Why Uluru Is One of the Best Family Holidays You’ll Ever Take

If you're a parent to anyone under driving age, choosing a family holiday often gets narrowed down to wherever has waterparks and Wifi. The big, life changing stuff like the Australian red centre can be put into the too hard basket.  But here’s the secret: Uluru with kids is not only doable, it can be one of the best family adventures on Earth.

Uluru offers a rich mix of immersive cultural experiences, otherworldly landscapes, and hands-on adventures that get kids off their screens and into the dirt. From dot painting to drone shows, camel rides to night skies bursting with more stars than they’ve ever seen, this is how to get the most out of a trip to Uluru with kids.

Here’s everything you need to know for a wild, wonder-filled Uluru family holiday.

Before booking an Uluru family holiday it’s good to understand where you’re going. More than likely you’ll fly into Ayers Rock (or Connellan) Airport and head into the town of Yulara. Spread around Yulara is the Ayers Rock Resort, a collective of accommodation options. Shuttle buses flow between the airport, these hotels and campgrounds, and the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. That’s where you’ll see The Rock.
 

Desert Gardens Hotel is the top choice for a family-friendly base at Ayers Rock Resort. While the large rooms, oasis-style swimming pool and world-class dining spell comfort, this isn’t some luxury bubble that walls you off from the Outback. Desert Gardens embraces the landscape, with native flora right outside your room and views of Uluru glowing in the distance from select rooms. 

The hotel offers a complimentary Indigenous Activities Program which includes bush yarns, guided garden walks, and traditional art demonstrations that help build curiosity and cultural respect for this incredible region. Desert Gardens organises complimentary airport transfers and free shuttle buses around Yulara.

Pro tip: Guests also have access to over 65 tours, local experiences, and attractions right from the resort’s front desk. From toddler-friendly walks to something more adventurous for teens, your concierge will be more than happy to recommend a tailored itinerary.

Address: Desert Gardens, 1 Yulara Drive, Yulara NT 0872

It’s no exaggeration to say that seeing Uluru, and its equally majestic sister site Kata Tjuta, for the first time is something your kids will remember for the rest of their lives. Start early with an Uluru sunrise tour, watching the sky light up behind the iconic formation. The walk around Uluru is transformational, with the power to silence even the most committed iPad addict.
 

If you want to manage your own trip out to the park companies like Uluru Hop On Hop Off offer shuttle services from Yulara to Uluru. Your hotel will likely have their own shuttle options but some don’t extend to Uluru itself. Taxis do go out to the park, with a ride from Yulara to Uluru taking approximately 20 minutes, costing between $50 and $60. You can also rent a car at the airport and all main roads in the region are sealed and suitable for standard vehicles.
 

For an added thrill, look into Uluru Camel Tours. Big, lumbering, occasionally grumpy, surprisingly graceful crossing the fine red dirt. Even if you don’t choose to see the park on a humpback, visitors are welcome at the camel farm to wander through the saddlery, meet emus, roos and water buffaloes at the petting farm, and hear about the region’s, Afghan and ANZAC cameleers and their brave Anangu guides.
 

Uluru Segway tours are also a huge hit with families, especially if you have a few sulky teens in tow. Adventurers 12 and over can cruise around the rock’s base trail with a guide leading and a headset feeding you stories of ancient law, geology, and Indigenous culture. Or if you choose to circle the rock by bike the 15-kilometre, self-guided journey is easily made within three hours. There are tag-a-longs for littler kids, and adult and children’s bikes for everyone else. 

Pro tip: You'll need to buy an Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park pass regardless of how you enter the park, which is easy to do online. Passes for children 17 and under are free, and the adult passes will last for a minimum of three days. 

The Anangu people have been the custodians of the Uluru region for thousands of years, preserving their culture by passing down stories, songs, and language through family lines. There are a slew of traditional experiences led by Anangu locals that will give important context to the landscape and some of the rock art you’ll see at Uluru.
 

Book the family into a dot painting workshop to learn how simple symbols can tell elaborate stories, or one of the didgeridoo workshops that demonstrate circular breathing. Have a blast trying (and mostly failing) to make that soul-thrumming hum. 
 

For authentic art, the Gallery of Central Australia (GoCA) has an excellently curated, rotating exhibition from emerging and established Aboriginal artists that show the depth and variety of desert craft. 
 

Or the Bush Tucker Experience at Arkani Theatre goes well beyond the usual tourist buffet with a kangaroo burger tacked on. Here teachers go deep on the native ingredients that have fed generations of Anangu people, and kept them alive in some of the toughest conditions on Earth. 
 

Once the sun sets (ideally you will spend this watching the incredible colour show at Kata Tjuṯa) you’re in for the second most amazing Uluru experience: the Outback sky. With zero light pollution, the Milky Way doesn’t just sparkle, it pulsates. On an Uluru Astro Tour, local guides combine Indigenous sky lore with astronomy, pointing out constellations with laser pens while you lie back on camp chairs and wonder how you could ever live in a city.
 

Over by The Rock, artist Bruce Munro’s immersive installation, Field of Light, has transformed the desert near Uluru into a surreal landscape of over 50,000 tiny orbs gently pulsing across the dunes like a waking dream. 
 

Finally, for something truly mind-blowing, the Wintjiri Wiru Sunset Dinner is part theatre, part drone spectacle, part fine dining. As the sun sets behind Uluru, you’ll sit down to a gourmet meal while over a thousand drones light up the sky, animating the ancient Mala story in stunning colour. Kids stare in wonder, adults tear up, no one asks for the WiFi password.
 

Pro Tip: For any time spent without an official guide, the Uluru Audio Guide is an app with more than 100 stories and facts about Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, cleverly triggered by GPS as you move around the park.

The cooler months between May and September are ideal for families, as daytime temperatures are more comfortable for outdoor activities. Additionally, school holiday periods often feature special programs tailored for children. Most tours kick off at sunrise, and with good reason. By noon the heat can cause meltdowns, even during the colder months (even for grown ups), so you want to be back by the pool or air-con for the middle hours of the day. 

Pack smart and for extremes. Cold in the morning, scorching by midday. Bring layers, wide-brim hats, fly nets (trust us), sunscreen, and bug repellent.

The good stuff fills up fast, especially Uluru day tours, camel and Segway rides, and the Wintjiri Wiru experience.

Don’t take photographs of Aboriginal people without their explicit permission. Several areas around the base of Uluru are sacred sites and Anangu requests that these areas are not photographed at all. Use the traditional names for Uluru, Kata Tjuta and foods. Teaching kids indigenous names is a great way for them to learn about Australian history.

Take your rubbish with you when you’re out exploring, and stick to designated tracks when walking or driving within the National Park. Take no ‘souvenirs’ from the land, and don’t feed any native wildlife.