The opal capital of the world, a desert mining town where people live in homes cut into the rock.
Sleep underground, sift the mullock for opal, then watch the Breakaways mesas turn red at sunset.
Every Coober Pedy tourAll five on GetYourGuide, side by side
4.9 from 22 reviewsThe 7-day trip guests rate highest
Free cancellationOn every tour; the notice depends on the trip
Checked factsCouncil prices and hours, March 2026
Tours
Choose your Coober Pedy tour
In the centre, the top-rated 7-day camping trip from Adelaide to Uluru, with a night underground in Coober Pedy.
On the left, the Saturday Painted Desert day that starts in town; on the right, the same road north with a hotel bed every
night. Every card opens a full tour page.
A Saturday 4WD day north of town with the outback mail man: the Moon Plain, the coloured Arckaringa Hills and the Breakaways country on the way home. Lunch and water are included.
Seven days from Adelaide to Uluru through the Flinders Ranges, with a night in an underground dorm in Coober Pedy. Old Timers Mine, noodling and the Breakaways come on the way north.
What's included
Guide and air-conditioned vehicle from Adelaide to Yulara
5 nights in swags, 1 night underground in Coober Pedy
6 breakfasts and 3 dinners
Old Timers Mine, Kanku-Breakaways and all park fees
Seven days north with a bed every night, one of them in an underground motel in Coober Pedy, plus Old Timers Mine and the Breakaways. Meals are paid as you go.
What's included
Storyteller guide and air-conditioned vehicle
5 nights in twin-share rooms, 1 night in a shared dorm
A night underground at the Coober Pedy Experience Motel
Coober Pedy is about 850 km north of Adelaide, so the bookable tours either pass through on the long road
between Adelaide and Uluru, or start in town for a day out to the Painted Desert.
Driving in yourself, the Breakaways permit is A$13.50 per vehicle. In town, Old Timers Mine costs A$15
and Umoona's guided tour A$16 per adult (District Council of Coober Pedy, rates from March 2026).
Coober Pedy, South Australia
A town that went underground.
In February 1915 a small syndicate looking for gold found opal on the Stuart Range instead. Miners drifted in, the
field got a post office, and in 1920 it took the name Coober Pedy, usually traced to the Aboriginal words kupa
piti, "whitefellas' hole". The Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara people are the traditional owners; in 1975 the local
Aboriginal community adopted the name Umoona, "long life", their word for the mulga tree.
Summer days average 36.7°C, so people dug down. A dugout cut into the sandstone hillside holds a steady temperature
in the low 20s, and after the Second World War miners from Southern and Eastern Europe carved homes, churches and
shops into the hills. An Aboriginal woman, Tottie Kendall, and her partner Charlie Bryant set off a fresh
rush with a big find at the 8 Mile field in 1945.
1915
The year the first opal was found here. The town still lives on opal
and visitors: about 1,440 people at the 2021 Census.
Old Timers MineUmoonaKanku-BreakawaysThe Dog Fence
Inside a dugout: rock walls, no windows, and cool all summer.
01
About 850 km from Adelaide
On the sealed Stuart Highway, roughly halfway to Alice Springs. Uluru is about 750 km further on.
02
A$13.50 Breakaways permit
Per vehicle if you drive in yourself, sold online and at the visitor centre. The tours include park fees.
03
April to September
Mild days and cold nights. January averages 36.7°C, so summer means early starts.
04
A dry town
No alcohol may be consumed in the designated town area, and takeaway wine and spirits are limited per person per day.
Your stop
How the Coober Pedy day runs
On the 7-day trip from Adelaide, Coober Pedy is the end of day three and the start of day four. The southbound
trip does the same in reverse, with the mine the next morning.
01
Lake Hart
North from the Flinders Ranges across open outback, with a stop at the white salt flats of Lake Hart beside the highway.
Day 3
02
Old Timers Mine
A 1916 opal mine and two dugouts fitted out as they were, then the noodling pits to try your luck with opal.
Afternoon
03
A night underground
Dinner in town, then bed in a shared dorm cut into the rock at Radeka Downunder. Quiet, dark and cool.
Evening
04
The Dog Fence and the Breakaways
North past the Dingo Fence and through the banded mesas of Kanku-Breakaways, then on into the Northern Territory.
On the camping tours: a shared dorm underground at Radeka Downunder, one night either way.
On the Explorer's Way tours: a room at the underground Coober Pedy Experience Motel.
On your own: underground hotel rooms, motels and dorms in town; book ahead in the cool months.
What it feels like: silent, fully dark with the light off, and cool even in January. See sleeping underground.
Winter, June to August: days around 18°C, nights near 6°C. Bring a warm layer and, on the camping tours, a warm sleeping bag.
Spring and autumn: warm days, the most comfortable time for the Breakaways and the Painted Desert.
Summer, December to February: January averages 36.7°C, and 48.3°C was reached on 30 January 2026. Go out early and late.
Rain: only about 144 mm a year, but one wet day can close the dirt roads to the Breakaways. More in Coober Pedy in summer.
