Alice Springs and Uluru

[flossybeth]

We're thinking of going up to Alice Springs and onto Uluru in September when my MIL is visiting for three weeks. I was just wondering if there were any companies that offered package tours (with flights not coach) or are we better off doing it ourselves all separately (flights, car hire and hotel bookings).

 

Any recommendations on where to stay (there will be 6 of us) in both places would be good too.

[Guest Claire-n-tel]

Hi Flossy

 

I don't think there are packages where you fly into Uluru from alice, just coach, i would definatly recommend flying in and hiring a car.

 

We used to live in Alice (although it was 4 years ago. We visited Uluru many times, every visitor we had wanted to go there! Luckily we have a campervan so our accomodation was a bit cheaper, i think it was about $70 for 4 people in a van! There are cabins in the campsite they have 2 bedroom ones, the one we saw was a double and a room with 2 sets of bunks, you have to use a shared bathroom, i think about $150 a night i'm not sure if that is just for 2 people and you might have to pay extra per person.

 

There is a "lodge" (basic hotel really i think they try to make it sound posh for the price!) i think they used to be $300-$400 a night depending if you get you own bathroom.

 

I once had to stop there for work and so we stayed in the emu apartments, they are nice buy i think it cost around $700 for one night! There are a couple of other places to stay depending if you have the (huge) budget to do so!

 

Personally i would not really recommend that you particularly go to Alice Springs, there are a few things to do/see there but tourism has really dropped off there in the last few years, partly due to much better flight links directly to Uluru and partly due to the increse in trouble in the town. Things to do there are, the reptile centre, the desert park, the flying doctors centre and the old telegraph station, you could easily do all those in one day. There are some beautiful ranges and water holes around Alice but you definatly need a car to get to them. Having said all that it is all personal taste and lots of people will tell you you must go, i guess we just see it how it really is from living there, and its never the same when you are just visiting right!

[OKMorris]

hi as Claire-n-tel said there is not really any packages that inc flights so better to do flights separately. accommodation wise I agree Alice is nothing special we stayed at a motel near the railway station and it was fine - can't remember wot it was called sorry :-(

 

we we stayed at the campsite in a permanent tent which had twin beds in it and shared bathroom and it was about 120 for the night if u like that sort of thing but it was freezing at night when we went so be prepared.

 

the he outback pioneer is fine or the desert gardens is a 4* that sometimes has specials.

 

dream is to go and stay at longitude 131 which are amazing 5* tented camp overlooking the rock and u can have a candlelit dinner as the sun sets overlooking Uluru but that's the dreamer in me just in case u had a few thousand to spare!!!

[Guest Claire-n-tel]

we've been on the Sounds of Silence dinner (i think that is what you are talking about?)

 

I would never go again and in fact wish i hadn't gone at all! $200 per person, tbh the food is at best average, you go up to a buffett station to help your self, there are around 100 people on each dinner, and although they say you have unlimited wine or beer i think there was 3 or 4 wait staff for 100 people.

 

The guy playing the didgeridoo was a english backpacker with dreds on a whv! The star gazing lasted about 10 minutes after which the lights flooded back on and the CD continued playing.

 

Oh and be aware if you go anytime between july and october bring a snow jacket, they have a patio heater by each table but as it drops below freezing often on winter nights they don't help much!

 

Sorry to pi$$ on your dream OKM!

 

We were gone from the campsite for just under four hours so i guess you are actually there for 3hrs

[Guest Guest75]

Sounds like just the MIL is going then.................???

 

 

Listen to Claire Flossy - she knows.....

[flossybeth]

I think the whole trip (for my MIL especially) would actually be more about Alice than it would Uluru - I think she has the impression Uluru is a big rock whereas she's romanticised Alice as the Alice in Neville Shute's book "A Town Like Alice" - now you've got me wondering if we take her so she can say she's been or will it completely ruin the image she's held for so long.

 

It must be hard for Alice Springs as a town though - I can't imagine there was that much up there in the first place other than the tourism and to have that taken away because people want to fly in and out of supposedly one of the most remote sights in Australia must be a real blow.

 

Thanks for the info though.

[OKMorris]

all good you didn't pi$$ on my dreams!!! longitude has its own dinner only for people staying there and is limited to 4 tables a night with a string quartet instead of a dodgy backpacker and a 4 course a la carte dinner - what a gig for a whv Job tho!! but I do know the dinner you are talking about and have heard similar reports lol!!!

 

for the price of longitude tho I could prob fly to the uk and back multiple times so I shall add it to the never ending bucket list and wait for a lottery win!!!