I visited Easter Island in April 2009 and although several of the previous writers have decried the "development for rich American tourists" (actually I heard more Spanish, understandable, and Italian) the island is still relatively undeveloped and not the golf course self contained hotel disasters one sees elsewhere. In fact the only town is Honga Roa and it retains a somewhat down at the heels but charming quality. Sure there are T-shirt shops but there are grocery stores and hardware shops too. Don't expect beautiful beaches and lush landscapes either but there are those statues.

The chief attraction are the statues or moai. I found the sites where the moai have not been re-erected to be the most interesting as one can get a better sense of the past and paradoxically what they might have looked like when standing. There is a haunting sadness to the site of a toppled, broken moai that affected me more than the standing statues, those those are certainly dramatic and not to be dismissed. Getting around requires either a tour, a four wheel drive (many of the roads are not just unpaved but little better than dirt paths) or a car with driver though I did see lots of bikes. Prices were not exorbitant. Four days at a minimum are necessary to really get a sense of the island and there are many interesting hikes and some caving. I spent one day hiking the northern coast (about six hours) where there are no roads but some of the most spectacular sites. Getting lost is impossible--keep the ocean on your left.

Most of the literature talks about "the collapse" or the ecological disaster leading to civil war but much of that is under dispute, so go with a skeptical approach to most of the theories. The museum is small but provides a good foundation for the visit.