Adelaide to alice springs

[Guest MADTOM]

Is it feasible to do a 10 day round trip Adelaide to Alice springs driving holiday - Has anyone driven there? Is it likely to be interesting to a 2 and 5 year old - are there any things to do on the way?

Or can anyone recommend any nice routes elsewhere?

[Leicesterlad]

Adelaide to the Alice is a 16+ hour drive and with 2 little ones in the car it could be something pretty close to HELL!!!:arghh::arghh:

 

Might I suggest a nice leisurely tour of the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas. Shortish drives interspersed with stops at small towns with beautiful beaches, and small cities with beautiful beaches.

[Guest Pam777]

I drove to cooper Pedy with 2 kids and my parents. Long journey even though we stopped for a night at Port Augusta. the second half of the journey is soooo boring, not much to see apart from countryside. My kids were 6 and 11 at the time so they werent too bad but were bored. Great time while we were their tho, loved staying in the underground motel and exploring the mines etc. Glad I did it once, not sure if i'd repeat it tho!

[Anne B]

It's at least a 2 day drive. Would be very very boring for young children. There are quite a few things to do in Port Augusta, then there's Coober Pedy, but anywhere else on the road is just a roadhouse. You could fly there and hire a car when you get there, but that would be a lot more expensive. For spectacular outback scenery what about driving up to Port Augusta and then touring the southern Flinders Ranges - Quorn, Hawker, Wilpena etc?

[Moosh]

The Ghan also goes to Alice Springs via Coober Pedy. Personally I wouldn't waste your time driving it.

[Guest lippy]

Having driven across the Nullaboor to Perth and back.... I would say drive! If for nothing else than the experience - beyond Adelaide the landscape is not all that you expect. Be prepared for hours of the same old thing however, but at least you won't have a 100 mile stretch of dead straight road!. If your kids are like our one - they won't be a problem.

[Anne B]

Having driven across the Nullaboor to Perth and back.... I would say drive! If for nothing else than the experience - beyond Adelaide the landscape is not all that you expect. Be prepared for hours of the same old thing however, but at least you won't have a 100 mile stretch of dead straight road!. If your kids are like our one - they won't be a problem.

 

I totally agree that driving is a fantastic experience - I found the scenery up to Alice Springs really fascinating, changing all the time in subtle ways and much more interesting than some other stretches of road (such as the mallee country to the east of Adelaide, the Eyre Highway across the Eyre Peninsular, the Hay plain etc). There are salt lakes and mesas and hills. I just don't think it would be much fun with a couple of kids in tow, I know they are all different but mine at that age would have driven me mad before I even reached Port Wakefield!!