Four nights in Sydney, a guided Outback adventure through Kings Canyon and Uluru, then four nights in Melbourne.
The trip in a nutshell
This is the trip most people actually have in mind when they say “Australia”: the harbour, the rock, and the coffee capital — with an internal flight doing the heavy lifting in between. You get proper time in each place rather than a whistle-stop, and the Outback leg is a genuine small-group guided adventure with an Aboriginal cultural walk at Simpsons Gap, the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, sunset and sunrise at Uluru and a group dinner around a campfire.
Flights in and out are included (into Sydney, home from Melbourne, so you never double back), as are both internal flights, all transfers and checked baggage. At the lead-in price it works out around £280 a day including your long-haul flights.
“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 Grace Sydney (4 nights, B&B) · Stay At Alice Springs Hotel (1 night) · permanent tented camps at Kings Canyon and Yulara (3 nights) · Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne (4 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 £280/day on the brochure · +14%
The moments you'll remember
Two visits, two completely different rocks. Sunset from the viewing area, then an early start for sunrise and the Mala Walk.
A guided walk in the West MacDonnell Ranges that sets up everything you'll see over the following three days.
Six kilometres around the rim of a 100-metre sandstone gorge — the single best walk in the Red Centre.
The Olgas are, for many people, quietly more impressive than Uluru itself. You walk right into the gorge between the domes.
Campsite dinner in the desert on the first night of the Outback leg, with the whole Milky Way overhead.
Not two. Enough for the Opera House, Bondi, a harbour cruise and still a day doing nothing.
Laneways, the Queen Victoria Market, and a free day for the Great Ocean Road or Phillip Island if you want it.
Into Sydney, home from Melbourne — no wasted day backtracking across the country.
Airport transfers, internal flights and checked baggage are all in the price.
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.
Land in Sydney and transfer to The Grace, a heritage art-deco hotel a five-minute walk from Circular Quay. Evening at leisure by the harbour.
The icons: the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Bondi Beach. Evening at your own pace — the Rocks is a short stroll away.
BreakfastTwo free days. A harbour cruise, the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee, the Blue Mountains, or simply a long lunch in Surry Hills.
2 breakfastsInternal flight to the Red Centre, welcome meeting at 8am, then a guided Aboriginal cultural walk at Simpsons Gap. Scenic drive via Erldunda towards Kings Canyon, finishing with a group dinner at the campsite.
DinnerMorning on the Rim Walk high above the canyon floor, then the drive to Yulara — arriving in time for the Uluru sunset viewing as the rock runs through every shade of red.
Breakfast, lunchThe Walpa Gorge walk at Kata Tjuta in the cool of the morning, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre to understand Anangu culture, then the Kuniya Walk to the Mutitjulu Waterhole.
Breakfast, lunch, dinnerAn early start for sunrise, followed by the Mala Walk along the base of the rock with its art sites and shelters. Transfer to the airport and fly on to Melbourne.
BreakfastLaneway coffee, street art, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the markets. Your hotel, the Rendezvous, is on Flinders Street in the thick of it.
2 breakfastsThe classic choices: the Great Ocean Road and Twelve Apostles, the Phillip Island penguin parade, or the Yarra Valley wineries.
BreakfastShopping, a gallery, or a final long lunch before you pack.
BreakfastTransfer to Melbourne Airport for the flight back to the UK.
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
If you want Uluru without spending five figures, this is the trip. Four nights each in Sydney and Melbourne bookend a genuine three-night small-group Outback adventure. At £320 a day by our True Cost measure — flights included, meals added back — it's one of the four cheapest trips on the site.
Before you fly
On a 13-day trip departing from London Gatwick, 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 | 9 | ✓ | — | — | £3,429 | £413 | View |
| Sydney, Brisbane, Whitsundays & Cairns | 15 | ✓ | — | — | £3,499 | £292 | View |
| Sydney, Uluru & Melbourne You're viewing this | 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 Australia Adventure: Sydney to Melbourne via Uluru →Keep looking
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