July 26, 2025 – Sydney to Uluru (Author: J)
After an enjoyable five nights in Sydney, our next stop was Uluru. With a mid-morning flight, there wasn’t a need to rush to the airport. But we wound up waking up before our alarm, which meant we were packed and ready to go by 7. We decided to head to the airport early to allow for a sit-down breakfast.
When we excited the elevator at the ground floor of the Intercontinental, we were met with white sheeting blocking off a portion of the lobby and a visible police presence. One of the staff members noticed us stunned and milling about; she directed us to another part of the lobby. As she checked us out, she explained that the police were responding to a medical emergency. I didn’t ask for more details because it was really none of my business (though I was certainly nosey). However, I appreciated the reassurance that we weren’t in danger.
Outside the hotel, one of the bellmen hailed a taxi for us. The taxi arrived quickly. The driver loaded our carry-on bags and then looked around for the rest of our luggage. He seemed surprised when we told him he already had the lot. (Maybe the Venn diagram of people who stay at nice hotels and people who travel carry-on only doesn’t overlap much?). We bucked up and set out for the airport. There was not much traffic to speak of, so the trip took less than 20 minutes.
We were flying with Jetstar, an Australian budget airline. Jetstar has low marks on Tripadvisor (and elsewhere) for reliability. But they had a direct flight to Uluru on a day that worked with the rest of our itinerary, so I decided it was worth a gamble. At the airport, both the check-in and security process were quick and easy. That meant we had quite the wait before our 10:35 am flight.
Our circumnavigation of the terminal didn’t lead to the discovery of any sit-down breakfast options. So, we split up to procure food from several of the takeaway stands. Then we took our yogurt parfait (me), muffin (P), and egg sandwich (D) to the gate area to eat. There didn’t seem to be much to do in the airport, so we spent the rest of the time before boarding reading and scrolling on our phones.
Like Scoot, Jetstar has a combined weight limit for carry-ons and personal items. We had paid for an extra 7 kg of weight for each of us (bringing us to 14kg per person), so I was not worried that our bags were over the limit. Still, it may be helpful for readers to know that no one checked the weight of our bags during boarding. The gate agent did check with P (who was carrying his own passport and ticket for the first time) to confirm whom he was travelling with and whether he knew us. Fortunately, he’s been drilled not to joke around when responding to these types of questions, so he admitted that D and I were his parents.
Our plane for this flight had a 3/3 seat configuration with a middle aisle. We were seated together in row 10. The seat comfort and space were on par with US carriers (and superior to some of our budget airlines *ahem* Spirit). Really the only issue was the lack of entertainment. There’s supposed to be an option to stream content on your personal device, but that did not work for us during the flight.
Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew came through to take food orders. We each ordered a cheese and tomato relish toastie and drink combo (for $15 AUD per meal). It was nothing groundbreaking, but I was happy to find a hot vegetarian meal option on a budget airline. The flight passed uneventfully and we arrived on time at Ayers Rock Airport around 1:40 pm. (There’s a 30-minute time difference, so total flight time was about 3.5 hours). It was a lovely, clear day so we had nice views of Kata Tjuta and Uluru as we came in for our landing. Overall, we had no complaints about Jetstar and would not hesitate to fly with them again on a domestic route in Australia.
If you are staying near Uluru, you are almost certainly staying at Ayers Rock Resort. This is a complex with 7 different accommodation options ranging from a campground to a fancy hotel. The accommodations are organized around a town center that includes shops and restaurants. There’s even housing for the resort staff (which made the whole setup remind me of my time working at Disney World as part of its college program). The whole resort is connected via a shuttle bus that does a continuous circular route from mid-morning until midnight.
Ayers Rock Resort also offers an airport shuttle service. 3 buses were waiting for our flight when it landed. We found the correct bus and climbed aboard. 10 minutes later, we arrived at Sails in the Desert. I got up, started shuffling off the bus, and then noticed that P was not behind me. I turned back to find him struggling with his seatbelt, which had somehow gotten stuck. I also could not get the belt to release, so I went to grab the driver for help. This prompted a moment of panic for P, who worried that the bus would drive off with him pinned to the seat. Instead, his increasingly agitated fumbling finally succeeded in unbuckling the belt.
The hotel check-in process was fast. The desk clerk confirmed that the activities that I had prebooked were linked to our room, gave us an overview of the property, and sent us on our way.
Sails in the Desert is the fanciest of the hotels at Ayers Rock Resort. For that reason, I was somewhat surprised to find that the buildings that housed the rooms were not connected to the main lobby. Our room was at the far edge of the hotel grounds, past the swimming pool and a large central green.
We dutifully followed the signs for our room, turning left and right as we snaked our way between buildings. There was some grumbling about the distance. However, when we finally arrived at our room, we realized that the signs had just taken us on a winding tour of the hotel grounds. We dropped our bags and took a more direct route back to the lobby.
Our next destination was town center. We had some early tours planned during our time at Uluru, so we wanted to provision our room with breakfast items and snacks. It was a short walk from Sails in the Desert to the town center (and it is hard to make a wrong turn because there’s really just one big loop road connecting everything at the resort). We visited the grocery store, where we brought the now familiar combo of muffins, juice, and fruit.
From there, we boarded the resort shuttle to Outback Pioneer Hotel, which is the site of the resort’s only bottle shop. D selected a six pack of beer. D rejected my offer to test my long dormant skill of opening beer bottles on the edge of a table; apparently, that’s not acceptable behavior at a nice hotel. This meant that we also needed a bottle opener. So, we ended our errands with a visit to the gift shop at the Outback Pioneer. (Our commemorative bottle opener keychain currently decorates D’s car keys). Finally, we boarded a shuttle back to Sails in the Desert.
By this time, it was getting to be late in the day. We decided to relax on our patio until it was time for dinner at Ilkari, the main restaurant at Sails in the Dessert. Ilkari is a fancy, expensive buffet: $105 AUD for adults and $64 AUD for P. Despite the high cost, I think the experience was worth the price. The taste and quality of the food exceeded the other restaurants we tried at the resort, and there was a nice variety of food for different dietary options, including full displays of vegan and gluten free dessert options. Service was also solid; we had no issues ordering a second round of drinks during this meal.
After dinner, we walked back to our room. On the outskirts of the hotel grounds, all was quiet and peaceful. We sat on our patio, and I revised my original opinion of the hotel’s layout. I was happy to be away from the lights of the lobby and pool bar looking up at the stars.
Travel Monkeys 