Most of the attractions on Easter Island require a guide, so you generally have two options: book various day or half-day group tours, or arrange a private tour. While most guides speak Spanish, there are a few who are fluent in English. There’s even a WhatsApp group for the island’s tour guides where you can post your needs and wait for a response.
Initially, I reached out to a few and found their English to be decent, but considering my parents don’t speak English, I decided to book the only private tour with a Chinese-speaking guide on the island. It turns out he has also hosted Huo Shaolai. He is a Swede who married a local woman, and his English is actually quite good; his Chinese is sufficient for daily communication, which greatly enhanced my parents’ travel experience.
If your English is good, it might not be necessary, but this person is very reliable. His relatives also offer private tours in English, so I’ll give them a little shout-out.
Since it was a private tour, we had the flexibility to customize our itinerary. We managed to pack all the ticketed attractions we wanted to visit into one day, and by having the guide drive the car we rented, he gave us a discount. In the end, we visited Anakena (the red topknot moai in picture 
and the palm tree beach), Orongo (Birdman Village), Te Pito Kura (the largest moai, which has fallen and not been restored, plus the navel stone), Tongariki (15 moai), Rano Raraku (the quarry), and Ahu Akivi (seven moai facing the sea).
I didn’t see any day tour group that included all these attractions, so I think a private tour is definitely worth it.
We set off at 9:30 in the morning and returned to the homestay around 6:00 in the evening. We cooked some instant noodles at the homestay [winking face][winking face], rested a bit, and then went out to watch the sunset. It was a perfect and fulfilling day.
That’s a great tip about the WhatsApp group for guides! It sounds like planning a self-guided trip requires some effort, but it could save money. Have you considered combining tours to cover more ground without breaking the bank?
Absolutely, combining tours is a smart way to maximize your experience without overspending. It can help you cover more sites and often leads to group discounts. Planning does take effort, but the savings and flexibility make it worthwhile. Thanks for your insightful comment!