10 Cool Places to take the Kids in Alice Springs

Last Updated on May 4, 2021 by Red Nomad OZ

Aussie Flag at Anzac Hill, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Aussie Flag at Anzac Hill, Alice Springs, Northern Territory

Take the family to Central Australia and discover the TOP TEN kid-friendly things to do in Alice Springs!  In this guest post, Dominic Vivarini of Earth Sanctuary is your guide on this virtual

If you are on a holiday with the kids in Australia, then Alice Springs is a great place to enjoy your family vacation. Alice Springs offers many activities and places for kids so that they are never bored. Here are the Top 10 things to do in Alice Springs your kids will love.

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) is the largest monolith in the world located in the Red Centre desert about 450 km south-west of Alice Springs. It’s a sacred place for Aborigines and older kids can either climb to the top or go for a guided walk with an Aboriginal guide. The whole family can also enjoy the light show at sunset when the colour of the sky turns from crimson to gold. Many tour operators offer tours of Uluru and children under 16 are admitted free.

Uluru, Central Australia
Uluru, Central Australia (photo courtesy pixabay.com)

Alice Springs Desert Park

Alice Springs Desert Park is a ‘must see’ for everyone visiting Alice Springs. By visiting the Desert Park kids get to know many secrets of the Central Australia. The park is divided into 3 separate habitats – Desert Rivers, Sand Country and Woodland – each offering unique plants and wildlife to its visitors. Children will especially enjoy the Desert River habitat where they can get to walk among a herd of kangaroos. It only takes about 10 minutes to reach the Desert Park from the centre of Alice Springs and for children the admission charge is $12.50.

Alice Springs Desert Park, Things to do in Alice Springs
Alice Springs Desert Park (Attribution: Alexandra at lb.wikipedia)

Alice Springs Reptile Centre

Thorny Devil
Thorny Devil (Photo courtesy pixabay.com)

For kids who are brave enough, the Alice Springs Reptile Centre is a fun place to visit. The Reptile Centre is home to over 100 types of reptiles and each of them is displayed in the man-made creations of their natural habitat. In the park, visitors can see and handle pythons as well as feed lizards. However, the biggest attraction is Terry the saltwater crocodile!  The centre is open every day from 9:30am to 5pm.

The Kangaroo Sanctuary

If you want your kids to find out about kangaroos then a visit to the Kangaroo Sanctuary will be an eye-opener for everyone. It’s a baby kangaroo rescue centre established in 2005 by Chris Brolga Barnes, the star of the Kangaroo Dundee Series. The sanctuary offers guided

sunset tours for children and adults where you get to visit the 90 acre wildlife reserve and get to know everything about kangaroos.

Alice Springs School of the Air Visitor Centre

The Alice Springs School of the Air Visitor Centre, dubbed “The World’s Largest Classroom”, is an innovative education centre providing education to the children residing in the remote areas of Central Australia. The school takes classes with the help of radios and internet through which they are able to cover a vast area in Alice Springs. The visitor centre offers guided tours for tourists specialising in the history of this unique and innovative school.

Larapinta Trail

The Larapinta Trail is one of the newest and most exciting trails in Australia – and the world. It’s one the best places for hiking and trekking in Australia and many tour operators offer trail packages and adventure tours suitable for adults and kids alike.

Ormiston Gorge and Pound walk, West MacDonnell Ranges (things to do in Alice Springs)
Ormiston Gorge and Pound walk, part of the Larapinta Trail, West MacDonnell Ranges

The 223 kilometre trail is located at the back of the West MacDonnell Ranges and is segmented into 12 parts, where you can find around 600 species of rare plants. You can camp at night under the stars and most camp sites have picnic tables and tent sites along with free gas barbecues and a water supply.  Shorter walks are possible too!

Araluen Cultural Precinct

If you and your family want the total cultural experience of Central Australia then a visit to Araluen Cultural Precinct will be worth your while. The precinct is a combination of various museums and theatre. Among the museums, the Museum of Central Australia is the most famous among kids and gives visitors an insight into the various birds and animals found in the deserts of Alice Springs. Most notably, the museum offers an exhibition about the 120 million year history of crocodiles in Australia.

Frontier Camel Farm

Camel
Camel (photo courtesy pixabay.com)

Frontier Camel Farm is the perfect place for everything camel. Located in the south east of Alice Spring, the farm is a famous family tourist attraction. It offers camel rides, safaris and a museum of cameleering equipment, memorabilia and historical photographs. For a truly family experience, book a camel safari which offers a tour of the Date Gardens that includes breakfast and dinner.

