18 Day Adelaide to Darwin Outback Adventure

Arrive in Adelaide today and check into your hostel accommodation at your leisure.

Check in time is from 2pm, however if you arrive early, you can leave your luggage with reception before heading out to explore Adelaide.

Your hostel is only an 8-minute walk from the Adelaide Central Market and Chinatown; each boast a variety of amazing cuisines and cheap eats to choose from.

Accommodation: YHA Adelaide Central (or similar)
– Dorm style accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: None

Today you will join Groovy Grape for a fun-filled day of wine, wildlife and epic backdrops. After breakfast, make your way to the Adelaide Central Bus Station to find your and fellow travellers for the day. Be sure to arrive by 8:35am for an 8.40-8.50am departure.

Start your adventure cruising through the picturesque Adelaide Hills, en route to Gumeracha – home of the Big Rocking Horse! Whether you’re climbing to the top for the views or chilling with the friendly kangaroos and wallabies at the wildlife park, this stop is the perfect start to the day. Need a coffee or a quick snack? No worries, grab a toasted sanga and fuel up for what’s next.

Then, prepare to have your mind blown at the Whispering Wall, one of the coolest acoustic wonders in the world! Shout your secrets across this jaw-dropping landmark and be amazed as they come back to you from the other side. Now, it’s time to roll into the heart of the Barossa
Valley! Your first wine stop is the beautiful Kies Family Winery, where you’ll sip on award-winning wines, surrounded by vine-covered hills. But the fun doesn’t stop there – next up is Lambert Estate, where you’ll be treated to a personalized tasting of their finest wines.

When lunchtime rolls around, you will be served gourmet pizzas with all the toppings your heart desires! Share some laughs with your fellow Groovy travellers as you dig in and swap stories over a delicious meal.

From lunch, take in some spectacular views at Menglers Hill Lookout. Snap that perfect shot of the stunning Barossa landscape before rolling into Tanunda for the ultimate local experience.

In Tanunda, you will have 45 minutes to live like a local. Sample more incredible wines at Z Wines, where sisters Janelle and Kristen carry on their family’s five-generation wine legacy. Prefer a brew? Head to the Rhen Bier Brewhouse and taste their locally crafted beers. Or simply wander through Tanunda’s charming streets, popping into shops, grabbing an ice cream, or sipping a coffee while you soak in the village vibes – the choice is yours!

As the day winds down, kick back on the ride back to Adelaide – chat with your new mates, relive the highlights, or take a well-deserved nap. It’s been a Groovy Grape adventure to remember!

Accommodation: YHA Adelaide Central (or similar)
– Dorm style accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: Lunch

Today is a free day in Adelaide. Reconnect with fellow travellers from yesterday’s tour, join a suggested activity or head out solo to discover the city, beach or hills at your own pace.

Accommodation: YHA Adelaide Central (or similar)
– Dorm style accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: None

Your outback adventure kicks off today before sunrise, pick-up from the YHA is at 5.20 am. Please be ready a bit before then with your luggage and day bag (packed with daily essentials) waiting outside the YHA reception.

Your guide will make a quick coffee stop on the way out of Adelaide, and from there the road trip cruises north to the sleepy town of Wirrabara. Here, towering silo art brings colour and culture to the streets and Julie’s Bakery serves up the kind of country comfort food you didn’t know you needed.

Next stop: Arkaroo Rock, tucked deep in Adnyamathanha Country. This is more than a hike; it’s a time machine. The 3.2 km trail weaves through native bush to a rock shelter etched with ochre and charcoal art that’s over 5,000 years old. These ancient markings tell the story of Akurra, the giant serpent whose body shaped this land. It’s raw, sacred, and completely unforgettable.