From AdelaideAbout 850 kmOn the Stuart Highway; the 7-day tours reach town on day three.
BreakawaysA$13.50Per vehicle, driving in yourself (A$11.20 concession).
Old Timers MineA$15Adults, self-guided, with free noodling pits.
UmoonaA$16Adults, guided tour of about 45 minutes with a film.
January36.7°CAverage high; the dugouts stay in the low 20s.
RefundFree cancellation24 hours before on the Painted Desert and Explorer's Way tours; 7 days on the 7-day camping trips.
Where it is
Getting to Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy SA 5723
The tours start in Adelaide, Yulara or Alice Springs, or in town for the Painted Desert day
Coober Pedy sits on the Stuart Highway in the Far North of South Australia, about 850 km from Adelaide and 680 km from
Alice Springs, the council says. The visitor centre is in the council offices on Hutchison Street, open weekdays 9am to
5pm and weekend mornings.
7-day trips from Adelaide: 91 Franklin Street, Adelaide CBD
7-day camping trip from Uluru: Desert Gardens Hotel, Yulara, at 2pm
Explorer's Way south: Alice Springs or Yulara pickup, exact point confirmed at booking
4.9★★★★★ 22 reviews · Adelaide to Uluru: 7-Day Outback Camping Tour GetYourGuide rating Quotes from guests on this trip and its southbound twin
★★★★★
Super nice tour!!! Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, Kings Canyon, Uluru and Kata Tutja all I wanted to see at a good pace. [...] In addition, great walks and a great guide, who also cooked delicious food at the same time.
★★★★★
What a FABULOUS Outback experience! Shout-out to our tour guide (Leah & Siahn) excellent work during the whole trip!!! They’re very knowledgeable, energetic, friendly and thoughtful, made the trip fun and alive!
★★★★★
It was an incredible experience, exceeding our already high expectations. Our guide, Hannah, was fantastic; she shared her passion and knowledge with us. The places are magnificent, and sleeping in swag is something unique. Highly recommended!
★★★★★
If you want to experience the Outback then this tour is for you! Our guide Steve was amazing and he had a lot of knowledge about the areas and the history of them. This tour is full of hikes where we saw the most amazing locations. We slept mostly under the stars to get the true outback feeling.
★★★★★
The tour was really great! Our guide Hannah took great care of us and always had alternative options for people who were not quite as fit and mobile. [...] The group harmony was really great and the sleeping bags and campsites were really well chosen. Great programme!
★★★★★
The trip was excellent ! My partner and I spent 7 days with amazing people visiting amazing things. We are super happy for having that experience! I recommend 100%!
★★★★★
A really valid trip. An experience for life. You see a lot of nature and our guide Dan knows a lot about Australia and its original inhabitants/owners. [...] Sleeping in a swag seemed really challenging at first. But it is really true: you get used to it very quickly and then you really sleep under a beautiful starry sky.
★★★★★
well planned, amazing walks & activities & a really good guide (elliott!!) who taught us a lot about aboriginal culture & different stories about the history of the landscapes
★★★★★
Once in a lifetime experience to see incredible parts of the country. The tour is very well operated and we didn’t want for anything the entire time! The right amount of challenging and many many memories to take with us.
At the end of the road
Add the Field of Light
Both northbound 7-day trips on this page reach Uluru, about 750 km beyond Coober Pedy. The sunrise Field of Light is
the add-on the tours themselves suggest once you get there.
The add-on the 7-day tours offer at Uluru. A coach takes you to a private dune before dawn, you walk among 50,000 glowing glass spheres, then watch the sun come up over the rock with a hot drink.
One opal town, a long road either side of it, and a handful of ways to make it part of your trip.
Why people make the trip
The first surprise is how little you see. Drive in on the Stuart Highway and Coober Pedy looks like a scatter of low
roofs among thousands of pale cone-shaped mounds, the spoil heaps of a century of opal mining. Most of the town is out of
sight, cut into the hills: homes, churches, shops and hotel rooms. Walk into a dugout on a 40°C afternoon and
the air drops to the low 20s.
Then there is the land around it. About 25 km north, the Kanku-Breakaways rise from the gibber plain in bands of white,
ochre and red, the Dog Fence runs through the park, and the Moon Plain nearby was a set for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Further
out, the coloured hills of the Painted Desert sit beside Arckaringa Station.
A Breakaways butte, about 25 km north of town.
The 7-day trips: the easy way in
The 7-day camping trip from Adelaide to Uluru is the one guests rate highest, 4.9 from 22 reviews. It
crosses the Flinders Ranges, reaches Coober Pedy on day three for Old Timers Mine and noodling, sleeps underground, then
heads north through the Breakaways to Kings Canyon and Uluru. Five nights are in swags under the stars; breakfasts, three
dinners and every park fee are included. The southbound version does the same from Yulara to
Adelaide.
Good to know: these are long driving days. One guest on the southbound trip counted about 12
hours from Kings Canyon to Coober Pedy. Guides break it up with stops, but bring a book, snacks and a warm sleeping bag
from May to September; it is not included.
Swag or hotel room?
