Uluru National Park (Ayers Rock) Travel Forum

My husband and I are arriving in Uluru in about 3 weeks and have nothing planned. We are flying into Uluru and flying out of Alice 4 days later. We were hoping for a self drive itinerary including the Olgas and Kings Canyon. Not having much luck arranging this at any sort of reasonable price. Seems that one way fees are a killer in addition to cost of staying at Yulara. Any one done a similar itinerary? Any tips or suggested timetables? Thanks a bunch.

It's great to do this trip driving.
I would suggest that you stay at the camping ground in the Cabins.
They seem to be the cheapest accommodation in this village area.
When you stay at any accommodation in Uluru you can use all the other facilities.
The camping ground is only a short walk from the village centre.
You can hire a car at Uluru and drop off in Alice. Some of the larger rental places don't charge a drop off fee.Cars are being driven between these destinations all the time, so look for one that doesn't do a drop off fee.
You can do the sunrise at the *Rock* then head onto the Olgas and do a walk there.
Then that evening head back and do the sunset at the *rock*
The next day head from Uluru to Kings Canyon. Here they have hostel type accommodation which is reasonable. It is shared bathroom facilities, but they are very good. I have stayed here and I was happy. You can then drive to the Canyon and do an early morning walk.
Stay another night at Kings Canyon and head off early morning to Alice.
You can head around the Mereenie Loop road. This takes you through some beautiful scenery. Getting to Alice that evening.
The Mereenie Loop is part sealed ,most not. The road is maintained and is in good condition. I would drive this in a car, but most drive a 4x4.
Here are the sites for the accommodation I have mentioned.

http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=133

http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/arrcamp/

wotif.com.au has some of the accommodation for Uluru on their site. I am not sure if it is any cheaper than booking through them. Have a look, it may be.

Hi

We did the same trip last january from Alice Springs to Ayer's Rock.
Rented a car through the Information Centre in Alice Springs from Thrifty with no charges for a one way rental.
About the itinerary: I would recommend the Mereenie Loop, although most of the road is in a rather bad condition. In my opinion you would need a 4WD car for this part of the trip.


We stayed in the Glen Helen Resort (www.glenhelen.com.au) in a simple motel room; Kings Creek Station (www.kingscreekstation.com.au) in a kind of a tent with normal beds; and in Curtin Springs Station (www.curtinsprings.com) in a more or less normal room.
All these accommodations are a lot cheaper than usual in Uluru and Kings Canyon. And appropriate for this rural part of Australia.

Happy travels
jaap

Thanks so much for all the info. Sounds like some of the things we were finding will work. Is Curtain Springs a long drive to the rock or to the Olgas? Thrifty quoted us a one-way charge, but hopefully we can try again. Now I just hope we scheduled enough time (never, right?)

Hi

From Curtin Springs to Ayers Rock will be about 100 km; means in the desert 1 hour drive. Take a look at their NEW site with great info.
About the car hire: did you try to contact the Visitor Information Centre in Alice Springs (Melanie Day)?? E-mail: visinfo@catia.asn.au
Tehy offered me a car with good rates and no charge of a one way drop off fee with a rent for 3 days or more.

jaap

Hi, we just got back yesterday and have some ideas. We arrived in Alice on The Ghan and picked up an Avis hire car. If you hire for at least 3 days there is no one-way drop-off fee. We paid $92 per day and dropped it at Yulara/Connellan airport. I realise you are doing this in reverse, but the drive from Alice to Yulara resort was easy (3h 30m). The car was invaluable to us and one tank of petrol lasted the whole 3 days (including driving from Alice, a drive to Kata Tjuta/Olgas and 4 sunrise/sunset drives into the Park. Entrance fee to the Park is AUD25 pp. for 3 days. The freedom of your own vehicle to go where and when you want into the Park is way better than booking expensive rides on the AATKings buses. We did not get to Kings Canyon as its 300kms away and takes up a full day if you are not staying overnight. We had already paid for 3 nts at Sails in the Desert (talk about big bucks!!). We would highly recommend booking the Sounds of Silence dinner. You can book online and it is extremely popular so book early. If you are told they are fully booked on your preferred night, try another agent as they all have a quota for the dinners (3 venues) and take max. 70 pax per venue.
Just "Google" Sounds of Silence dinner, Ayers Rock and you will get all the info you need. It was the highlight of our visit, along with doing the Base Walk twice and Valley of the Winds walk once. It gets very cold at night, be warned, so take warm sweater to the dinner. Have a ball, we loved it.