Alice Springs & Kings Canyon Holidays

You’ll find plenty of things to do in Alice Springs. Watch the sunrise over the city and desert when you take a dawn balloon ride through the peaceful sky. Hike the trails of the MacDonnell Ranges to discover ancient rock carvings and hidden waterholes. Alice Springs Desert Park should also be on your list. Here, you can get up close with kangaroos, emus, and birds of prey, and walk through the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest nocturnal house, where darkness-loving animals scurry around. You can also learn how indigenous peoples find and prepare food, create bush medicine, and store water to survive.

Three hundred kilometres from Alice Springs, en route to Uluru, you'll find Kings Canyon in the heart of the Watarrka National Park. Climb 500 steps to walk the sandstone bluff rim of the canyon, where you can gaze across the forests and watering holes of the gorge below. If you're staying in Kings Canyon, you can enjoy an exclusive dining experience, Under a Desert Moon, which celebrates produce from the Outback. You can feast on a five-course campfire dinner beneath the stars, featuring a free-range Australian menu in an intimate eight-table setting. 

An urban island in 200,000 square miles of rocky desert, Alice Springs is a modern city filled with galleries, restaurants, shops, and museums. And you can see where it all began at the Overland Telegraph Station. Make sure you also find out more about Alice’s vital roles in the health and education of the Red Centre’s widely dispersed population, by visiting the Royal Flying Doctor Service Museum and the School of the Air.

You can browse the diverse art of Central Australia at the Araluen Cultural Precinct. Sample flavours from around the world at Tod Mall’s Sunday markets. Wander the shops, pick up a book, grab a coffee, and spend a lazy afternoon relaxing in the sunshine. Climb Unteyetwelye – also known as Anzac Hill – for incredible views of the city and beyond. Play 18 holes at Alice Springs Golf Club, or amble through the flora of Olive Pink Botanic Gardens.

The West MacDonnell Ranges rise from the desert floor to create a rocky spine, which stretches more than 100 miles from Alice Springs. It takes 14 days to hike the whole 140-mile Larapinta Trail- but you can get a taste of this fantastic landscape by taking the 15-mile round trip from Alice Springs Telegraph Station to Simpsons Gap.

Drive just a little further to swim at Ellery Creek Big Hole, explore Glen Helen and Ormiston Gorge, or discover the sacred site of the Ochre Pits. Take a 4WD trip to Emily Gap, Jessie Gap, Corroboree Rock, Trephina Gorge, and the East MacDonnell Ranges. You can also discover N'Dhala Gorge, where 6,000 petroglyphs have been carved at almost 700 separate sites. Or walk the ancient ruins of Central Australia’s first town at Arltunga Historical Reserve.

The Red Centre climate of Alice Springs is one of contrast, with hot summers and cold winters. The autumn season from March to May is often considered the best time to visit Alice Springs, when temperatures range between 15°C and 25°C. June to August is winter, when daytime temperatures remain mild – but it can quickly drop close to freezing after nightfall, so be sure to pack plenty of layers.

September and November see slightly warmer temperatures than spring, but there can be occasional storms during the cooler evenings. Summer, which runs from December to February, is incredibly hot. Daytime temperatures can reach 40°C, so many travellers choose to avoid visiting at this time of year.