Spend an amazing day in the centre of Australia seeing the iconic red rock – Uluru.

You can definitely do a day trip from Alice Springs to Uluru! The drive down to Uluru is about four and a half hours, and you can still do plenty in around the red centre before you need to start heading back to Alice Springs.

Jump onboard a guided tour

One of the best ways to get to Uluru from Alice Springs is through a guided tour. You will be picked up from Alice Springs early in the morning and head towards Uluru. This means you can catch up on some sleep on the bus! If you’re interested in a tour, you can book a sunset tour here and watch the sunset over Uluru – an incredible sight.

On the bus, you’ll have a quick breakfast. Midway on the drive to Uluru, you stop at Erldunda Roadhouse to stretch your legs a bit.

Around midday, you’ll arrive to Uluru and have lunch before seeing Kata Tjuta. Then you will go to the Culture Centre.

When you’ve learnt about the Anangu people and their land at the Culture Centre, you’ll have a guided tour of the Walpa Gorge at Kata Tjuta. Next, the guide will take you on the Mala and Mutijulu walks.

Finally, you settle down ready for the sun to set over Uluru, lighting it up in the most beautiful shades of red and orange. Enjoy a BBQ dinner and champagne before you start heading back towards Alice Springs.

Drive yourself

If you have your own car or if you have a car to hire, you can drive yourself down to Uluru for the day. As long as you head off early in the morning, you’ll have a good amount of time during the day to see Uluru and parts of the national park.

You may want to leave Alice Springs around 6 AM to arrive at Uluru between 10 AM to 11 AM. Then you might want to head back to Alice Springs around 8 PM to be back just after midnight.

Here’s a list of places you can visit and activities you can do for the day in Uluru.

Uluru Kata Tjuta Culture Centre

You should try to spend at least two hours at the Culture Centre to learn about the Anangu People’s culture. At the centre, there are a range of art exhibits about the park’s natural environment.

Uluru

Of course, the famous red rock itself is a definite landmark to visit. Over 250,000 people visit Uluru every year to take in the beauty of the dusty red sandstone.

Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta is a group of large domed rocks. The 36 domed rocks were once all joined but over the millions of years, they were weathered down to what you see them as today.

There are tracks for you to follow around some of the domed rocks. You can also walk around them, but it can take up to four hours.

What are you most looking forward to on your day trip to Uluru? Our favourite part is enjoying our food and drinks as we watch the sunset over Uluru.