We'll be in Alice Springs Oct 28-Nov 1. Our main tour will be going to Uluru-Kata Tjuta NP and the West MacDonnell ranges, so we are looking for other nature things to see and do. Will it be too hot for a day trip to Palm Valley?

Hi Ovenbird - it's going to be hot wherever you go. A day trip to Palm Valley is doable - I love Palm Valley and I think we stayed for about 3 nights or so but it is a lovely spot and worth the effort to see IMHO>

The vehicle will be air-conditioned and the walking does not have to be too strenuous so go for it.

Thanks! Any recommendations for tour company? We'd rather go with a smaller group than a large one.

Try outbackexperience.com.au or Emu Run Tours - both do this trip, and have a good reputation. Outback have minimum of 4 for their trips - nice, friendly people, too. They have been running tours for over 20 years. We are doing a couple of tours with them in July, as well as two with Emu Run.
Dot

wayoutback.com.au might be worth trying . . . we did a private tour and were very happy.

It will be very hot at that time of the year. Make sure to take it easy - drink plenty of water & invest in a good fly net (possibly a hat) because the flies will drive you crazy!

Palm Valley is beautiful and peaceful

Thanks for the recommendations! And thanks for the reminder re: flies...I remember those annoying buggers at Kakadu from our first trip 10 years ago!

The other place I would recommend you visit if you have time is the Desert Park just outside Alice Springs. It's an amazing place, covering the land, flora and fauna.
We got a taxi there from our hotel and it wasn't very expensive.

And thanks for the tip about the flies at Kakadu. We will be there in 3 weeks! Must pull down the net curtains before we go!!

Dot

dottyp, we do plan to visit the Desert Park one of the days we're in Alice. It sounds like a great place...glad you confirmed the reviews I've read!

Have a wonderful time in Kakadu...we loved it there!

We did a day tour in a Unimog , from Alice Springs to Palm Valley. Twenty years ago, so can't remember the operator, but I do remember the trip well. It was January, when the weather is really hot, and we were told to suck a pebble as we walked along to reduce dry throats. Still recall the wonderful taste of the billy tea plus gumleaf at the end! Think it must have been too hot for the flies, as I don't remember them. But do go if you can - back then,the road was actually the Fink River bed, and it was lots of fun.