Arltunga Historical Reserve

Arltunga, the first town of Central Australia to be born out of the alluvial gold rush is located about 110 km east of Alice Springs. The reserve also has a museum which gives you an insight on the mining industry of the old days. Shade shelters and barbecue facilities are also available along with public toilets which makes it a great place for family picnics.

Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre

Earth Sanctuary Spirit of the Outback Show
Earth Sanctuary Spirit of the Outback Show (photo courtesy Earth Sanctuary)

Situated in the beautiful Australian desert, just 15 minutes south of Alice Springs, Earth Sanctuary is an innovative eco-tourism destination. Earth Sanctuary offers award winning day and night tours of the outback for children and adults alike. The Earth’s Cool Tour is a tour especially designed for kids focusing on sustainability of earth’s resources. For a complete outback experience Earth Sanctuary also offers a “Spirit of the Outback” tour. It includes a guided tour of the sanctuary and a presentation on traditional Australian culture and astronomy followed by a 3 course gourmet dinner.

 

Thank you, Dominic and Earth Sanctuary! With all these things to do in Alice Springs, there’s NO excuse not to take the kids to Central Australia!

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20 comments

  1. I hope this finds you and yurs doing well. May we display your header on our new site directory? As it is now, the site title (linked back to its home page) is listed, and we think displaying the header will attract more attention. In any event, we hope you will come by and see what is going on at SiteHoundSniffs.com.

  2. Where have you gone Red. Hopefully not lost in the great outback.? I just did the Savannah way from Cairns to Darwin. Talk about isolated!

  3. I’ve got some friends in Alice and this looks like the perfect excuse to go visit them with little Miss Four. There’s definitely a lot on the list for the outdoor, animal loving kid. As a Swiss, I’m very intrigued to hear more about the Swiss-Indian Restaurant!

    1. I’ll be very interested to hear if the Swiss-Indian restaurant is still operating, Nina! Hope you get there soon – the Alice is an awesome place to visit!

  4. What a great place for kids really – all that space. Great for adults too of course! Dominic’s put together an interesting list. I lived and worked in Alice Springs in 1983, and had the most amazing time. Dave had a jeep with no doors, we climbed Uluru, I sang with a Maori called Doc in a bar in Alice (could that be a novel?) and all sorts of other wonderful stuff happened. Your post has made me want to return and soon.

    1. Don’t let me hold you back, Jo – one of my highlights was dining in the Swiss-Indian restaurant – as well as all the natural attractions, of course!! I haven’t done all the things on that list – but you don’t need to have a kid in tow to do them, right?!?!?!

    1. I’ve only done a tiny portion of the Larapinta trail, and I’ve never been to Earth Sanctuary or the World’s biggest Classroom either River!! Maybe we should make a date?!?!?!

  5. Red, you’re back! Or at least your blog is. Nice one Dominic. I’m yet to take my little one out here, although I’m sure he’d learn a lot and love it!

    1. Nice to see you too, Andy!! This is such a great collection of things to do in Alice Springs (with or without the kids!!) – I’m looking forward to crossing off the ones I haven’t yet done myself sometime soon!

    1. Hi Kozue! Yes, it HAS been a long time – TOO long!! I hope to get back to more regular postings soon. I’m fascinated by the World’s largest classroom too – it’s a great solution to the problem of educating children in remote areas. I hope you get to see it one day!

  6. Red??? Ah, yes I remember the name now. 🙂 Alice Springs is not very big and it is good to hear there is so much to do. Everything you mentioned sounds good for adults too. Note to foreigners and perhaps Australians too, Ayers Rock is quite a distance from Alice Springs.

    1. Hahaha, I hope you hear my name more often now Andrew!! And you’re absolutely right – a lot of people think Uluru is near Alice Springs so be warned whoever is reading this – it’s several hours drive away!! I would do most of the things on the list without kids too – it IS a smallish town, but it’s got so many fascinating attractions!

  7. We travelled with our son and his wife and 2 boys, 4 and 2, across from Kalgoorlie to Alice Springs. They certainly enjoyed the raptor show at the Desert Park (do they still do that?). There are some things on your list which we did, and others we didn’t….but there is always next time! And the Overlander Steakhouse was fabulous for both Aussies and tourists!

    1. We’ve stayed in Alice Springs several times, but still haven’t done all the things on the list, Jill! I’d actually go to pretty much ALL the places on Dominic’s list even without kids!! I’m pretty sure they still do the raptor show and so far, the Desert Park is the top of my list for places to go. But that could all change when I visit some of the others on the list!!

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