Planning a trip to Alice Springs
Visitor Information
The Tourism Central Australia Visitor Information Centre, Todd Mall, ( tel. 1800/645 199 in Australia or 08/8952 5800; www.centralaustraliantourism.com), is the official one-stop shop for bookings and touring information for the Red Centre, including Alice Springs, Kings Canyon, and Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park. It also acts as the visitor center for the Parks & Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. It’s open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm and weekends and public holidays from 9:30am to 4pm. It also has desks at the airport and train stationSpecial Events
Alice Springs hosts a couple of bizarre events. The Camel Cup camel race (www.camelcup.com.au) takes place on the second Saturday in July. In late August, people from hundreds of miles around come out to cheer the Henley-on-Todd Regatta (www.henleyontodd.com.au), during which gaudily decorated, homemade bottomless "boats" race down the dry Todd River bed. Well, what else do you do on a river that rarely flows?
City Layout
Todd Mall is the heart of town. Most shops, businesses, and restaurants are here or within a few blocks' walk. Most hotels, the casino, the golf course, and many of the town's attractions are a few kilometers outside of town. The dry Todd River "flows" through the city east of Todd Mall.
Taking Care at Night
At the time of this writing, incidents of violence and crime in Alice Springs, including attacks on tourists by groups of young people -- fuelled by alcohol and substance-abuse -- were making headlines in Australia. Much of the trouble is centered around the dry bed of the Todd River and Aboriginal 'town camps'. Visitors are advised not to wander around the streets at night.
Getting There
By Plane Qantas ( tel. 13 13 13 in Australia) flies direct from Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, and Uluru. Low-cost carrier Tigerair ( tel. 02/8073 3421; www.tigerair.com) has direct flights from Melbourne and Sydney.
Alice Springs Airport (www.alicespringsairport.com.au) is about 15 km (9 1/3 miles) out of town. The airport shuttle operated by Alice Wanderer Airport Transfers ( tel. 1800/722 111 in Australia or 08/8952 2111; www.alicewanderer.com.au) meets all flights and transfers you to your Alice hotel door for A$15 per passenger for the first two passengers and then A$10 for each subsequent passenger in your group. A taxi from the airport to town is around A$35.
By Train If you are a train buff, you may want to plan a trip that takes in two of Australia’s great train journeys. From Sydney, you can get to Alice Springs by train using the Indian Pacific and Ghan trains. First take the Indian Pacific (which travels across the continent from Sydney to Perth) from Sydney to Adelaide and then change direction (and trains) to head north to Alice. Named after Afghan camel-train drivers who carried supplies in the Red Centre during the 19th century, the Ghan makes the trip from Adelaide to Alice every week, continuing to Darwin. The twice-weekly Adelaide–Alice service takes roughly 24 hours. It promises to be a very long—but memorable—journey. For information, contact Great Southern Railway ( tel. 1800/703 357 in Australia or 08/8213 4401; www.gsr.com.au).
By Bus Greyhound ( tel. 1300/473 946 in Australia or 08/8952 7888 in Alice Springs; www.greyhound.com.au) runs from Sydney via Adelaide. It’s a monster 45-hour trip, and the fare is around A$445. Unless you really love bus travel, there are better ways to get there!
By Car Alice Springs is on the Stuart Highway linking Adelaide and Darwin. Allow a very long 2 days or a more comfortable 3 days to drive from Adelaide, the same from Darwin. From Sydney, connect to the Stuart Highway via Broken Hill and Port Augusta north of Adelaide; from Cairns, head south to Townsville and then west via the town of Mount Isa to join the Stuart Highway at Tennant Creek. Both routes are long and dull. From Perth, it is even longer; drive across the Nullarbor Plain to connect with the Stuart Highway at Port Augusta. If you fancy a driving holiday of the area, check out www.travelnt.com for specific advice on routes, accommodations, and everything else you’ll need to know, including things like locations of fuel stops.
Getting Around
Virtually all tours pick you up at your hotel. If your itinerary traverses unpaved roads, as it may in outlying areas, you will need to rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle, because regular cars will not be insured on an unpaved surface. However, a regular car will get you to most attractions. Avis, Gregory Terrace (at Bath St.; tel. 08/8952 3694); Budget, 113 Todd Mall ( tel. 08/8952 8899); Hertz, 34 Stott Terrace ( tel. 08/8952 2644); and Thrifty, corner of Stott Terrace and Hartley St. ( tel. 08/8952 9999), all rent conventional and four-wheel-drive vehicles. Europcar ( tel. 08/8953 3799) has a desk at the airport, as do all the other companies. You may get a better deal on car rental by going through the Outback Travel Shop (www.outbacktravelshop.com.au) in Alice Springs, a booking agent that negotiates bulk rates with most Alice car-rental companies.
Many rental outfits for motor homes (camper vans) have Alice offices. They include Apollo Campers, 40 Stuart Hwy., corner of Smith Street ( tel. 1800/777 779 in Australia), and Britz CampervanRental, corner of Stuart Highway and Power Street ( tel. 08/8952 8814). Renting a camper van can be significantly cheaper than staying in hotels and going on tours, but it pays to do your math first.
The best way to get around town without your own transport is aboard the Alice Wanderer bus Public buses ( tel. 08/8924 7066) run around town; the main bus stop is at the corner of Gregory Terrace and Railway Terrace. A A$3 fare gives you unlimited bus travel for 3 hours from the time of purchase. A Show & Go daily ticket costs A$7 and provides unlimited bus travel on that day. A weekly Show & Go costs A$20 for 7 days from the date of purchase. Tickets can be bought on the bus. There are no public bus services on Sundays or public holidays.
For a taxi, call Alice Springs Taxis ( tel. 13 10 08 or 08/8952 1877) or find one at the rank (stand) on the corner of Todd Street and Gregory Terrace. Taxi fares here are high.
City Layout
Todd Mall is the heart of town. Most shops, businesses, and restaurants are here or within a few blocks’walk. Most hotels, the casino, the golf course, and many of the town’s attractions are a few kilometers outside of town. The dry Todd River “flows”through the city east of Todd Mall.
Taking Care at Night
Incidents of violence and crime in Alice Springs, including attacks on tourists by groups of young people—fueled by alcohol and substance abuse—have made headlines in Australia in recent years. Much of the trouble is centered around the drybed of the Todd River and Aboriginal “town camps.”Visitors are advised not to wander around the streets at night.
