Uluru Adventure: Explore Red Centre's Iconic Sites

50 Ratings

Alice Springs

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Experience the best of the Red Centre in just four days with this small group adventure. Explore iconic locations like Uluru, Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta, and the West MacDonnell Ranges. Choose between twin share safari tents or a traditional swag experience.

Duration: 4 days

Cancellation: 6 days

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Highlights

Alice Springs to Ayers Rock (Uluru)

Alice Springs - The journey kicks off bright and early as the group departs from Alice Springs, heading towards Uluru. En route, there will be a stop at the Mt Connor lookout, often mistaken for Uluru, to admire the stunning red mountain, followed by a brief visit to Curtin Springs. After lunch, those arriving from Yulara Resort, Ayers Rock Campground, or Ayers Rock Airport (AYQ) will join the group.
The afternoon includes a visit to the Red Centre’s Aboriginal Interpretive Cultural Centre, where participants will explore the rich cultural, ecological, and geological marvels of the national park. As excitement builds, the group will get up close to the magnificent Uluru, discovering its sacred rock art, family caves, and ancient stories on a base walk. Be sure to see the captivating Mutitjulu Waterhole or Kantju Gorge with its hidden waterfall and the world’s oldest pantry. The day concludes with a breathtaking sunset and a dinner that will enhance the “wow” moments shared with fellow adventurers.

Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park to Kings Canyon

Kata Tjuta - The Olgas - Start the day with an early breakfast and a stunning sunrise over Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Just when Uluru seems unbeatable, the majestic Kata Tjuta appears. The group will hike the Valley of the Winds or Walpa Gorge, marveling at these massive, otherworldly rock formations.
Next destination? Kings Canyon! Tonight, camping takes place at an exclusive safari spot on the lands of the traditional Wanmarra community, one of the most remote locations on earth (closer to the International Space Station than the nearest McDonald’s). The day wraps up with a campfire feast and outback stargazing – a sky like no other.

Kings Canyon to West MacDonnell Ranges

Kings Canyon - The group sets off early to explore the impressive Kings Canyon (Watarrka), delving into the ancient landscape and sacred grounds of the Ulpanyali and Lilla people. With water bottles and hiking boots ready, Kings Canyon awaits! Featuring towering cliffs, sandstone chasms, and breathtaking views, this ancient canyon is a hiker’s paradise. If conditions allow, the group will embark on the iconic rim walk, choosing the most seasonally suitable section of the trail.
Rest and relax on the bus as the journey continues north, traveling off-the-beaten-path via the Mereenie Loop Tourist Drive or Ernest Giles Road, heading towards the West MacDonnell Ranges for an evening of stargazing at a private bush camp near Mount Sonder.

West MacDonnell Ranges to Alice Springs

Tjoritja/West MacDonnell National Park - The exploration of West MacDonnell National Park unfolds amidst the towering red walls of Ormiston Gorge. Enjoy breakfast surrounded by awe-inspiring natural beauty, appreciating the geological forces that shaped this landscape. Keep an eye out for native wildlife emerging with the sunrise.
Next, cool off with a refreshing swim in the Ellery Creek Bighole (Udepata in Arrernte), where dramatic cliffs and sandy Ellery Creek offer a welcome break in the arid outback. Continuing the journey, the group arrives at Standley Chasm (Angkerle Atwatye). This dramatic 3-meter-wide, 80-meter-high gorge provides a stunning backdrop for exploration.
The final stop is Simpsons Gap, another remarkable feature of the Tjoritja West MacDonnells. This significant site boasts a permanent waterhole attracting diverse wildlife and holds cultural importance as the intersection of several Aboriginal dreaming trails.
The group returns to Alice Springs around 6:00 PM.

What's Included

Accredited outback driver guide
Traditional Bush Single Swag (Swag option)
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Parks pass included
Lunch
Dinner
Breakfast
Bed linen, mattress and pillow provided (Safari Tent option)
Standley Chasm Gorge pass included
Guided bush walks (up to 10-12 km of walking, subject to fitness level)
On board drinking water (please provide your own bottle)

What's Not Included

Any meal, not indicated within the itinerary
Personal expenses

Additional Information

Four days, exploring four iconic locations (Uluru, Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta and Tjoritja West MacDonnell Ranges) all wrapped up in one tour. This small group adventure encompasses the very best the Red Centre has to offer. There is a very good reason why Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In 1987, the international community recognized the park’s spectacular geological formations, rare plants, and exceptional natural beauty. A few of the highlights include exploring Ormiston Gorge, Ochre Pits and Ellery Creek Big Hole, hiking through the Valley of the Winds or Walpa Gorge, and exploring Mutitjulu Waterhole, Kuniya Piti, and Kantju Gorge.

