The heart of Australia, Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), absolutely can’t be missed on your trip to Australia! However, when planning it can feel expensive and confusing! We’ll give you a few tips on how to plan Uluru and some money saving tips!
- How to get there?
- Where to stay?
- When to visit?
- Yulara
- Uluru / Ayers Rock
- Kata Tjuta
- Kings Canyon
- How long do you need?
How to get there?
Driving: A lot of people would chose to drive from wherever they’re staying. Others choose to fly to Alice Springs, hire a car and drive from there. This is a great option if you love road-trips but keep in mind even from Alice Springs its a long 4.5hr drive!
Flying: Flying to Yulara airport is the easiest and fastest option. We also found flying the cheapest option, as hiring a car in Alice Springs was very expensive! It is then very expensive to hire a car in Yulara but it was so tourist friendly we found it really easy to get around without a hire car!
Train: There is the option to get the train that runs between Adelaide and Darwin, which stops in Alice Springs. This is by far the most expensive option and still leaves you paying more to get from Alice Springs to Yulara. However, if your budget allows this would be an amazing way to see the outback!
Where to stay?
The easiest place to stay is in the closest town to Uluru called Yulara. Accommodation can be booked through the Ayers Rock Resort Website. There are 6 different hotels and 1 campground. There are all popular so be sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment.
The campground books up the fastest and sadly we missed out on this one. Sleeping under the stars in the dessert would certainly an experience! Keep in mind that even though it’s hot during the day, temperatures can drop low overnight. Check the weather and make sure to pack enough layers!
The cheapest hotel is the Outback Lodge which is slightly further away than the other accommodation. More coming up on how to get around Yulara! The other budget options are The Lost Camel and The Outback Hotel which are closer to the main square. These are the only accommodation options in Yulara, so you’ll find they’re more expensive than your average hotel room! There are often deals that reduce the room price if you stay longer than 3 nights which gives you longer to enjoy the red centre.
When to visit?
Uluru is spectacular to visit at anytime of year but there are a few factors to consider when planning.
We recommend visiting in May to September, where the temperatures are much cooler (20-30 degrees). This allows you to comfortably complete all the incredible walking tracks. This is peak season so there will be more people. However, we went in June and it still felt quiet!
Outside of this, expect temperatures of over 35 degrees! You can still view Uluru from all the incredible viewpoints, but completing the longer walks would be a challenge.
It’s also worth considering the times for sunrise. In summer the sun will rise at approximately 5:45-6:30, compared to in winter 7:15-7:30. This makes those winter mornings a much easier alarm to catch the sunrise.
Yulara
There’s a lot to enjoy besides visiting the national park. We took part in several free activities like a didgeridoo lesson, a bush food guide, a talk about the stars, and painting wooden animals.
The town has plenty to offer for food options, bare in mind that a few of the restaurants book out so it’s best to make a reservation as soon as you can. There are also several gift shops with locally made craft goods and a small supermarket.
Walking a short way out from the town after sunset gives you the opportunity to do some amazing stargazing.
How to get around Yulara?
If you’re staying in the campsites or hotel accommodation in Yulara, there is a free shuttle bus. This runs regularly between each of the accommodations and restaurants. The town is also pretty small so you can walk to most places quite quickly.
Uluru / Ayers Rock
Now the main reason you’re here, what is the best way to see Uluru?
Self-drive:
The Uluru National Park visitors centre is a 20 minute drive from Yulara and has free parking onsite.
Please note that a Parks pass is required for all those who wish to visit the national park (this includes Kata Tjuta). These can be purchased on the Parks Australia website. Passes are valid for 3 days but can be extended for free at the visitors centre in Yulara.
Tours:
Hop-On Hop-Off Buses:
We chose this option, and it was very easy and affordable! The bus left the resort five times a day on a loop around the rock. We enjoyed the flexibility and never felt rushed, it even included departure times for sunrise and sunset viewing.
Most of these buses will have a timetable which will change throughout the year so it’s best to check their website for the most up-to-date information.
Yulara Viewpoints:
Yulara has several viewpoints a short bus ride or walk away from the main town. We stayed in The Lost Camel and it was less than a 5 minute walk to the closest viewpoint. This is great for rolling out of bed to catch those early sunrises!
Imalung Lookout:
Uluru Lookout:
Kata Tjuta:
A short 40 minute drive from Yulara, takes you to Kata Tjuta. Although less famous that Uluru, it’s still a sight to behold! Here, there is a 2.5 hours circuit walk through the valley of the winds.
We did this as a day tour from Yulara, including heading to the viewpoint for sunrise.
Kings Canyon:
If you have more time than we did, you can join a tour or self drive to Kings Canyon.
This is a 3 hour drive away but can still be completed in a day trip. Once there you can complete the Kings Canyon Rim walk which takes approximately 2 hours.
You can also do 2 day tour and spending the night at one of the local campsites or hotels. This will allow you to catch the red colours of the canyon at sunrise and sunset!
Tour Advice
When we were booking our trip, we struggled to work out what the tour company options were! While we were there, we made a list of all the tour companies available. We booked both our tours through the Ayers Rock Resort website. We’d recommend the Desert Awakenings and the Field of Light experiences!
Companies:
- ATT Kings
- Inspiring Journeys
- Uluru Hop on Hop off
- Ayers Rock Resort
Field of Lights Star Pass:
Desert Awakening:
How long do you need?
We recommend spending 3-5 days to see everything the red centre has to offer at a comfortable pace.
Example Itinerary
Day 1: Explore Yulara’s free activities and viewpoints.
Day 2: Sunrise and Uluru Basewalk using hop-on hop-off bus. Catch the sunset at one of the viewpoints in Yulara.
Day 3: Desert Awakenings and Field of Lights.
Day 4: Kata Tjuta day trip and valley of the winds walk.
Day 5: Optional Kings Canyon day trip
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