As the sun dips and shadows stretch across the ranges, you will arrive at Wilpena Pound, your base for the night. Here, a local Yura guide welcomes the group to Country, sharing stories first brought to life Yura Ngawarla, then translated to you in English. It’s not just a greeting; it’s an invitation to connect with the spirit of the land and those who have cared for it for millennia. To wrap the day, it’s back to camp for dinner before rolling out your swag beneath the stars, where the Milky Way becomes your ceiling.

Accommodation: Discovery Parks Wilena Pound
– Swag camping (shared facilities)

Meals included: Dinner

After breakfast, strap on your boots for the Wangara Lookout Hike. Starting from the Wilpena Pound Visitor Centre, this 7 km return trail weaves through shady Pound Gap, where river red gums tower overhead and emus and kangaroos might casually photobomb your walk. You’ll hit the historic Hills Homestead first, a great spot to catch your breath. From there, it’s a short, steep push to the lookout. If you’re up for it, the upper platform dishes out panoramas that’ll blow your boots off.

Back on level ground, explore Old Wilpena Station, where the outback grit of early pastoral days meets ancient Adnyamathanha Country. Back on the bus, travel to Hawker for lunch and a quick stop at the Jeff Morgan Gallery – part art, part time warp. Roll into Warren Gorge for a 5.2 km hike which delivers on drama: burnt-orange cliffs, cypress pines, and if you are lucky, a glimpse of the rare yellow-footed rock wallabies bouncing between boulders.

Set up camp at beautiful Warren Gorge for dinner, stories, and stargazing.

Accommodation: Warren Gorge
– Swag camping (toilets available, no showers)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Farewell the Flinders Ranges as we head deep into the South Australian outback. After a quick refresh and snack stop in Port Augusta, your road trip cruises north through saltbush plains and wide-open nothingness, the kind that makes you feel like you’re driving on Mars. Midway, your guide will pull up at Lake Hart, a surreal salt lake where white stretches to the horizon and the silence feels otherworldly. It’s a chance to stretch your legs, snap some lunar-level photos, and breathe in the stillness.

By late arvo, you roll into Coober Pedy, the underground opal capital of the world. First stop? The Old Timers Mine for a crash course in outback bling. Learn how opals are formed, walk through original underground homes, and go ‘noodling’, fossicking for stray gems in the red dust. Who knows? You might just get lucky.

You and your fellow travellers will check in to the underground digs at Radeka Downunder, where the rooms are carved into the rock to escape the desert heat. The night’s yours to explore this weird and wonderful town. Pizza in a cave, underground bars, moonlit strolls, it’s all on the table.

Accommodation: Radeka Downunder
5-share dorm (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast

Buckle up, today’s a big one, 770km! Heading north through a whole lot of red dirt and big sky, cruising past the Dingo Fence (yes, the world’s longest dog barrier) and into Kanku–Breakaways Conservation Park, an ancient Aboriginal heritage site where the Moon Plains live up to the name. Think wide-open space, sci-fi scenery, and silence that hums.

From here, you cross the border into the Northern Territory, chasing the heat shimmer to Watarrka National Park, home of Kings Canyon. By late afternoon, your group rolls into Kings Creek Station, the desert base for the night.

Cool off in the pool, wander the red dirt trails, or kick back with a cold one and watch the outback do its golden hour thing from the sunset platform. Dinner is at the Station’s laid-back eatery before you settle in for a well-earned rest under star-soaked skies.

Accommodation: Kings Creek Station
Swag camping (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast

It’s an early start, but this one’s worth it. The Kings Canyon Rim Walk is straight-up legendary: a 6 km loop of towering sandstone cliffs, ancient domes, and mind-blowing views in every direction. Climb up through Priscilla’s Crack (cue the soundtrack), wander the maze of domes known as the Lost City, and descend into the lush heart of the canyon, the Garden of Eden, complete with ferns and secret waterholes.

After lunch, your guide cruises further into the Red Centre, giving your legs a break while your camera roll fills with shifting desert scenes. By late afternoon, arrive at the sacred heart of Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Pull up a camp chair and soak in sunset over Uluru, when the rock glows and the desert hush hits differently. Then it’s back to camp for dinner before rolling out your swag under star-splashed skies. Red dust, Milky Way, total silence, this is your outback moment.

