Uluru Tours From Alice Springs

You wake up, the sun is shining and the cicadas are already chirping across Alice Springs; an ambient buzz which rises and falls to drown out all but the loudest sounds. Some preparation has gone into today: you have applied sunscreen, filled up your water bottles and tied up your hiking shoes for a day of adventure in Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park. Your destination: Uluru.

The bus ride from Alice Springs to Uluru takes close to five hours. During this time, the tour operator will explain the cultural significance of Uluru: that it is a spiritual site with great importance to the local indigenous people, the Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara, whose ancestors’ spirits are believed to reside at the site. You will be told about the rites of passage which have taken place on this sacred land, which has been home to indigenous Australians for over 60,000 years.

Alice Springs to Uluru Bus Tours

There are a variety of tour operators who offer one to four-day bus tours from Alice Springs to Uluru, some via Kings Canyon. The following list is a guide to some of the day tours available.

AAT Kings

AAT Kings offer guided one-day and multi-day tours from Alice Springs to Uluru. Tour patrons will learn about the geography and native flora and fauna from a local guide during their bus ride, which stops at Mt Conner for refreshments. Tours also include stops at Kings Canyon.

Red Centre Connections offer transfers between Ayers Rock and Alice Springs (A6/Y6).

Emu Run Experience

Emu Run offers air conditioned coaches, lunch and beverages on their one and two-day Alice Springs to Uluru bus tours. Both tours include the Guided Mala Walk, Guided Mutitjulu Waterhole Walk at Uluru, the Walpa Gorge Walk at Kata Tjuta, visits to the Aboriginal Cultural Centre and a stop-off at Mount Connor Lookout. Two-days tours also include a trip to Kings Canyon Station and Kings Canyon and overnight accommodation at Sails in the Desert Resort.

1 Day Uluru & Kata Tjuta Tour - Start / End in Alice Springs or Start Alice Springs / End Ayers Rock or Start Ayers Rock / End Alice Springs

Self Drive Alice Springs to Uluru

Driving to Uluru from Alice Springs can be done by intrepid travelers with a thirst for adventure. Drivers and companions can stop off at Rainbow Valley, Stuart Wells Roadhouse, Erldunda Roadhouse, Mt Conner Lookout, Curtin Springs and, for those going to Kings Canyon, Henbury Meteorites. All of these sites offer spectacular views of outback vistas hallmarked by red sands, spiky spinifex grass and unique rock formations under a predominantly clear-blue sky.

If you are looking at doing this yourself, but flying into the region book your car hire through the Alice Springs Visitor Information Centre for unlimited kilometres.