Car rental Alice Springs: info, route suggestions & top offers

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Note: Due to the very high demand – especially during the peak travel seasons – there can always be shortages, especially for the popular camper and motor home models. Therefore, the earlier you book, the higher the probability that your desired vehicle is still available on the date you have chosen!

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Important info & helpful tips

There are few cities in the world where the vastness of a country and continent is more impressive to a visitor than in Alice Springs. In the middle of the reddish brown outback of the Northern Territory every coast and next big city are more than a thousand kilometers away in all directions. Whoever books and picks up a rental car in Alice Springs should be clear about the demands on the vehicle or know for which route he needs it. Nevertheless, with sufficient research, the experience can be easily realized and will certainly be remembered for a long time.

The national airport of Alice Springs is located 15 kilometers or 15 minutes by car south of the city center. In the clearly arranged hall of the terminal, the customer counters of the car rental companies Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty immediately catch the eye. Reservations should be made early, as the fleet of vehicles of the providers is limited. An expansion of the fleet is only possible to a limited extent or not at all due to the large distances to other rental stations.

Car rental equipment

The location and the Australian outback require a well thought-out vehicle selection. If you only want to travel in the center of Australia around Alice Springs, a four-wheel drive vehicle with GPS is a good choice. A motorhome or camper cannot be used for all routes and destinations. Inquiries about possible restrictions should therefore be made. For tours to one of Australia's coasts, the rates and regulations regarding a mileage limit are important.

Drive into town

The road from the airport to Alice Springs leads almost dead straight to the north. If you pick up your rental car in the city, you can use the quite expensive transfer bus. As a special feature, six private vehicle rental companies offer their services at the airport. A free pick-up can be arranged or the car can be delivered to the airport by prior arrangement.

Safety

In the travel information of the German Foreign Office (AA) Alice Springs is listed separately. The AA recommends increased vigilance during the hours of darkness and discourages wild camping in the vehicle. The outback in the middle of Australia is known for the rustic way of life of its inhabitants. Similar ruggedness can be found with regard to the weather. Floods limit the mobility partly strongly and the heat is not to be underestimated in the summer also.

For tours around Alice Springs and overland trips to a coast, every police station accepts a registration. The mobile phone network has big holes and if you don't have a satellite phone, you should make your travel and driving plans known to relatives and friends.

Recommended excursions with a rental car from Alice Springs

A rental car in Alice Springs has many advantages. Due to the fact that the surrounding region is incredibly beautiful, but also extremely vast, you can not really see much without a vehicle:

Flying Doctors

The worldwide unique service of the Flying Doctors has a daytime manned station in Alice Springs. From here about 16.000 inhabitants of the outback medically cared for, each of which can be reached in two hours by plane. The Royal Flying Doctor Service Australia has already saved many lives and enjoys a very good reputation. The station can be visited by tourists and is located two kilometers west of the city center next to the Museum of Central Australia and opposite the Kookaburra Memorial.

The desert lives & shines

Those in and around Alice Springs can experience sights and sounds unlike anywhere else in the world. The reddish brown earth and endless horizon create color plays and soundscapes that are worth spending time in just a few miles outside the city limits. Day and night moods often create an atmosphere that is difficult to put into words.

Alice Springs Desert Park

To immerse yourself in the desert world of the outback for the first time, we recommend a half-day or day trip to Alice Springs Desert Park. After twenty kilometers westbound on Larapinta Drive the showcase for the typical flora and fauna is on the left side of the road. Home to emus, kangaroos, marsupials, birds and reptiles, among which the thorny devil stands out.

MacDonnell Ranges

Alice Springs is located at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges, a 644km long mountain range in the immediate vicinity of town. The most popular highlights of this striking outback region are Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek, Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen and Finke Gorge. If you continue west on Larapinta Drive towards Hermannsburg, you will encounter many viewpoints, rock formations, scenic features as well as Finke Gorge National Park and Wattarka National Park (Kings Canyon), which is only 300km from Ayers Rock. The road is paved with two lanes until Hermannsburg.

Ayers Rock & Olgas

One of the most famous landmarks of Australia is Ayers Rock, the red and sacred mountain Uluru. From Alice Springs it is only a kangaroo jump of about 400 kilometers away. The road is paved all the way (so it is passable with a normal rental car) and after about 200 kilometers of driving on the Stuart Highway (87) towards Adelaide you have to turn right onto the Lasseter Highway (4). Once we have reached Yulara, we can get some information, do some shopping and refuel.

Almost as famous as Uluru or Ayers Rock are the 36 mountains of the Olgas (Kata Tjuta), which rise fifty kilometers apart in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. When visiting the holy mountains, it should be noted that the Aborigines feel climbing the mountains as if they were entering the altar in the cathedral of the Vatican. For this reason, you should think twice before making the climb, or leave it out of respect for the indigenous culture.