Melbourne to the Red Centre — Self-Launched
13 days · Australia (Victoria, South Australia & Northern Territory)
G Adventures charges £1,600
No-markup version: ~£1,065 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A DIY version of G Adventures' 13-day Melbourne-to-Alice Springs run: Great Ocean Road, the Grampians, Adelaide and the Clare Valley, the Flinders Ranges, opal-town Coober Pedy, Kings Canyon and Uluru — using public buses, a couple of budget one-way flights/coach legs, hostel and swag camping nights, and self-bookable tours instead of a private van and CEO. Costs are rough backpacker estimates in GBP and assume shared dorm beds; the long Outback legs are where the real savings come from booking Jo Saunders/Greyhound-style coach passes rather than a private vehicle.
Day-by-day
Arrive Melbourne — rooftop welcome
Melbourne
Land at Tullamarine and take the SkyBus ($22 AUD, ~25 min) to Southern Cross Station, then a free tram (City Circle) or short walk to your hostel. Settle into a dorm at Space Hotel or the Nunnery on Swanson Street, then do the classic Melbourne evening: rooftop drinks, a wander through Hosier Lane's street art, and cheap dumplings or a parma in Chinatown. Book your Great Ocean Road day for tomorrow online tonight.
🚌SkyBus airport transfer + free City Circle tram
🛏Hostel dorm, Melbourne CBD (~£22)
- →Hosier Lane street art walk
- →Rooftop bar sunset
- →Chinatown cheap eats
Great Ocean Road & the 12 Apostles
Port Campbell
Book a small-group Great Ocean Road day tour (GetYourGuide/Klook, ~£55-70) departing 7am — it covers Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, a Great Otway NP rainforest walk and the 12 Apostles at sunset. If you'd rather self-drive, hire a car in Melbourne (~£30/day split between two). Stay the night in Port Campbell so you see the Apostles without the day-trip crush; the hostel there is tiny so book ahead. Optional heli flight over the Apostles ~£75.
🚌Small-group tour van or shared hire car along the B100
🛏Port Campbell hostel/holiday-park cabin share (~£28)
- →Great Ocean Road coastal drive
- →Great Otway National Park rainforest walk
- →12 Apostles & Loch Ard Gorge
- →Optional helicopter flight
Tower Hill crater and into the Grampians
Halls Gap
Morning walk around Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve near Warrnambool — a volcanic crater full of emus, koalas and kangaroos, free entry, boardwalks everywhere. Then take the V/Line train from Warrnambool to Ararat (~£8) and connect by V/Line coach to Halls Gap (~£5), or drive if you hired a car. Afternoon arrival in Halls Gap, base for the Grampians: stock up at the general store and do a short dusk walk to the Pinnacle lookout trailhead for tomorrow.
🚌V/Line train Warrnambool–Ararat + coach to Halls Gap (~£13 total)
🛏Halls Gap hostel or caravan-park cabin (~£25)
- →Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve walk
- →Halls Gap village wander
Grampians: the Balconies, Mackenzie Falls & rock art
Halls Gap / Adelaide
Early start for the Pinnacle hike (2-3 hrs return, moderate scrambling, brilliant views over the Victoria Valley), then drive or shuttle to the Balconies and Mackenzie Falls — both short, well-marked walks. Stop at Gulgurn Manja or Bunjil's Shelter for Indigenous rock art. Late afternoon, take the V/Line coach Halls Gap → Adelaide via Ararat (~£20, 5-6 hrs) or drive. Arrive Adelaide, check into a city hostel and find a bar on Peel Street or Leigh Street.
