3-Day Tour from Uluru (Ayers Rock) to Alice Springs via Kings Canyon

Ayers Rock, Australia

Discover Uluru, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs on this 3-day tour starting at Ayers Rock and ending in Alice Springs. Explore Australia's great Central Desert - watch the sunrise over Uluru (Ayers Rock), visit the magnificent Olga Gorge and Kings Canyon, with their beautiful waterholes and dazzling views. Stop off at a huge cattle station and the remote, early telegraph town of Alice Springs.

Please see Itinerary for full description

USD $702.00

Review by:   Sidney G,    June 2018
It is important to understand that AATKings, a major tour operator in Australia, is the provider. AATKings has a wide variety of available tours, so this tour is a package of several of their options. In general, it was excellent. The tours at Uluru were informative and interesting and provided excellent access. The accomodations in Uluru at the Desert Gardens were more expensive and luxurious than we needed for one night, but was the only choice available when we signed up. The sunrise tour was excellent, and provided better photos than the sunset tour. We regret that we did not include a star gazing evening, as the night sky was amazing with better visibility of the stars and Milky Way than we have ever seen. The trip to King's Canyon was worthwhile. It is a lovely place, and the small town really just a bar and a bbq restaurant was fun. King's Canyon offers two hiking options on the time frame of this tour -- a lovely 2km walk along the creek bed in the canyon floor which we chose and a grueling in appearance 6km hike up a very steep hill to the canyon rim. The ride from there to Alice Springs was very long, with a pleasant rest stop at a cattle station/restaurant. It does provide a real feel for the outback and its long distances of desert scenery. Our driver/guide Pete was excellent in recounting the history and notable landmarks of the area as well as being our guide in the King's Canyon walk. _br/_ I do not see what Viator does in this operation -- all communications were simply forwarding emails from AAT. The tour included pickup from our Alice Springs motel to the airport, but Viator sent an email requesting flight info but never confirmed the time or place of pickup. We had to call the local service to confirm this as Viator never responded to my email request for confirmation.

Review by:   Melanie R,    April 2018
This tour was excellent. Very well organised and great client service, the drivers/guides are really nice with a good knowledge of the outback. I highly recommend it.

Review by:   jeant,    October 2017
Remarkable tour! I was especially impressed with the guides' knowledge of and respect for the natives' spiritual beliefs and sacred sites. Highly recommend this tour company and all of its employees. Outstanding.

Review by:   lauriegreen49,    May 2017
Really, really loved this tour. Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon are awe inspiring! Our guide was very knowledgeable and took time to answer all our questions. The accommodations were good, and everyone at all our hotels was very helpful. We came without an adapter for the electric outlets and each hotel supplied one to us for free. There finally was one we could buy in Alice Springs, only about 20, but well worth it. Our first hotel was having construction, and the pool area was closed. With temps about 104F it would have been nice to know in advance so we could choose one of the other hotels.

Review by:   pioterus,    May 2017
This was a fantastic experience and I enjoyed everything I saw and also the professional guide who accompanied us at Kings Canyon as well as very knowledgeable bus drivers/guides. _br/_ I would have given five stars if it weren't for some annoying glitches. Firstly, this three day tour is in fact a collection of several individual tours organised by the same tour operator, which would be fine except that you don't even get an email or anything with precise departure times for the tours and as there's many of them it's hard to keep track of them. The only way to find it out is to call the tour operator not viator and ask for details. Asking a bus driver/guide from your first tour won't help because they're not aware of the this itinerary. What's worse, after arrival at the airport I was looking for the bus to the resort and after I said I'm on this three day tour they said they don't know this tour so there's no bus. Therefore, you have to be careful and only mention your first tour - the one of Uluru. Secondly, the Ulury tours were not synchronised with check in and check out times. The sunset viewing tour departed at the hotel check in time and as I had just arrived from the airport I wanted to get to my room to refresh myself and change, which proved to be very difficult and I only manged to get the keys half an hour before the official check in time. Sunrise viewing had even worse timing as it was returning to hotel at 10 a.m. which was also the check out time which would mean that you actually have to check out at 5 in the morning if you want to follow the rules. It took a lot of effort to convince the receptionist to let me stay one hour longer and even so at 10 a.m. a member of the staff was knocking at my door to complain that the room had not been made vacant yet._br/_ On the other hand, in Kings Canyon it was much better and we were allowed to check out just before the bus departure time.

Review by:   R C K,    October 2016
Excellent sites and views. Very good driver guides who were knowledgeable. Very poor organisation and customer delivery by A AT. Chaotic, frustrating and slow allocation of coaches, all last minute. We did not get an itinerary from A AT but had to get the hotel to contact them and send it. In confirming a couple of days before AAT could not initially find the booking and only after delay and being put on hold I was told the name of the hotel but no timings. Good tour but experience could have been better.