Accommodation: Ayers Rock Resort Campground
– Swag camping (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning, you will head into the sacred domes of Kata Tjuṯa for the Walpa Gorge Walk. A 2.6 km trail into towering red rock walls and ancient desert silence. Named after the local word for “wind,” Walpa is a cool, shady pocket in the middle of the heat, home to rare plants, seasonal streams, and stories older than time. This is a sacred men’s site for the Aṉangu people, so we walk with quiet respect and wide eyes. Before lunch, we dive deeper into the culture of this Country with a visit to the Cultural Centre, the heartbeat of the park, where you’ll learn more about the Aṉangu way of life and the meaning behind this powerful landscape.

Back at camp, the afternoon’s yours. Cool off in the pool, check out the Gallery of Central Australia, or join one of the free cultural experiences on offer, from bush food tastings to didgeridoo demos, guided garden walks, or meeting the locals at the Camel Farm. Tonight, wrap up your Red Centre adventure in proper Aussie style with an Outback BBQ (own cost). Load your plate, share a drink with the crew, and trade your favourite trip stories as the desert sky puts on its nightly light show.

Feeling fancy? You’ve also got the option to skip the BBQ and upgrade to the magical Field of Light experience with 50,000 solar-powered globes glowing under the outback stars.
– This extra is very popular, so we recommend prebooking.

Accommodation: Ayers Rock Resort Campground
– Swag camping (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast

Wake early and watch the desert come alive as the sun rises over Uluru. The light show is unreal. Shifting colours, long shadows, and that quiet magic only this place can deliver.

Then it’s time to get up close. Standing 348 metres high and estimated at 550 million years old, Uluru is a presence. The 10 km guided base walk is your opportunity to connect. Wander past waterholes, into shaded gullies, and along ancient rock faces etched with meaning. Rest beneath Sheoak trees, peer into sacred caves, and hear the stories that shape this land. Prefer a slower pace? No worries, shorter walks are available too.

By late morning, we return to Desert Gardens Resort in Yulara, where this part of your outback journey ends. Grab some lunch and take some time to reflect on your adventure so far, sort photos, catchup with family and friends on social media. This afternoon you will catch a bus transfer from Yulara to Alice Springs. Your transfer driver will drop you off mid evening at YHA Alice Springs.

Accommodation: YHA Alice Springs, or similar
– Dorm style accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast

As tempting as a sleep-in is today, you do not want to leave the Red Centre without seeing the West Mac’s, one of Australia’s best kept secrets. Your tour today includes snacks and lunch so aside from your breakfast this morning, we have you covered. Met your new driver/guide outside the YHA at 7:00am. Please be ready a little before 7:00am, with your day bag (packed with daily essentials including a water bottle and sun hat) waiting outside the YHA reception.

Today you will spend the day exploring Tjorita (the West MacDonnell National Park), a region of ancient stories and dramatic landscapes. With your guide today you will wander through the towering walls of Standley Chasm, take in the beauty and cool off at Ellery Creek Big Hole. See the mineral colours of Ochre Pits and experience the serenity of Ormiston Gorge. The final stop of the day is Simpsons Gap where you should, keep an eye out for the elusive black-footed rock wallaby among the cliffs.

Accommodation: YHA Alice Springs, or similar
– Dorm style accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: Lunch

Spend this morning and early afternoon is free for you to move at your own pace. You will need to check out of your dorm, but you can store your luggage and use the hostel facilities until your departure late afternoon.

This afternoon at approximately 5:30pm you will be jumping on the Greyhound Bus for an overnight journey up the middle of the Northern Territory, to the Tropical City of Darwin.

