Alice Springs car hire: Cedrent, Alice Car Rental, Firefly, Avis or Hertz?
Northern Territory car hire can be cheaper in Alice Springs than at Uluru. You can rent a car in Alice Springs itself, or the airport. Lesser-known car rental options include Cedrent, Alice Car Rental, Firefly, Apollo, Wicked Campers and Britz.
Some visitors to Australia’s humungous Northern Territory will be driving in from other states. Most of these will be arriving from South Australia, tackling the drive from Adelaide to Alice Springs. That’s a long stint at the wheel, and barring a few wine regions after leaving Adelaide, a mainly stark one through the desert. There are a few distractions at Woomera, Lake Hart and Coober Pedy on the way. But most of the route is pure, hard, slog along the Stuart Highway through empty outback.
Understandably, therefore, most people visiting the Northern Territory will fly in. There are three main airports in the Northern Territory, of which Darwin in the Top End has by far the busiest.
Car hire at Northern Territory airports
The other two airports are in the Red Centre. One is Ayers Rock Airport at Yulara near Uluru, the other is in Alice Springs. If Uluru is the destination you have in mind, then fly into Ayers Rock Airport. It makes for far easier access to the Uluru base walk in the early morning, plus the camel rides and sunset spots. Uluru car hire is available from Ayers Rock Airport.
Car hire costs at Uluru can be expensive, though, and it may be better to rent a car in Alice Springs.
Be warned: the drive from Alice Springs to Uluru takes about five hours. You should only fly into and rent a car in Alice Springs if you plan to see considerably more of the Red Centre. Using Alice Springs as the base means you can do a circuit taking in Standley Chasm and Ormiston Gorge on the Larapinta Trail, plus Mount Conner, Kings Canyon and the West MacDonnell Ranges. You can also cover local attractions such as the Alice Springs Kangaroo Sanctuary.
Sort out your Red Centre transport now
Alice Springs also offers stunning outback scenery on a West MacDonnell Ranges day tour, fascinating nocturnal visits to the Desert Park and scenic camel tours.
Thrifty, Budget, Avis, Hertz and Europcar all have outlets at Alice Springs Airport. But your Northern Territory car hire might work out cheaper if you take a taxi into town and pick up a rental car in Alice Springs itself.
Rental cars in Alice Springs
The usual suspects, plus Dollar and Enterprise, offer car hire in Alice Springs, although cheaper deals may be available from lesser-known names. In Alice Springs, these smaller car hire firms include Cedrent, Firefly and Alice Car Rental.
Alice Springs campervan rental
It’s also possible to pick up a campervan in Alice Springs. Wicked Campers, Apollo and Britz have bases in the Red Centre’s main city. Expect to pay from around $52 for a compact car, and $66 for a standard car.
If you’re planning to drive from Alice Springs to Katherine and Darwin, watch out for one way fees and kilometre limits. These can bump prices up considerably.
Best Alice Springs accommodation choices
These are the best Alice Springs accommodation picks:
- For a solid, relatively affordable motel: Elkira Court Motel.
- For villas, gardens and a lagoon-style pool: Desert Palms.
- For backpackers: Alice’s Secret Travellers Inn.
- For a kid-friendly holiday park: Discovery Parks Alice Springs.
- For business-friendly serviced apartments: Quest Alice Springs.
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