Nine days, two cities and the full Uluru and Kings Canyon guided adventure — flying from Manchester.
The trip in a nutshell
The same Outback core as our longer Sydney–Uluru–Melbourne trip, compressed into nine days for people who can't take three weeks off. You still get the complete three-night guided adventure through Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta and Uluru — the cultural walks, the sunrise, the campfire dinner — with a couple of nights either side in Sydney and Melbourne to bookend it.
It's intense, and you will feel the jet lag, but it is comfortably the most efficient way to stand in front of Uluru at dawn without booking a month off work. Departures fly from Manchester, which is a rarity on Australian itineraries.
“Everything is arranged. Every flight, every transfer, every hotel, every big-ticket experience. All you have to do is turn up at the airport.”
The Kirketon Sydney (2 nights, B&B) · Stay At Alice Springs Hotel (1 night) · tented camps at Kings Canyon and Yulara (3 nights) · Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne (2 nights, B&B)
Live availability on Travelodeal's site · low deposit · ABTA & ATOL protected
Our signature calculation
The brochure tells you what this trip costs to book. This is what it costs to take — the price plus every meal the package doesn't cover, per person.
Unusually complete — the brochure price is close to what the trip really costs.
Meals priced at mid-range Australian rates: breakfast £14, lunch £20, dinner £38. We don't count the 2 days you spend in the air. How we calculate it · See every trip ranked
vs £381/day on the brochure · +8%
The moments you'll remember
Both, on consecutive days, with sparkling colour changes and an early-morning start that everyone says is worth it.
The Red Centre's finest walk, along the rim of a sheer sandstone gorge.
A guided introduction to Arrernte country in the West MacDonnell Ranges.
Thirty-six domes, and a walk into the wind gap between the two largest.
Dinner in the desert on night one — the moment the trip stops feeling like a city break.
No pre-trip hop to Heathrow. Unusual, and worth a lot if you live in the north.
Two nights each, enough for the harbour at one end and the laneways at the other.
Into Sydney, out of Melbourne, with the Alice Springs legs booked for you.
The shortest properly-organised Red Centre itinerary we've found.
Where you'll go
Every stop below is included — with all internal flights, transfers and ground travel arranged for you.
5 stops, with every internal flight and transfer between them arranged for you.
SydneyAlice SpringsKings CanyonUluruMelbourne
Day by day
Tap any stage to open it. Meals included at each stage are marked in green.
Arrive and transfer to The Kirketon in Darlinghurst — small, design-led, walkable to the city. Two days at leisure for the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the coastal walks.
BreakfastInternal flight to the Red Centre, welcome meeting at 8am, and a guided Aboriginal cultural walk at Simpsons Gap. Evening at leisure in Alice.
The Uluru & Kings Canyon adventure begins with a scenic drive via Erldunda, ending with a group dinner at the campsite under a spectacular sky.
DinnerThe Rim Walk in the morning, then the drive to Yulara and the Uluru sunset viewing.
Breakfast, lunchWalpa Gorge at Kata Tjuta, the Cultural Centre, and the Kuniya Walk to the waterhole at the base of Uluru.
Breakfast, lunch, dinnerSunrise over the rock and the Mala Walk with its rock art, before the transfer to the airport and the flight to Melbourne.
BreakfastLaneways, coffee, the river and the galleries — or a day trip if you'd rather.
BreakfastTransfer to the airport for your return flight to Manchester.
BreakfastItinerary summarised from the operator's published programme and correct at the time of writing. Order of stages can vary by departure date — confirm the exact schedule for your date on the operator's site.
Photo tour
Photography from Wikimedia Commons contributors under Creative Commons licences — full credits here.
The detail
Before you fly
On a 9-day trip departing from Manchester, parking is a serious line item — and a policy that caps single trips at 31 days would leave you uninsured for none of this one.
Not sure this is the one?
Here's how this compares with the other multi-centre holidays we rate. See all 20 holidays →
| Tour | Days | Australia | New Zealand | Cook Islands | From (pp) | True Cost / day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth, Rottnest & Margaret River | 11 | ✓ | — | — | £3,339 | £351 | View |
| Sydney, Alice Springs & Melbourne You're viewing this | 9 | ✓ | — | — | £3,429 | £413 | View |
| Sydney, Brisbane, Whitsundays & Cairns | 15 | ✓ | — | — | £3,499 | £292 | View |
| Sydney, Uluru & Melbourne | 13 | ✓ | — | — | £3,639 | £320 | View |
| Australia Bucket List Adventure | 15 | ✓ | — | — | £3,849 | £308 | View |
| Singapore & Queensland multi-centre | 16 | ✓ | — | — | £4,019 | £304 | View |
| NZ South Island & Stewart Island | 16 | ✓ | ✓ | — | £5,879 | £420 | View |
| Ultimate East Coast Explorer | 21 | ✓ | — | — | £7,249 | £400 | View |
Before you book
No — and this is the main difference from an escorted tour. Flights, hotels, transfers and any named day tours are booked for you, but there is no group and no guide accompanying you between destinations. You have far more free time and rather more independence.
These operators publish a brochure price and sell at a discount on selected dates. The saving is real in the sense that it is what you pay, but treat the higher figure as a reference point rather than a price anyone was recently charged. Judge the trip on the price you would actually pay.
It means the operator books you into a property of the stated standard in that location, but does not name it in advance. It keeps the price down. If knowing your hotel matters to you, choose an itinerary where they are all named.
Departures run from October 2026 through to September 2028. Long-haul escorted tours of this length sell out early — the best-value departure dates and preferred room types typically go 9–12 months ahead, so it pays to secure your place sooner rather than later.
Return flights are included from your chosen UK airport. Regional departures are available on most dates, sometimes for a small supplement — you'll see the options for your date when you check availability.
Yes — this is a fully escorted small-group tour with a Travelsphere Holiday Director travelling with you throughout. They handle the logistics, the check-ins and the local know-how, so your job is simply to enjoy it. Groups are typically modest in size and overwhelmingly British.
British passport holders need an Australian ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) and an NZeTA for New Zealand where applicable — both are straightforward online applications. Your passport should have at least six months' validity remaining. Always check the latest FCDO and official government guidance before you travel.
Live availability, departure dates from your local airport and current offers are on the operator's booking page. Deposits are low, the balance isn't due until much later, and every booking is ABTA and ATOL protected.
Check dates & prices for Sydney to Melbourne via Alice Springs →Keep looking
Four nights in Sydney, a guided Outback adventure through Kings Canyon and Uluru, then four nights in Melbourne.
Break the journey in Singapore, then work your way down the Queensland coast — reef, rainforest and the Whitsundays.
Four centres up the east coast with three flights included — and a lead-in price of £3,499.