car and had a tremendous experience during the seven days were on the island. But, I really believe that my experience on Easter Island would have been lessened if I had not had this book to help with the history and to understand what it was I was seeing. If you are planning a trip to Easter Island, this book will be a very small part of the cost. It is an investment you wont regret.

This guide book has it all. It is up to date, complete, comprehensive. There is a dictionary of the Rapanui language and fold out maps in color. If you are planning a trip, it is indispensible.

It is rare that a guidebook that claims to be complete is actually complete. However, "The Complete Guide to Easter Island" by Shawn McLaughlin, published by the Easter Island Foundation (http://www.islandheritage.org) contains ALL the information that anyone planning a trip to Easter Island could possibly need. The book is also a wonderful addition to the library of armchair travelers, covering all aspects of the history and culture of this amazing island. The book provides detailed and accurate information about all the myriad archaeological treasures on the island, with maps, and a suggested five-day itinerary, as well as the practical information about hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, bars, and stores that every tourist needs. There is a complete glossary of terms that are found in the literature about Easter Island and, for the serious tourist or interested amateur who wants to speak to the islanders in their native language, there is a lengthy Appendix that provides a basic grammar and vocabulary in Rapanui. The book is amply illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps. Shawn McLaughlin has not only taken advantage of the information that he collected during several trips to Easter Island, he has also consulted with many of the world's experts on Easter Island and with native islanders. The thoroughness of his approach is reflected in a guide to Easter Island that is complete in every sense of the word. Don't even think of going to Easter Island without it but, if you choose to stay home and dream of exotic and faraway places, this is a book that will not disappoint you.