Can you sleep underground at Coober Pedy?
YesA bunkhouse in an opal mine, included on both runs.
Yes, and it is included rather than an upgrade. Both 7 day Adelaide to Uluru trips put you underground for a night at Coober Pedy — a 5-share dorm on one, an underground bunkhouse at a working opal mine on the other. The town is underground because it has to be: summer temperatures make surface living genuinely difficult, so people dug homes, churches and hotels into the hillsides instead. From $1,305 for seven days, which also camps at Wilpena Pound and two nights at Uluru.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
Coober Pedy is an opal mining town roughly halfway between Adelaide and Uluru, and more than half of it is underground. It is the kind of place that sounds like a gimmick until you are standing in it.
Why the town is underground
- Heat.Summer surface temperatures make ordinary houses hard to live in, and the rock holds a steady, cool temperature all year.
- The ground was already being dug.Miners sinking shafts for opal found that a dugout made a better home than a tin shed.
- It is not a few novelty rooms.There are underground houses, churches, a bookshop and hotels.
- Opal is still the industry.This is a working mining town, not a preserved one.
The night, on each trip
| Trip | Length | Where you sleep | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day Uluru to Adelaide Tour | 7 days, 6 nights | 6 nights — swag camping at the Ayers Rock Resort campground for two nights, then Kings Creek Station, Warren Gorge and Wilpena Pound, plus one night in an underground bunkhouse at an opal mine in Coober Pedy. All camping equipment is provided. | $1305 |
| 7 Day Adelaide to Uluru Tour | 7 days, 6 nights | 6 nights — swag camping at Wilpena Pound, Warren Gorge, Kings Creek Station and two nights at Ayers Rock Resort Campground, plus a night in a 5-share underground dorm at Coober Pedy. Warren Gorge has toilets but no showers. | $1505 |
Read the accommodation column. One is a 5-share underground dorm; the other is an underground bunkhouse at an opal mine. Both are included in the price.
It is cool and completely silent. No windows, so no light and no sound — people either sleep extremely well or find it unsettling, and there is not much middle ground.
What else is in these seven days
- Wilpena Pounda swag night inside the Flinders Ranges, which is the only way we sell that country.
- Warren Gorgein the southern Flinders.
- Kings Creek Stationnear Kings Canyon.
- Two nights at the Ayers Rock Resort campgroundso you get Uluru at both sunset and sunrise.
- Wirrabaraon the way out of Adelaide, for the silo art and a country bakery.
Is Coober Pedy worth stopping at?
On its own, no — it is nine hours from Adelaide. As a night on the way to Uluru, it is one of the more memorable stops in Australia and it costs you nothing extra. The alternative 5 day run at $1,039 is cheaper and faster and does not include it, so this is a genuine choice between two days and the underground night, or less money.
7 Day Uluru to Adelaide Tourfrom $13057 days, 6 nightsReal bush camping7 days — Uluru down to Adelaide, from $1,305View trip
7 Day Adelaide to Uluru Tourfrom $15057 days, 6 nightsReal bush camping7 days — Adelaide up to UluruView trip
5 Day Adelaide to Ulurufrom $10395 days, 4 nightsCamping and Hostels5 days — faster and cheaper, no Coober PedyView tripWhen to go
April to October. Coober Pedy in summer is exactly the problem the town solved by digging — and the camping nights either side of it, at Wilpena Pound and Kings Creek, are the ones that suffer in the heat. There is a month-by-month for the Red Centre end on our Alice Springs best time page.
Where this comes from. Where each trip sleeps, what is included and prices are that trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. Distances are road distances on the Stuart Highway.