Review by:   Rodrigo L,    August 2016
Totally worth it, amazing landmarks and even better staff, we really enjoyed our 3 days trip, i would recommend this for everyone

Review by:   David M,    June 2016
Uluru and kings canyon tours excellent._br/_ Waiting around time for bus interchange and extra long stops at kings creek station no good._br/_ Sails at Uluru overpriced. Kings canyon resort very good, restaurant excellent.

Review by:   Justin,    April 2016
I would have given it more stars, but I am more of a person that likes small group adventure tours. This tour was more for someone that just wants to take it really easy and see the sites. Still it was worth doing and the tour guides were very nice and very informative. Loved Kings Canyon, the optional rim hike was awesome! Oh and I don't think 3 days was enough, I would have booked it for longer if I booked again.

Review by:   Foong C,    February 2016
Air conditioning on the bus was only partially working...very hot! You need to get some more modern buses.

Review by:   Brian H,    January 2016
The tour was tremendous. We were warned that the temperature at this time of year would be unbearable but this was not our experience.

Review by:   zorro,    November 2015
This tour was great. Ayers Rock/Uluru was great, but as expected the area was very crowded and the flies were pretty bad, but we still had a great experience and we are very glad we visited Uluru. The most amazing part of the tour was Kings Canyon Resort which was beautiful, peaceful, and quite. We did a three hour and half hike 6.5 Kilometeres to the top of Kings Canyon and walked through the rim of the mountain which had spectacular views._br/_ This tour is expensive but worth every penny. I couldn't imagine visiting Australia without visiting the outback.

Review by:   James B,    November 2015
I already did in September.

Review by:   JAMES W,    July 2015
Everything was fantastic and we had a great time. The coach drivers were particularly helpful and knowledgeable. Couldn't find fault with anything

Review by:   Eileen E,    May 2015
We really enjoyed the trip but felt a bit rushed at some of the stops especially the sunset at Uluru. Also the breakfast foods at the sunrise at Uluru were very disappointing. If you have the time rent a car and do your own touring....

Review by:   Carole M,    April 2015
Very well organised trip. All guides and drivers excellent, friendly and informative.

Review by:   Jonathan M,    March 2015
The tour itself is great. The tour operator (one of the few in the area) was great. It seems Viator changed their description between booking time and tour time. It was also my mistake that I did not check the tour operator's website for more information after I received my confirmation.

Review by:   Warren F,    October 2014
The tour was well organized and we got to do enough hiking to get a feel for the Uluru and Kings Canyon area. The accommodations were satisfactory.

Review by:   Miriam L,    September 2014
The AATKings guide and driver Warren was fabulous. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Loved the Jumping Crocodiles tour day 1 and especially the Yellow Water Billabong on day 2. Katherine Gorge on day 3 was spectacular. The choice of hotels was great for the first night at Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel but the stay on the second night at Ibis Styles Katherine was awful. I'm assuming AATKings only chose this place because of the Katherine Gorge sunrise tour the next morning. Pity there's no other choice. Damp towels on the bed thus a wet bed as well, no hairdryer (they only had a few to offer and they were all gone), bathroom sliding window fixed in an open position (with a big screw) with all the world to see you in the shower, mouldy grouting in the shower and the spare toilet paper roll unusable locked in a holder. Left that place very disappointed considering we had paid for Superior accommodation option. As accommodation is left at the discretion of the tour operators and they should seriously think again. We weren't the only ones on the tour to put up with exactly the same problems unfortunately. Warren was fantastic and very informative and as there involved a lot of driving and monotonous landscape between the attractions, that was essential.

Review by:   Miss H M,    August 2014
Our Flight was late in arriving so we missed part of our first tour to the Olga's but the sunset and sunrise experience at Uluru were absolutely phenomenal. King's Canyon was amazing although I didn't know if I could climb the 500 steps but once at the top I was so glad I had. The guides, drivers etc were all amazing and so knowledgeable and made it very interesting. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Review by:   Kiran S,    July 2014
The tour guide Boris was really friendly and nice and gave lots of info. The bus was really comfortable and on time and service was good.Kings canyon was a bit of a disappointment as we could not climb the canyon.The accommodation was good and clean but I think the tour was too expensive for what we got. Lots of tours provide meals for this price and when it was mentioned lunch and afternoon tea can be purchased on third day-- it was misleading and confusing as it gave the impression that other meals were provided.( just going by the description of the tour).

Review by:   Lynne C W,    July 2014
generally very good, coaches were very comfortable with efficient and helpful drivers (BUT the tour was advertised as a small group tour, which was deceptive). Overall well organised. However, the one black spot was that there was a strong sewage smell sometimes in our room.

