Dive Review of Orca Dive Center/stayed in hotel in
General Travel/Other Locations/Easter Island

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Orca Dive Center/stayed in hotel: "Unusual and Beautiful Easter Island", Jan, 2019, by Laura Mosqueda, CA, US ( Contributor 14 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 10858 has 4 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Getting there is a challenge. Navigating the Santiago airport is not easy as it is poorly marked and poorly staffed. Lines move very slowly and the security folks seemed mostly unfamiliar with dive gear (we put regs and computers in our carry on). It seems like the flight between Santiago and EI is not on time with some regularity. We stayed at a hotel (Manavai) that was really convenient to the dive shop and I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason. It was poorly maintained and the staff were not particularly flexible or friendly. We mostly did our diving in the morning and did land tour in the afternoon. Diving is from panga (back roll entrance) with good ladder and good help to exit water. Boat rides were typically less than 15 minutes and we came back after each dive except for one day when we went further out. The diving was very interesting... quite a few endemic species because it is such a remote location. Some huge areas of coral beds, all pastel colors. Interesting walls, particularly around some of the motu (the base of nearby uninhabited islands). Beautiful scenery in the way of boulders, rocky reef, corals, swim throughs with spectacular lighting, etc. There is not a great fish density but it was fun to see endemic species and interesting that there were such large numbers of trumpet fish in a variety of color phases. Water temp 76. The diving was really lovely! Orca dive center and the DM Christian are simply fantastic.... Knowledgeable, enthusiastic, safe, reasonable (we were a group of 5 experienced divers). Once we set up our gear on the 1st day they had our rigs ready for every dive. We were diving for 5 days and kept our equipment at the shop which made it so convenient. They rinsed our gear every day and especially after the last dive. Seeing the moai topside was a real treat, and it was a great trip.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	California, Socorro Islands, Cocos, Indonesia (Komodo, Lembeh, Wakitobi), Papua New Guinea, Sea of Cortez, Red Sea, Galapagos, Hawaii
Closest Airport	Easter Island	Getting There	Need to get to Santiago and then get flight to EI from there. The Santiago airport is bustling and confusing. Leave enough time to get your bags transferred and then wait in a slow line to get yourself transferred to the EI flight. There was a specific line for Easter Island, separate from other destinations so look for it. Don't be surprised if there's a flight delay, so be sure to check.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	74-78°F / 23-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	no deco
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	(not a photographer)

Report currently has 4 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Orca Dive Center/stayed in hotel in General Travel/Other Locations/Easter Island

Orca Dive Center/stayed in hotel: "Unusual and Beautiful Easter Island", Jan, 2019,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Orca Dive Center/stayed in hotel in
General Travel/Other Locations/Easter Island