🚌V/Line coach Halls Gap–Adelaide via Ararat (~£20)
🛏Adelaide city hostel dorm (~£20)
- →Pinnacle hike
- →The Balconies lookout
- →Mackenzie Falls
- →Bunjil's Shelter rock art
Adelaide: markets, laneways and wine
Adelaide
A full free day in Adelaide. Hit the Adelaide Central Market for breakfast (cheap and excellent), walk the East End laneways and the Botanic Gardens, then pick one splurge: a Barossa or McLaren Vale wine day tour (~£60-80 via GetYourGuide) or the free-ish Adelaide Oval / city loop. Cheaper alternative: the 20-min tram to Glenelg beach for a swim. Evening: North Adelaide pubs or the Gov for live music.
🚌MetroCARD day pass (~£6)
🛏Adelaide city hostel dorm (~£20)
- →Adelaide Central Market
- →East End laneways & Botanic Gardens
- →Optional Barossa/McLaren Vale wine tour
- →Glenelg beach tram trip
Clare Valley wine stop to the Flinders Ranges
Ikara-Flinders Ranges
Pick up a hire car in Adelaide (best value for the Outback legs — ~£30-40/day, split it) or book a seat on a Yorke Peninsula/Clare Valley coach. Drive north through the Clare Valley for a cellar-door tasting in Auburn or Watervale (~£10-15 for a flight), lunch in a country pub, then continue to Rawnsley Park or Wilpena Pound Resort at the gateway to Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. Book a campsite or unpowered cabin — this is your first proper Outback night.
🚌Hire car Adelaide–Flinders Ranges (~£35/day split) via Clare Valley
🛏Wilpena Pound campsite or Rawnsley Park cabin (~£25)
- →Clare Valley cellar door tasting
- →Scenic drive through Horrocks Pass
Wilpena Pound and Adnyamathanha country
Ikara-Flinders Ranges
Walk the Wangara Lookout or the Wilpena Pound circuit (3-4 hrs, moderate) into the natural amphitheatre sacred to the Adnyamathanha people. Add the short Arkaroo Rock or Sacred Canyon rock-art walk for engraved petroglyphs. Optional scenic flight over Wilpena Pound (~£80) or a self-guided drive up Bunyeroo and Brachina Gorges — the Brachina Gorge Geological Trail is one of the best free drives in the country. Evening: campfire at the campsite.
🚌On foot + hire car for gorge drives
🛏Wilpena Pound campsite or Rawnsley Park cabin (~£25)
- →Wilpena Pound circuit walk
- →Wangara Lookout
- →Sacred Canyon rock art
- →Brachina Gorge Geological Trail drive
Lake Hart salt lake and Glendambo
Glendambo
Long driving day north on the Stuart Highway. Stop at Port Augusta (last real supermarket), then at Lake Hart — a blinding white salt lake right beside the highway with a short walk out onto the crust. Continue to Glendambo, population ~30, and settle into the roadhouse motel/campground. Fuel up and buy water here: the next services are sparse. Sunset over the gibber plains is genuinely spectacular.
🚌Hire car north on the Stuart Highway (~370 km)
🛏Glendambo roadhouse motel/campsite (~£30)
- →Lake Hart salt lake walk
- →Port Augusta resupply
- →Outback sunset
Coober Pedy — opals and an underground bed
Coober Pedy
Drive to Coober Pedy (~250 km) and check into an underground hostel like the Lookout Cave Underground Motel or Radeka Downunder (~£28 dorm). Book an Old Timers Mine or Umoona Opal Mine self-guided tour (~£15) to see how locals live underground to beat the heat, then try noodling for opals on the public mullock heaps (free) and visit the Faye's Underground Home and the Breakaways at sunset (~£10 entry or free drive).
🚌Hire car Glendambo–Coober Pedy (~250 km)
🛏Underground hostel dorm, Coober Pedy (~£28)
- →Old Timers Mine / Umoona Opal Mine tour
- →Noodling for opals
- →The Breakaways sunset drive
The long run to Kings Creek Station
Kings Creek Station
The big Outback day: ~450 km north, crossing the Northern Territory border at Kulgera. Stops at the Cadney Park roadhouse and the Stuart Highway border sign photo op. Arrive at Kings Creek Station (a working cattle station with swag camping, dorms and safari tents, ~£25) for sunset. Sleep in a swag under the stars if you want the authentic version — the Milky Way out here is unreal. Note: this is a remote stretch with no phone signal, so download offline maps before you leave Coober Pedy.
