Embark on an exhilarating adventure through the heart of Australia's Outback, tailored especially for adventurous spirits aged 18 to 49.
Starting from the tropical Darwin, this tour will lead you through some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes and culturally significant sites the region has to offer. Explore Devils Marbles, Mataranka Springs, Litchfield Park. Dive into thermal pools and enjoy iconic pubs. Fridays 7am from Darwin, Mondays 5am from Alice Springs (reverse). Join us!
Days
- 3 days, 2 nights
Group size
- Max 24
Start / finish
- Darwin / Alice Springs
Return
- See itinerary for details
Accommodation
- 2 nights in hostel accommodation, with the days ending at Adelaide River and then the Daly Waters pub. Hot showers, flushing toilets and power points for charging. Rooms are dorm share.
Transport
- Air-conditioned minibus with an experienced guide. Departs Darwin at 7am on Fridays.
Meals
- Two breakfasts and two dinners.
Route
Included experiences
- Litchfield — Buley Rockhole, Tolmer Falls, Florence Falls and Wangi Falls
- Magnetic and Cathedral Termite Mounds — Litchfield National Park
- Adelaide River — an outback pub to end day 1
- Edith Falls — a morning at the falls in Nitmiluk National Park
- Bitter Springs — float the thermal stream on a pool noodle
- Mataranka Hot Springs — a soak in the warm water at sunset
- Daly Waters Pub — dinner and live music
- Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles) — a stop and lunch at the rock formations
- Tropic of Capricorn — the crossing on day 3
Pictures / Videos
Reviews
4.9
Based on 15 reviews
Verified from
Real reviews from travellers who've done this tour, gathered from around the web and paraphrased.
AI summary of 15 reviews
Travellers consistently praise their guides, who are described as knowledgeable, well organised, friendly and attentive, with several noting the guides made everyone feel comfortable and looked after during hikes. The tour is frequently highlighted for combining cultural and outdoor experiences, its stops at sites such as Edith Falls, Mataranka Hot Springs and Devils Marbles, and the camping arrangements including swags, campfires and campsites with a bar and pool. Reviewers also mention the good group atmosphere, decent meals and its suitability for solo and older travellers, with one describing it as budget-friendly. The most common caveats concern the long hours on the bus, occasional feeling of being rushed, and some equipment issues such as a non-working radio and an empty gas bottle, while one traveller noted a planned stop at the thermal pools was missed due to weather.
How we collect and publish reviews
Where they come from. Our reviews are gathered from independent review sites and from guests who share feedback with us directly after their trip. They come from people who have actually travelled on the tour.
Why some are edited. Many of our guests travel in their second or third language. Where a review is hard to read, we lightly edit spelling, grammar and punctuation, or paraphrase a sentence for clarity. We never change the rating, the meaning or the sentiment, and we never write a review on a guest's behalf.
Reading the originals. Reviews sourced from public review sites appear there in their original form, and can be read in full at their original source at any time.
I did the 3-day Darwin to Alice Springs tour and my only regret was not booking the full 7-day package to Uluru as well. Our guide Liv was phenomenal — she felt like a friend to all of us while teaching us the rich history and culture of each site. It was amazing to visit and swim in some of the most iconic spots in the Northern Territory that are otherwise hard to reach, especially as a solo traveller not comfortable driving the Outback alone, and it's a budget-friendly, backpacker-geared trip that still doesn't miss anything. The Top End is now one of my favourite places in the world, and it's all thanks to Mulgas.
“A great but also challenging tour!”
I did the Darwin to Uluru tour and loved it. It was occasionally tough, sleeping out near freezing, but well worth it for the wonderful places we saw. Great value if you don't mind roughing it in hostels and swags. The food was really good, especially Andrew's campfire bolognese, and everything was well organised. Liv was a fantastic guide, always upbeat, with a great bus playlist and a confident answer to every question. The early days had swimming at Litchfield National Park and the lovely Bitter Springs at Mataranka, then the long drive to Alice Springs and on to Yulara for Uluru, Kata Tjuta and a three-hour Kings Canyon hike. If you go in winter for the Rock to Rock tour, dress very warmly, I still froze under five hoodies! An incredibly great experience, and I'm glad I braved the cold.
I had an amazing 3-day tour from Darwin to Alice Springs with Ben as our guide. He shared great information throughout, making every stop interesting and fun during the long stretches of driving. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to explore the heart of Australia!
“Mulgas Adventures Darwin to Alice Springs”
An absolutely fantastic trip. As a nervous first-time solo traveller I was put at ease the moment I boarded. On the Darwin-to-Uluru leg, Ryan took us swimming at Edith Falls, on to Mataranka Thermal Springs and Daly Waters, and made the long outback drive a great road trip. Then Danny led the three-day, two-night Uluru camping section - endlessly energetic and full of Aboriginal cultural knowledge, always finding the best lookouts. We gathered firewood, cooked and built the campfire, and seeing Uluru for the first time was a real pinch-me moment. The hikes are tiring but worth it; pack warm clothes for cold nights in the swag. I can't recommend Mulgas enough!