Make you way to the Greyhound Bus Stop in Leichhardt Terrace, just a short walk from the YHA. Please arrive 20 minutes before the departure time stated on your voucher. You will travel overnight arriving the following afternoon in Darwin at approximately 3:05pm

Accommodation: Overland Greyhound Bus

Meals included: None

Today you will get your first taste of the tropics, quite the contrast from the Red Centre you left just yesterday.

Your Greyhound bus will arrive into Darwin this afternoon just after 3:00pm, make the short walk to your hostel where you can check in.

During the months May until October, the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets are open on Sunday evenings. There are many stalls with a variety of food choices, local art, souvenirs and entertainment. A wonderful way to spend your first night in the Top End!

Accommodation: MOM Darwin or similar
– Dorm Style Accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: None

A free day in Darwin to explore the city at your own pace. There are many activities to be had if you wish, including the main attractions of Crocosaurus Cove and the Cyclone Tracy exhibit at the Darwin Museum.

Those in search of greater adventure can look to book optional activities (at own expense) that include Jet Skiing, Go Karts and a whole lot more.

Accommodation: MOM Darwin or similar
– Dorm Style Accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: None

This morning you will be up nice and early as you prepare for the final 3 days of your Outback Adventure. You will take a short walk to your meeting point, please be ready with your luggage and day bag (packed with daily essentials) waiting 10 minutes before the pickup time noted on your voucher.

After all travellers have been collected, your guide will head out of Darwin, travelling to the Mary River Wetlands region where you will join the Corroboree Billabong Wetland Cruise, a great opportunity to spot a huge range of Top End birdlife, not to mention some apex predators… crocodiles!

From here you will journey on into Kakadu National Park, visiting the Bowali Visitor Centre before arriving at camp. This afternoon you will journey north to Cahills Crossing on the border of Kakadu and Arnhem Land.

You will visit one of the best-preserved collections of Aboriginal Rock Art in the world at Ubirr rock upon sunset. This incredibly significant site showcases many styles of Rock Art and allows travellers to climb up high for a sunset that will blow you away looking out over the Nadab Floodplain.

After a big day, the group will head back to the cozy private camp and prepare dinner together, enjoying an evening with our fellow travellers.

Accommodation: Jabiru Campground
– Twin Share Permanent Tents (shared facilities)

Meals included: Lunch, Dinner

Rise and shine early, as your guide takes you south to Kakadu National Park. Spend the day taking in the spectacular natural beauty of the area, hiking through lush monsoon rainforests, and swimming in pristine plunge pools and waterfalls surrounded by steep escarpments and rocky cliffs.

Your guide will aim to visit one or more of the available waterfalls depending on the group’s physical ability to complete the hike(s). This can include any of the following: Motor Car Falls, Moline Rockhole, Maguk (Barramundi Gorge), or Jim Jim Falls. There are many factors affecting accessibility, although your guide will ensure you get the best experience possible. Time permitting, you will stop at Burrungkuy (Nourlangie Rock), another indigenous rock art site where archaeologists have uncovered works dating back over 20,000 years old. Explore the evolving social, cultural and environmental changes to the area over time before your guide takes you back to camp for a hearty dinner and a well-earned rest.

Accommodation: Jabiru Campground
– Twin Share Permanent Tents (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

An exciting day awaits as you head out of Kakadu National Park and travel towards Litchfield National Park. You will spend the afternoon immersed in Litchfield’s natural oasis of waterfalls, spring-fed streams and rugged sandstone escarpments. Time will be spent in any combination of Buley Rockhole, Wangi Falls or Florence Falls for a refreshing soak in picturesque rock holes and waterfalls. Discover the uniquely impressive Magnetic and Cathedral Termite Mounds before your guide makes the way back to Darwin, arriving back at your accommodation at approximately 7:00pm.

Accommodation: MOM Darwin (or similar)
– Dorm Style Accommodation (shared facilities)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Your Real Aussie Outback Adventure comes to an end in Darwin today.

Check out of your hostel by 10:00am

Meals included: None