We provide two different sleeping options at our permanent campsites, with twin share safari tents, or you can try out a traditional swag experience. (canvas-covered bedroll)

This tour starts and finishes in Alice Springs only, please advise us of your accommodation at the time of booking.

A minimum moderate to advanced level of fitness is required to complete the walks. Therefore a medium/high level of fitness is required and a doctor’s certificate is required for people over 75 years (30 days prior to travel).
The tour operator must be notified of any known medical conditions at the time of booking. This is a very physical tour and requires a moderate level of fitness and mobility.
Children aged between 8 to 17 years old must be accompanied by an adult or legal guardian at all times. Not suitable for infants or children 7 years and under, due to safety requirements and the level of fitness required to complete the walk.
Please advise at time of booking whether you require a hire of a sleeping bag?
Guests are asked to participate in the preparation of meals, clean up and vehicle unpacking/loading, so everyone can relax together after a long day of touring. It’s also a great way to get to know and connect with your fellow travellers.
This tour ends in Alice Springs only.

Location

Stay at Alice Springs Hotel

Leichhardt Terrace

This is our main pickup point for this tour, we ask guests to be ready and waiting outside the accommodation. Alternatively, if you wish to be collected from another location please call us.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 6 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 2 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings

4.7

(50 Ratings)

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Julie_w

Sep 8, 2025

This was a great tour!... - This was a great tour! Our guide Damien was so knowledgable (we learned so much) and great at taking care of all the details.. Beautiful scenery! Would highly recommend this tour especially if you like camping (which we don't really but Damien made it so fun we had a great time!)

Review provided by Viator

Juliewn342yn

Sep 8, 2025

Great tour! - This was a great tour! Our guide Damien was so knowledgeable (we learned so much!) and was great at taking care of all the details. Beautiful scenery! Highly recommend this tour (especially if you like camping!)

Review provided by Tripadvisor

M5885yrjamesh

Sep 6, 2025

Experience of a lifetime touring the Red Centre - Absolutely fantastic experience touring the Red Centre with Autopia Tours. There are incredible and unique places to see and Autopia made the whole experience of touring in a 4x4 vehicle and walking guided hikes totally amazing. A holiday of a lifetime. Thanks to Sanne for the super efficient organization and the whole Autopia team for creating such a memorable experience.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Kathpeters

Jul 25, 2025

Great time. Great tour. Well worth it. - Had a brilliant time on this tour. It's full on busy, but you get to see a lot. Autopia were very well organised with communication and information provided beforehand. Our tour guide, Donk (Matthew), was excellent, funny and friendly; a proper Aussie farm boy, who worked his socks off looking after our group of 21. Campsites are basic, but this is the outback, and Aussies are a tough breed. If you are expecting European campsite luxury, this isn't it. But facilities were just fine. Swags went down well with our group. We were too wussy to try them. Plenty of food and snacks. Be prepared to muck in with the cooking, camp clean up, and firewood gathering. We had a really mixed group of families and couples. Mostly Europeans, all pitched in and helped. Would recommend for a visitor looking for a taster tour of the red centre. Tiring but well worth it.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Christinavh4279dx

Jun 1, 2025

Super great nature experience - We took part in the 4-day tour in the Red Center. Lorrie guided us very safely through the Red Center. She told us a lot about the native population, geology, history, plants, animals and much more. She has a huge amount of knowledge that she passed on to us in a very interesting and amusing way when we were interested. Lorrie was very conscientious, super organized, close to nature, a very safe driver and a super cool nature girl by the way. We stayed in the most wonderful nature in simply furnished but clean tents. 2 times we stayed on small bush camps where only our group was and far and wide no one else. The tour took us to breathtaking and if possible not too touristy places. There was simple, mostly varied food with a good selection, something for everyone. Thank you, thank you Lorrie for the four wonderful days with many unforgettable experiences you made possible for us. You led us to places where we could watch beautiful colored sunrises and sunsets.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Voyager58234712280