“Amazing experience!!!”
I loved the three days on this trip. Our guide Rachel was funny and thoughtful and made it one of my best trips ever. Beforehand I'd travelled from Darwin to Alice Springs, also with Mulgas, and enjoyed even that short stretch. I'd recommend Mulgas to anyone planning to explore the outback - you won't regret a minute, and I missed the group the very next day.
“They were top notch!”
We were really impressed with the tour, their guide, tours, food, information, facilities etc etc.
We loved our time in Australia and had an amazing time. Good people.
“Our tour with LIA was fantastic!!!”
ack is a great tour leader - he has a lot of local knowledge and is very well organised. I would certainly recommend your company to anyone looking to see northern Australia.
“We enjoyed our trip very much”
We enjoyed our trip very much and Jaden was a well and truly entertaining guide to have. I appreciated the cultural and outdoor experience combined.
“Thanks for a wonderful time,”
The driver had us fill out a form during the last pat of the tour near Alice Springs.
I did fill out one and turned it in to Alex, out tour guide and driver. It was the first road
tour that I had ever went on. Next, I went on another 3day/2night tour to Uluru. Later,
I went on four one day tours. Alex was as friendly, knowledgeable, and good driver
as the rest of the exceptional tour guides I had for the six trips. I felt very comfortable
with Alex, who made sure everyone has plenty of water on our hikes. I also never
felt rushed on any of the stops or sights. For the tour, the best places to visit were
Edith Falls, Mataranka Hot Springs, and Devils Marbles. We were ale to get snacks
and beer in Katherine for the camps. The meals were good and everyone pitched to
help out. The group was totally a blast for the whole trip. Alex also reserved a place
for us to eat dinner together at the Rock Bar in Alice Springs. Great food, wine, and
beer, and service for good prices. (I ate their several times more). Actually, I used the
trip really for transportation from Darwin and Alice springs, but your Way Outback tour
and the group made it the highlight of my two months in New Zealand and Australia.
I didn't have a bad day in those two months either. The Uluru tour was also great for
scenery, hikes, and tour guide. I added two pictures of the trip, our whole group and
me at Karlu Karlu National Reserve (Devils Marbles).
Thanks for a wonderful time,
“I really enjoyed my trip”
Even though the original trip got cancelled well was at airport the alternative trip was great...
The camp site stayed at was great very good at end of the day having a bar and pool
Really liked the places visited and look to returning to either Darwin or visiting the west coast next year
“the tour Darwin-Alice Springs was 100 % wonderful”
the tour Darwin-Alice Springs was 100 % wonderful. The tour guide was super - seems he liked his work and did everything to make us feel well. The tour naturally had many hours on the bus but we had, specially the first day, stops in interesting places and, anyhow, always enough stops even for coffee ecc. (difference to Greyhound). Camping places, fire, sleeping on swags were beautiful.
When booking the tour, I was asked by you about my age (I am 60), but there s no problem even for elder persons.
Cheers,
Kerstin
“Cant wait for another trip”
My trip was amazing! Ben is an incredible guy, we all had great chemistry and I felt like I was on a road trip with my best friends. He is a very knowledgable, respectful and responsible guy (he always had a good answer for everything) and even tough its a long trip from Alice to Darwin all the stops to the different places and his charisma made the trip very enjoyable. I can't wait to go back!
“I really enjoyed this tour ”
I really enjoyed this tour
No, exactly I enjoyed all the tours I booked in lost in Australia
I hope the next one with lost in Australia, will be also amazing
Florine :)
“Fantastic trip!!”
I thoroughly enjoyed my tour from Darwin to Alice Springs. I was a little disappointed that we could not visit the thermal pools at Mataranka, although this was obviously due to the weather and could not have been avoided.
Overall I would score the tour a 4 out of 5, the tour guide from Wayoutback and the experience were amazing. I felt that some of the equipment could have been improved upon however, ie the bus did not have a working radio, which obviously bugged not only the tour guide that we had, but also some of the passengers, and occasionally some of the camping equipment (we arrived at one campsite to find an empty gas bottle so we could not use the cooker/bbq, the poor guide had to use his own cooking equipment to make us dinner).
The experience however was second to none, if it sometimes seemed a little rushed, I have no doubt that it was simply to fit in so much, and these small things that I have pointed out made very little difference to my overall enjoyment, so, thank you for a fantastic trip!
“Great Experience”
We began with the 2-day express from Darwin to Alice Springs - only one pub meal included and otherwise self-catered, with two hostel nights and a lot of driving, though Ryan kept it fun with stops at a hot spring, swimming holes and the Devil's Marbles. Then Jake took over for the 3-day camping section, my favourite part: all meals provided, including camel and kangaroo to try, and he was knowledgeable and energetic. A great tour overall; I'd only include every meal and lift the food quality a touch. Expect plenty of driving and cold desert nights in winter.