Review by:   Brian W,    April 2014
This is a rush. You are off on tour when you arrive in Ayers Rock and do not get a late check out for the early morning sunrise tour the next AM, so no chance to come back to your room in the morning for a shower and change of clothes etc after going out at 5:15 AM so you have to have your bags all packed before going on the 5:15 Am sunrise tour, before you leave to on the bus to Kings Canyon. Would be better if you have two nights in Ayers Rock. Arrive in Kings Canyon late afternoonThe canyon walk through the valley in the morning is easy. Did not try the 7KM climb and walk along the top

Review by:   Ian S,    March 2014
The tours and guides were exceptional. We particularly enjoyed the Kings Canyon rim walk and the guide for this was superb. We opted for budget accommodation which was better than expected at Ayers Rock Resort but decidedly tatty at Kings Canyon, however as we were only in the room for a short period of time it was of little consequence. It would be useful to know in advance, the need to carry 3 litres of water each to do Kings Canyon rim walk as we struggled to obtain enough containers and we only had one rucksack between us. In all this was an amazing memorable trip.

Review by:   Daniel G,    February 2014
This was my first time into the central Australian desert, and I could not have hoped for a better introduction. Since I have a slight disability, I was worried whether I would be able to do the walking but in fact it was the walking I enjoyed most, and the distances, grades and times allowed were just right. Also, for someone who likes a drink (but not too much), the sunset drinks at Uluru were just what I needed. Apart from the walking, the detour to King's Canyon in your huge bus expertly driven by Jenny, together with Jenny's expert guided tour up the canyon, were again perfect. I felt a new man afterwards!

Review by:   Thibaut B,    January 2014
Excellent Tour content and activities for those 3 days. We enjoyed the Professional attitude and comments of our AAT guides - special mention for the ULURU Sunset drinks: that was just great ! Just a little disappointment for the King's Canyon park ranger who put some kind of "speed-up" pressure during our trail._br/_ Thibaut and Fanny

Review by:   Garry S,    December 2013
Brilliant drivers and guides and amazing hotels, Maria the driver was the best! Could do with a bit of a longer base waslk around uluru though. Commentary was great and we learnt loads and saw wildlife.

Review by:   Lynda S,    December 2013
Great tour including Uluru, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs on a lovely big and comfortable coach. Very informative and friendly driver (John) and guides throughout. We had the choice to join in some group activities or do our own thing. We stayed in the deluxe accommodation at Uluru and Kings Canyon and enjoyed all the amenities. Staff, food and lodging all very good. Try the kangaroo skewers and the camel burgers.

Review by:   john c,    December 2013
The tour was everything we wanted and gave us the opportunity to see Uluru at sunset and sunrise, The Kings canyon (The rim edge walk is a must!) and get to Alice Springs in time for a sunset on Anzac Hill and the Royal Flying Doctor Museum the following day (not included in tour price). The tours guides are great and provided just enough info upfront with opportunity to ask for more later. The only comment I would make is that the tour ended in Alice on the evening of the 3rd day but bizarrely did not include a hotel that night. No problem for us but perhaps puts people off this otherwise excellent tour

Review by:   Alice S,    December 2013
We had a beautyfull stay. Hotel, walks and all was perfect. Our meanguide Karl (Driver and .......)_br/_ was a real specialist and he told us a lot of interestid things . Congratulation also to the other guides in Uluru!_br/_ The days are more than Five stars!!

Review by:   Thierry L,    December 2013
Very good organized tour, timing well respected. Comfortable busses. Interresting journey. But as french speaking people we did not understand all the explanations that were given by our guides. Would it be possible that AAT Kings provide a summary of the different points of interest - in french for example ? May be also in other languages .? .. Or videos with subtitels or headphones ? Best regards.

Review by:   Dennis,    October 2013
Outstanding tour. Highly recommend this tour. Our flight into Ayers Rock was one hour late, bot AAT KING a_br/_ Was there waiting for us. They caught us up to the tour coach. Perfect in all regards.

Review by:   JEAN H,    October 2013
Dense and full interesting_br/_ Good and substantialisme comments fromage guides

