Alice Springs is one of Australia’s most famous outback towns, surrounded by a vast red sweep of desert and rough roads that web out in all directions. An excellent base from which to visit Ayer’s Rock, Alice Springs lies in the physical and spiritual heart of the Red Center and features some of the most vibrant aboriginal culture in the country. HAPPYCAR is here to help you find the best car hire Alice Springs has to offer so you can take full advantage of this rugged city. We check the prices of international and local providers on our online comparison portal, so that you don’t have to check each website to provide you with the best deals to make your money go further on a rental car that fits your specific vacation needs.
General Information
With a population of around 25,000, Alice Springs is a compact town but still manages to be the largest settlement in the interior of Australia. Once a telegraph station for the continent-spanning Overland Telegraph Line, the city emerged quickly from its status as a frontier settlement and is now a hub for adventure tourism and aboriginal art. The leafy streets, large shopping malls, art galleries, cinemas and good coffee makes for a good balance to the glut of stunning outdoor adventures you can enjoy around the city, best enjoyed from a car hire in Alice Springs, preferably with air conditioning.
To Do
If you’re looking to stay within the confines of the city, you can take a trip to the Araluen Arts & Cultural Precinct, where you can head to the Museum of Central Australia and learn about Central Australian mythology, art and culture. Todd Mall is also nearby, where you can browse the rich offerings of premier Aboriginal art. Outside of the city you have plenty of choices. You can trek the Larapinta Trail, go four-wheel driving, camp in the bush, take a ride in a hot air balloon, take thrilling bike rides or ride a camel along the Todd River.
Attractions
The Alice Springs Desert Park houses a fantastic collection of central Australian critters, all in one place – perfect for your first glimpse of spangled grunters, velvet geckos or bilbys. With a car hire in Alice Springs you can also explore the beautiful red expanse of Finke Gorge National Park, a desert oasis that harks back to more tropical times. Nearby is a conservation reserve where a huge comet crashed into Earth more than a million years ago, and holds an important place in Aboriginal culture. The Larapinta Trail features a number of attractions along the West MacDonnell Ranges, such as Simpson's Gap, Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen Gorge.
Eating
A sometimes transient population means that restaurants in Alice Springs can be hit and miss, but in general there is a strong selection of different foods to try in this remote city. Perhaps surprisingly, there is a very prominent Asian culinary trend sweeping through the city, with Vietnamese and Thai food featuring heavily. Hanuman, sister restaurant to the one in Darwin, is a classy Thai option. Steaks are popular here, and they come in massive sizes, often with a choice of cow, camel or kangaroo.
Excursions
There is much to see around Alice Springs, where burnished ranges and ghostly white gumtrees dominate the ochre skyline and an Alice Springs car hire is essential to get anywhere. For many, Alice Springs is their first encounter with truly indigenous Australia and it is a great base from which to strike out to Uluru, otherwise known as Ayers Rock, Australia’s most recognizable natural icon and the most visited place in the country. With an Alice Springs car rental you can drive there for 4 to 5 hours and it is most certainly worth the trip. The UNESCO World Heritage Area is a single massive rock formation that is considered an extremely sacred place by the Aborigines.
Nothing in the Australian continent is out of reach when you book your next vacation car hire through the onoine portal HAPPYCAR!