Uluru 2 Day Intinerary
 

Hello,

My husband and I will be traveling to Uluru in mid-September. We arrive to the Ayers Rock airport around 12:30pm on Day 1, and will leave at 3:30 pm on Day 3. We will not be renting a car, so we may be reliant on some tours.

The number of tours and expense is overwhelming. Since we can't do them all ;-), I'm just looking to find the ones that are right for us.

What we want to do:

Uluru Sunrise

Uluru Sunset

Stargazing

Walk around Uluru base

Maybe something at the Olgas (if have time and can fit it in financially)

I did splurge and booked a Deluxe Rock View Room at the Desert Gardens. Normally, I would try to find the cheapest possible accommodation, but the view sounds spectacular and might be okay to skip a sunrise tour, perhaps? I just think it will be a nice surprise for my husband.

First, do we need to pay for the national park pass when we get there or will it be covered in one of the tours? I seem to recall that it was included, but that may be before I decided to book a hotel and take an actual tour that included accommodations.

I am thinking the first afternoon is going to be time to get acquainted, maybe use that time to explore the resort and the free activities and then do some sort of Sunset Tour. The Sounds of Silence has so many mixed reviews for being so expensive. But then I look at the Uluru Sunset on the Uluru Express at $60pp and think about adding dinner to that and am wondering about the difference in price vs experience. A star-gazing "tour" would be up my husband's alley, too.

Do you recommend the Dessert Awakenings or other Sunrise Tour instead of/in addition to the viewing from our room? We do want to walk the base on our own and I think that may be included in a tour of some sort? Maybe taking the Uluru Express and then the base walk ... and then move on to the Olgas for the afternoon? Or is that too much?

We did find these Uluru Aboriginal Tours as http://www.uluruaboriginaltours.com.au/ "highly recommended" in Lonely Planet for just $45. But they don't list any details on their website. I'm not sure if they would be any different from the free ranger tours.

As you can see, I'm a bit overwhelmed with the choices. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,

Carrie

I just found this tour and think it might suit us... It looks like it would cover just about everything we are looking for. Thoughts?

http://www.viator.com/tours/Ayers-Ro.../d359-2230RSJV

Hi Carrie, with the amount of time you have, you definitely have time to do the things you've listed. Here's a suggestion:

Day 1 - intro to Uluru, sunset tour (I highly recommend Sounds of Silence, which combines a look at the rock at sunset and stargazing)

Day 2 - Uluru sunrise followed by a base walk

Day 3 - Kata Tjuta Cave of the Winds hike (to do this, you have to be able to negotiate some loose rock areas) or Walpa Gorge walk (easier of the two options)

Try to visit the Cultural Center, which gives you some good background / information about what you're seeing.

Re: national park passes, it's included in some tours or you can purchase it at the hotel or at the park entrance.

I just came back from an amazing visit in December. To read about it, click on my user name for the report, located in the Asia forum.

Thank you!

You're welcome. Happy to help.

Why not rent a car? You can't get lost (there's basically only one road), the traffic is extremely light and you can do all the things you want to do, when you want to. Once you buy your park pass, there aren't any other charges. I'm sure the cost of a rental car would be cheaper than paying for two people to do all these tours.
If you enjoy walking, we can recommend the Valley of the Winds walk in the Olgas. There are viewing platforms within the Yulara resort area to see sunrise and sunset - obviously not as good but gives you a second viewing without driving.

I think the Anangu tours have been suspended:

http://www.tourism.australia.com/abo...nds-tours.aspx

You can pick up a self-guided tour brochure from the cultural centre which indicates the significance of different parts of the rock to the Anangu people.

My tip is to make your first stop the Cultural Centre. The information, interactive displays & insights into the flora, fauna & Aboriginal people of the area will be a great help in getting the most out of your visit.

I agree with Margo. If you can drive, do so. Much more cost effective and flexible than the tour buses.

If you take the information from the Cultural Centre, you will have as much as you would normally get from the tour bus driver.

Unfortunately, the Anangu people don't lead tours now.

Another endorsement for the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) - my favorite walk in the area. More ups and downs than the Uluru base walk but easily negotiated by most people. My advice would be to do it in the AM to beat the tour groups . And do rent a car if you can.