Alice Springs makes a great base for a holiday in the centre. As the communications and service hub for central Australia Alice Springs has most of the facilities you would expect in any Australian capital city.

To do central Australia, and yourself, justice you’ll need 7 to 10 days to explore the region thoroughly. But even if you can only spare three or four days to see the highlights, you’ll have a fantastic time. Be warned though, it will leave you wanting to come back again.

Getting to Alice Springs

Alice Springs may be remote, but it's easy to get to:

Commercial passenger services include

• Daily flights to and from major Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Cairns) and to Uluru (Ayer's Rock)
• Two services of the legendary Ghan train each week
• Daily express coach services to Adelaide, Darwin and Brisbane

Or you can drive here: it's a two day drive from Darwin, or a two day drive from Adelaide.

Alice Springs Airport is located approximately 16km south of the Alice Springs town centre along the Stuart Highway, and is serviced by airport minibus, taxi and backpacker pick-up services.

Both the coach and train terminals are within the Alice Springs central business district.

Links

Travel NT is Northern Territory Government's official website for visitors to the Territory. The Alice Springs section of the Travel NT website contains maps, itineries, travel advice and lots of other information.

The Central Australian Tourism Association has listings for accomodation, car hire and other services for visitors to Alice Springs.

The NT Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts has information for those intending to walk the Larapinta Trail.

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park is 475km by road from Alice Springs. It takes around 4.5-5 hours to drive.

The official Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park website has up to date information on visiting Ayers Rock and The Olgas.