May 21, 2025

An unforgettable experience - For the first time in my life, I was able to see the full starry sky. The tour members were great, too. I still can't believe that I actually walked in a place I would have never imagined if I had been in Japan to have a place like this on Earth.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Agathev400

May 13, 2025

An experience to live - Memorable stay, rich in emotions, surrounded by kind people I made the discovery of Uluru and its breathtaking landscapes, I recommend! Thanks to Casper and Adam who were our guides for this beautiful adventure, I leave with memories full of mind.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Annag850

Apr 28, 2025

a memorable trip - I highly recommend this tour. It was the only one I found that includes the Mac Donnell ranges with Standley Chasm, Simpson Gap, Ormiston Gorge, Ellery Creek which is a highlight together with Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta and Uluru. You cannot expect luxury. One camp does not have a shower but you can swim on this day and the day after. Food is simple but good and people have to help prepare the food, wash up, make a fire. There is a lot of driving involved but after a morning getting up at 4.30 to see the sunrise you can catch up on sleep on the bus. You should be able to walk over rocky terrain if you take this tour. Sleeping in a Swag is fun. People on this tour really grow together because you have to organise yourself with who does what job. On our tour we got off to a shaky start because our guide Adam was a bit stressed. He had to pick up additional passengers in Ayers Rock and exchange the bus, so he just told us to prepare some lunch without much explanation. We managed to scramble something together. Guiding people is not his strong side but he is very knowledgeable about plants and animals. The second day we picked up a family of 11 people and then the bus was full with 20 people. Luckily it worked well. At the end of the 3rd day 3 people left us. These pick-ups and drop-offs were well included in the programme. 6 of us have made friends and hopefully will stay in touch. It was a memorable trip.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Gemma_c

Apr 22, 2025

The scenery is stunning,... - The scenery is stunning, the group I went with was such nice people and we had the most lovely guide - Adam who shared so many interesting stories about the country and his personal experiences. On the other hand, it can get a bit challenging if you’re not used to camping and hiking a lot. Nonetheless, it’s still such a memorable experience and I’d recommend trying it out.

Review provided by Viator

Road63498190789

Jul 3, 2025

Disappointed in how the tour was run. - I booked this because we had never done a group tour and thought it’d be fun. However, it ended up being a disappointing experience that I feel is worth highlighting, especially given the price tag Unfortunately our tour guide Adam would rush us through things with vague directions on that would make even simple things like lunch prep unnessecarily confusing. We didn’t spend as much time at places as I would have liked and the rushing would continue even at the campsite. At times, he would also have a condescending attitude. I do give him a bit of credit as he was the only tour guide for 21 people (more below). Fortunately the rest of the group was great. We could tell he was very passionate about nature and shared a lot of facts about aboriginal culture but his overall attitude was abrasive. Many of us in the group felt uneasy asking questions or raising concerns because of how he would respond. As other reviewers have noted we shared concerns that 1 person was in charge of 21 people of different ages. I was already aware that there would be up to 21 people in the group (which is not a small tour by the way). What they did though is combine the 4 day group with the 3 day group. 1 person is not sufficient enough to supervise 21 people especially in a remote area. Fortunately most of our group was in good fitness and stuck to the times. Adam was basically running 2 trips by himself and hopefully he got compensated accordingly. Because of the combination of the groups, the bus was very cramped and uncomfortable. The seats are small and there is no legroom. The trailer was already full and despite no one over packing we still had to sit with our packs and day supplies because they didn’t even fit under the seats. I reached out to Autopia to share my concerns and to their credit they were very responsive. Unfortunately it felt like they were more interested in defending their practices than in truly understanding why I found the experience disappointing. When I asked for a partial refund (as the experience did not justify the price) they refused and instead offered a discount on a future trip. It was only slightly higher than the discount you automatically receive after the end of your tour. Obviously I have no desire to tour with them again. Autopia will likely respond to this review, which is their right. But I’d suggest that anyone considering this tour and the 3 day tour think carefully. Im a pretty low key person, experienced traveller and camper. If I was to go again, I would just rent an RV or camp myself. The roads are well paved and camp sites are well maintained. You’ll be able to stay wherever and for however long you want. The area is so beautiful, it feels like you’ve travelled to another planet. Just make sure to bring your mosquito head cover!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Check Availability

From $894

up to 15 guests

1 - Adult