🚌Hire car Coober Pedy–Kings Creek Station (~450 km)
🛏Kings Creek Station swag camp or dorm (~£25)
- →Stuart Highway border crossing
- →Working cattle-station stay
- →Swag camping under the stars
Kings Canyon rim walk to Uluru
Uluru / Yulara
Do the Kings Canyon Rim Walk at dawn (3-4 hrs, 6 km, moderate-steep start) — the Lost City domes, the Garden of Eden waterhole and the North and South Walls. It closes when forecast temperatures exceed 36°C, so start at first light. Drive on to Yulara (~300 km, 3.5 hrs), check into the Ayers Rock Campground or the Outback Pioneer Lodge dorm (~£35), then head into the park for sunset at the Uluru sunset viewing area with a bottle of supermarket bubbly — the park entry pass (~£22, valid 3 days) covers you for tomorrow too.
🚌Hire car Kings Canyon–Yulara (~300 km)
🛏Ayers Rock Campground cabin or Outback Pioneer dorm, Yulara (~£35)
- →Kings Canyon Rim Walk
- →Uluru sunset viewing area
- →Uluru-Kata Tjuta NP entry pass
Uluru Mala Walk, cultural centre & Kata Tjuta
Uluru / Yulara
Sunrise at the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku viewing area, then the free ranger-led Mala Walk (8am, ~2 hrs) and the self-guided Mutitjulu Waterhole and Kuniya Walk, plus the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre to learn Anangu creation stories and the park's climbing-requested-not-to guidance. Afternoon: drive 45 min to Kata Tjuta for the Valley of the Winds walk (7.4 km, ~3 hrs) or the shorter Walpa Gorge. Optional extras: Outback Astronomy tour (~£35), camel ride (~£10) or a base walk at sunset.
🚌Hire car within the national park (free shuttles from Yulara to Uluru)
🛏Ayers Rock Campground cabin or Outback Pioneer dorm, Yulara (~£35)
- →Talinguru Nyakunytjaku sunrise
- →Mala Walk & Mutitjulu Waterhole
- →Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre
- →Valley of the Winds, Kata Tjuta
- →Optional Outback Astronomy tour
Depart Alice Springs
Alice Springs
Drive the 450 km Stuart Highway/ Lasseter Highway loop to Alice Springs (4.5-5 hrs) — stop at Mount Connor lookout and the Erldunda roadhouse for a camel burger. Drop the hire car at Alice Springs airport, or if you'd rather skip the drive, fly Ayers Rock (Connellan) to Alice Springs with Qantaslink (~£100-140, 1 hr) and book onward flights for the evening (G Adventures uses an 8pm onward rule too). Return any camping gear and grab a last flat white before your flight home.
🚌Hire car to Alice Springs (~450 km) or Qantaslink AYQ–ASP flight
🛏N/A — onward travel
- →Mount Connor lookout
- →Erldunda roadhouse stop
- →Alice Springs town wander
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£1,065 | £1,600 |
| Duration | 13 days | 13 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £535 per person (33%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£1,065
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Melbourne to the Red Centre — Self-Launched cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £1,065 per person for 13 days in Australia (Victoria, South Australia & Northern Territory). This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £1,600 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £1,065 — a saving of roughly £535 (33%) per person.
How long is the Australia (Victoria, South Australia & Northern Territory) trip?+
This itinerary runs 13 days, covering 13 day-by-day stops through Australia (Victoria, South Australia & Northern Territory).
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a adventure, road-trip, backpacker trip through Australia (Victoria, South Australia & Northern Territory), self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
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