Review by:   ATHANASIOS S,    September 2013
MODERATE

Review by:   Marisa M,    June 2013
I had a great time, visiting in May 2013. The tour was very well organized and the guide knowledgeable, but you don't necessarily stay with the same guide the whole tour. I was a little nervous when I arrived as I wasn't sure about the schedule or confident that I was being picked up at the airport. But the tour company met the plane and it was easy to get bussed to the hotel. Once at the hotel, the hotel called the company to confirm my schedule. Once I had the schedule, I was set. Day One included a walk around Olga (watch out for the flies, they are out in force!) and a sunset viewing of Uluru. One thing, there is an evening dinner in Uluru park that wasn't included as part of this tour. I added it on and it was worth it. Seeing the stars at night in the desert was an experience. Next morning, up early to see Uluru at sunset and then walk around the base, finishing at a cultural center. Then I was off to King's Canyon, arriving in the evening. Next morning, walk around King's Canyon. You can choose to walk the rim, more difficult and longer, or the base. I chose the base walk. I added on a 15 minute helicopter tour which was great. Finally, the bus headed off to Alice Springs. In retrospect, I wouldn't have gone ton to Alice Springs. It's a long way on a bus and there's little to do there. Note, if you want to return to Uluru, it should be possible as the bus stops to exchange passengers, some go on to Alice springs and some return to Uluru. All my friends have asked me if it was worth the trip to Uluru and I say very much so. Yes, you can only take so many pictures of a big rock in the desert, but the views and landscape are amazing, and the overall experience of being in the remote desert and understanding the importance of Uluru to the aboriginal people really made my trip to Australia complete.

Review by:   JOHN F L,    April 2013
The lodging was good and the tours were excellent. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for the sunset or sunrise over Ayers Rock. The additional sights on both those tours were very good and recommended. Personally, I would have added another day at Ayers Rock. There is so much there to absorb and see. Many other tours are also offered once you arrive and more time is needed to take some of them. The 3 day trip is well planned, but 4 days would be preferred. Or maybe even more.

Review by:   Jill B,    March 2013
Sitting around waiting for other buses so the tour operator can maximize profits and not give a darned about our time was horrible. Literally waited the equivalent of a full day so we could connect with other buses. Thanks for not caring about the traveler experience.

Review by:   Ursula M,    February 2013
the tour was very organize, hotels where clean and nice. the tour guides, driver vere very courtgeous and alway on time. The places they took as where carefully chosen. I really recomend the tour. Even though the weather was extreme, 39 degrees celcius the volume of people was nice.

Review by:   Richard B,    October 2012
Great tours and guides and an amazing area, but let down by poor admin / organisation / communications - no itinerary sent in advance, tours badly timed to hotel meal times/check-in and out times. Heard many others complaining of similar.

Review by:   Asif S,    August 2012
Great tour guide and driver but avoid Alice Springs as the locals are drunk and violent! Ayers rock resort and kings canyon resort are very expensive for food.

Review by:   Janice T,    May 2012
The tour was wonderful. The company that was chosen by viator in Ayers Rock was second to none. The driver/guide was terrific, he had a sense of humour and was very friendly and informative. The hotels were both very acceptable and the tours (sunset, walks, sunrise, king's canyon walk etc.) were all wonderful.

Review by:   Ian C,    April 2012
Great trip, very well organised and amazing guide!

Review by:   James E. N,    March 2012
Pioneer was mediocre. the Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge was Fantastic, great food exceptional service and the Staff were very knowledgable about the area. Great Time , Would Highly Recommend this to all travellers.

Review by:   Karl W,    January 2012
Sehr empfehlenswert; war ein tolles Erlebnis dass ich nicht missen moechte, stunning adventure - highly recommended

Review by:   Binyamin M,    January 2012
Enjoyed it very much Good value for the $ Explanations along route were informative we also did the King canyon long walk climbing the steep 500 stairs escorted by Rowan (one guide for 2travelers) as the others preferred to sleep She was very good and helpful.

Review by:   Barry Thomas J,    September 2011
Excellent tour starting with a meet and greet at the airport with a personalised programme. We were three days with our guide Michael and he was outstanding. With hindsight we should have selected a hotel a grade above the Desrt Garde.._br/_ Our walk around the Kings Canyon rim was superb in no small measure due to our guide, Rowan, who was absolutely outstanding.

Review by:   Isabelle d,    January 2011
Amasing journey with beautiful landscape _br/_ discovering arborigenes history is very captivating_br/_ Memorable trip thru the red country with gorgeous sunset or sunrise _br/_ Driver Guide very nice and ineresting

Review by:   Norma T,   United States of America, March 2010
Our tour guide was interesting, knowledgeable and entertaining. We enjoyed our tour of Ayers Rock and learned much about the Outback and the creation beliefs of the Aboriginal people. Great tour. Thanks.

Review by:   Ian P,   Canada, May 2009
Ayers Rock was great, being able to run your hand over pictures hundreds of years old, now wish I had walked on the rock. Many people were walking to the summit. Cattle ranch was amazing. Kings Canyon was also very good, but I never did the rim walk & later regretted it. There is no time limit, take your time & go for it. Dropped off at hotel in Alice Springs, which was a bit of a letdown. We were on the bus anyway, would it have hurt to do a 1 hour tour of Alice Springs before the drop off? Our driver was very informative & funny.

Review by:   Anonymous,   United States of America, September 2008
The tour company was great. Viator failed to deliver key information to us, though, and that made the trip a little confusing at the first.