Ayers Rock Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

1-Night Uluru (Ayers Rock) - Longitude 131 - Standard

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 1 days
Longitude 131 is a luxury desert basecamp bordering Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The lodge is situated on top of red dunes overlooking Uluru (Australia`s best-known natural icon). The lodge features an outdoor pool, poolside bar, restaurant overlooking the monolith (serving contemporary Australia...

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18-Nights Classic Downunder: Auckland to Melbourne

Price: $4,964 - # of Days: 18 days
FIRST-CLASS | TAILOR-MADE: Get to know the true Downunder by experiencing the best of both Australia and New Zealand. Journey through New Zealand and Australia’s most spectacular sights including Rotorua, Milford Sound, Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef, with exciting, cosmopolitan cities ...

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11-Nights Signature Australia: Sydney, Rock, Reef & Rainforest

Price: $6,569 - # of Days: 11 days
DELUXE | PRIVATE-GUIDE: Bespoke touring with the comforts of 5 star luxury accommodations. Visit the famous Sydney Opera House with a private-guide. Spend a few nights in a deluxe luxury tent in the Australian Outback. Snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef and then finish your holiday with a few nights ...

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10-Nights Essence of Australia: Sydney, Rock and Reef

Price: $2,491 - # of Days: 10 days
FIRST-CLASS | TAILOR-MADE: Visit Australia’s must sees on this quintessential vacation. Drop anchor in Sydney’s famous harbour from the comfort of a luxury yacht. Discover the unique landscape, history and culture in Ayers Rock and then finish your vacation snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.

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15-Nights Authentic Australia: Sydney to Melbourne

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 15 days
FIRST-CLASS | TAILOR-MADE: Journey through the best of Australia on this unforgettable vacation that takes you from Sydney to Melbourne. Along the way, you’ll see Uluru/Ayers Rock, venture into Kakadu National Park, dive the Great Barrier Reef, and explore the Indigenous Dreamtime in Kuranda.

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11-Nights Classic Aussie Rail Spectacular

Price: $4,939 - # of Days: 11 days
FIRST-CLASS | TAILOR-MADE: This 12-day adventure combines two of Australia’s famous rail journeys: The Indian Pacific and The Ghan. Starting in Sydney, you will travel through the best of South Australia before going on to Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef. Explore the Australian outback a...

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11-Nights Classic Australia: Melbourne, Red Centre, Cairns and Sydney

Price: $3,912 - # of Days: 11 days
FIRST-CLASS | TAILOR-MADE: Explore Australia’s most famous cities and natural wonders on this ideal introduction to the land Downunder. Connecting from Melbourne to Sydney, you’ll gaze upon the changing colours of Uluru, cruise the Great Barrier Reef, and go behind the scenes of the Sydn...

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7-Nights Classic Sydney, Rock & Reef

Price: $1,592 - # of Days: 7 days
MODERATE | TAILOR-MADE: Venture to three of Australia’s most famous spots, cosmopolitan Sydney, the outback and tropical Queensland. Get to know Sydney before catching the sunset over Uluru (Ayers Rock). Then explore Cairns, the rainforest and the incredible Great Barrier Reef.

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20-night Ultimate Australia Cruisetour #4F

Price: $7,921 - # of Days: 20 days

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19-night Australian Outback Cruisetour #3F

Price: $6,761 - # of Days: 19 days

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Overview

Introduction

The world's largest monolith, located 280 mi/450 km southwest of Alice Springs, is a truly stunning sight, especially at sunset when its burnt-orange glow seems to set the desert on fire. Called Uluru by the Aborigines, the sandstone rock is huge (1,140 ft/350 m high, 9 mi/13 km around) and reddish brown most of the time, taking its color from iron oxide, or rust. Its presence is made more powerful by the mostly barren plain that surrounds it and disappears into the horizon. In 1985, ownership of the rock was returned to its traditional owners. It is rarely referred to as Ayers Rock anymore.

Considered sacred by the Aborigines for thousands of years, the rock is now part of the expansive Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, one of the country's biggest tourist attractions. The park includes the Olgas/Kata Tjuta, a cluster of 36 giant domelike rock formations about 20 mi/35 km west. If you want to visit both, plan to spend at least one night. You'll want to see Uluru at both sunset and sunrise. The Olgas are equally magnificent at both times of day. (But be prepared to jockey for position at either place; tour buses disgorge hundreds of visitors laden with binoculars, cameras and video equipment.)

Start your visit to the park with a stop at the cultural center. Run by the Anangu (a local Aboriginal clan), the center is a wonderful introduction to the unusual rock formations and to the people who lived in their harsh shadows for centuries. Aboriginal artwork and artifacts are on display. You can also see re-enactments of life in the bush and watch informative videos. Most visitors explore the rock as part of a tour led by park rangers, Anangu guides or private tour companies. But you can also pick up a printed walking guide at the cultural center and set off on your own.

Only one trail leads to the top of the rock, and it's fairly steep—those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, asthma, fear of heights or the like should remain earthbound. The Anangu prefer you walk around—not on—the rock because of its spiritual importance. If you do decide to climb it, allow two to three hours and take along a snack and plenty of water. The view from the top is spectacular, but hiking around the base is more educational and less strenuous. We suggest taking one or more of the shorter walks that pass water holes and rock paintings, allowing you to observe the rock's many faces at a leisurely pace. (Walking around the entire base of the rock takes about three hours.)

Allow at least an afternoon to visit the Olgas/Kata Tjuta. A frequent debate among visitors is whether the Olgas outshine the rock. It's a close call—the Olgas are taller, reaching 1,790 ft/545 m at the highest point. Made of conglomerate (pebbles and boulders cemented together by mud and sand), they are off-limits to climbers, but you can explore some of the valleys and chasms between the rocks.

Most visitors fly to Uluru or drive from Alice Springs. About the only place to stay in the area is the Ayers Rock Resort, or Yulara, whose five hotels and a campground can accommodate visitors in all price ranges. Longitude 131 is a magnificent safari camp with 15 luxury tents. Dozens of tours leave from Ayers Rock Resort, including sunrise camel rides around the rock, sunset champagne dinners in the desert, Aboriginal culture tours and stargazing. You can also rent a car there and explore on your own.

Because of the excessive heat in summer, the best time to visit is April-November (winter in Australia). Always take along plenty of drinking water. If you are flying to the Outback, we suggest going overland one way from Alice Springs (four to five hours) but flying the other way—the desert drive is scenic, but it can be tedious the second time around. http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru.