I got a short break in June. Would like to meet the sacred red stone in central Australia. I check Qantas, they offer planes flying to Ayers Rock as well as Alice Spring. Many tourist guides suggest people join a local tour in Alice Spring. I wonder is it feasible for me to fly Ayers directly?

I am travelling single, think I won't rent a car for cost concern. Can I still go to Ayers Rock on my own without passing Alice?

Or Alice would have some "must not miss" items that I should go and check it out?

Thanks!

Hi Chicachina,

It is perfectly feasible to fly direct to Ayres Rock.

If you are short on time then I would give Alice a miss as for what we have to offer here is fine to fill a longer stay but there really is nothing that could be called a "must not miss".

Ayres Rock, the Olgas and Kings Canyon are the prime targets for the centre.

Cheers

Paul_S

Hi,
skip Alice S. and fly directly to Ayers Rock. There are regular flights every day. You can join a tour there too if you want. I would recommend to see the Olgas, then the Sunset at the Rock and - if you can - Kings Canyon on another day.
Alice is too far away, about a 6 hour drive throughh the middle of nowhere - you won't miss anything.

Alas if Chicachina doesn't travel down the highway btwn Alice and Uluru she will miss Dinky, the world famous piano playing and singing dingo of Central Australia

A/D

There is SO nothing in Alice. I definitely wouldn't waste my time with it.

In fact, there's not much at Ayers Rock besides the rock itself! But that alone is worthwhile.

Go directly to Ayers Rock. Do not bother with Alice.

We did a sunset dinner with a view of the rock that was quite good, and did a camel ride around it which was quite fun.

We stayed for 2 nights, and that was plenty.

True, not much IN Alice...but the MacDonnell Ranges east and west of the town have a lot to offer, Trephina Gorge, Ormiston Gorge, Palm Valley, Standley Chasm to name a few beautiful (and less trampled) places. I'd recommend one of the 4WD tours taking you from Alice to sights in the West MacDonnells, then to Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock and the Olgas over 4 or 5 nights. There is a lot more to the Red Center than just Ayers Rock, and it's well worth experiencing considering all the effort involved in getting there.

My perspective of Alice is a little different, having arrived there by the Ghan train, which travels for hours and hours through "nowhere"... so Alice was like a wonderful Oasis!!!

But on the other hand, yes I agree with other posters who say that you can go directly to Ayres (Uluru) and see what you really are headed for the red center to see. Two nights should be enough. There are a number of resorts in Uluru, and all of them have information about numerous tours into the center to see Ayres Rock, the Olgas, and other unique places.

The only recommendation I would make is that you try to book a small group tour rather than one of the big bus loads. I think you will enjoy your guide and his/her expertise much more if you have personal contact and can ask your own questions face to face (just my opinion).

you can definitely fly into ayers rock and catch a tour from there. we flew there and started our (prearranged) camping safari there. most of the others who started in alice springs told us we didn't miss anything but a long boring ride to ayers rock. our tour took us to ayers rock and kings canyon, then back to alice springs. from there we flew to the next leg of our trip. i'm glad we did it this way - the flight over ayers rock was spectacular too!