The Explorer's Way tour takes the same road north from Adelaide to Alice Springs with a bed every
night: twin-share rooms, a night in an underground motel in Coober Pedy, and a stop at Josephine's Gallery and Kangaroo
Orphanage. It costs more, from $1,721, and meals are paid as you go. It is new on GetYourGuide, with no reviews yet;
the operator is the same company that runs the camping trips. A southbound version runs from
Alice Springs or Yulara to Adelaide.
Noodling: sifting old spoil for opal the miners missed.
Going on your own
Coober Pedy is easy to reach without a tour. Rex flies from Adelaide about four times a week, Greyhound runs daily
coaches, and the highway is sealed. Once you are there, hire a car, because there are no taxis. Old Timers Mine (A$15),
Umoona (A$16 with a guided tour) and Faye's Underground Home (A$20) take a morning; the Catacomb Church is free. Book a
room underground for the full experience.
The Painted Desert day
Already in town on a Saturday? The Painted Desert day tour runs north in a 4WD with the outback mail
man, across the Moon Plain to the coloured mesas of the Arckaringa Hills, with a picnic lunch, then back past the
Breakaways. It takes four guests at most and has only five reviews so far, so book early and expect a small, personal
day.
Straight answers to what people ask most about Coober Pedy.
Is Coober Pedy worth visiting?
Yes, for a night at least. People here live, pray and sleep in rooms cut into the sandstone, the town sits among the mullock heaps of the opal fields, and the Breakaways mesas rise about 25 km up the road. The catch is the distance: about 850 km from Adelaide. That is why the 7-day trip from Adelaide to Uluru and the Explorer's Way hotel tour both build a night underground into the route. More in Coober Pedy tours from Adelaide.
How far is Coober Pedy from Adelaide and from Uluru?
About 850 km north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway, the District Council of Coober Pedy says, and about 680 km south of Alice Springs. Uluru is roughly 750 km away, via Marla, Kulgera and Erldunda. The Stuart Highway is sealed all the way. The day by day route is in Adelaide to Uluru via Coober Pedy.
How many days do you need in Coober Pedy?
One full day and two nights is enough for most people: a mine and a dugout home in the morning, the churches and the Big Winch lookout, then the Breakaways at sunset. Add a Saturday for the Painted Desert day tour. The 7-day tours give you an evening and the next morning in town, which covers the highlights.
When is the best time to visit Coober Pedy?
April to September. June days average about 18°C, nights drop to around 6°C, and the walking is easy. January averages 36.7°C and has hit 48.3°C (Bureau of Meteorology). Summer trips still run, because life underground stays cool, but outdoor time shrinks to early mornings and evenings.
Can you visit Coober Pedy without a tour?
Yes. Rex flies from Adelaide about four times a week (about 2 hours), Greyhound runs daily coaches from Adelaide (about 11 hours) and Alice Springs (about 8), and the Stuart Highway is sealed. There are no taxis, so hire a car in town or ask your accommodation to collect you. The mines and museums sell tickets at the door.
Can you stay underground in Coober Pedy?
Yes, and it is the reason many people come. Underground hotel rooms, motel rooms and backpacker dorms are cut into the hillsides, and they stay cool year-round without needing air conditioning. Both 7-day camping tours spend a night in an underground dorm, and the Explorer's Way tours use an underground motel. See sleeping underground.
Can you dig for opal in Coober Pedy?
Yes, by noodling: sifting old mine spoil by hand. The council runs a free Public Noodling Area off Jeweller's Shop Road, and Old Timers Mine has its own noodling pits. Never wander onto the working fields: open shafts are everywhere, claims are private, and the state limits fossicking to 1 metre deep. More in opal noodling.
Do you need a permit for the Breakaways?
Yes, if you drive in yourself: A$13.50 per vehicle (A$11.20 concession), bought online or at the visitor centre in town. Tours include it. The park is about 25 km north on a dirt road that can close after rain, so check road conditions first. Details in the Breakaways guide.
Why do people live underground in Coober Pedy?
Heat. January days average 36.7°C, while a dugout cut into the sandstone hillside holds a steady temperature in the low 20s all year. Miners were already living in dugouts by 1916, the year after the first opal find, and today homes, churches, shops and hotels sit under the hills.
Which films were shot in Coober Pedy?
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Pitch Black and Red Planet all used the Moon Plain north of town, and Mortal Kombat filmed in the Breakaways, according to the screen agency Ausfilm. Crocodile Harry's dugout, a self-guided stop in town, appears in the Mad Max film.
Is Coober Pedy a dry town?
Yes, within its designated town area: the District Council of Coober Pedy says no alcohol may be consumed there, and takeaway wine and spirits are limited per person per day, with photo ID needed. The bottle shops in town still sell within those limits.
How do you get to Coober Pedy by plane or bus?
By plane, Rex (Regional Express) flies from Adelaide about four times a week in about 2 hours; one-way fares we saw for late 2026 started near A$309. By coach, Greyhound leaves daily from Adelaide (about 11 hours) and Alice Springs (about 8 hours) and stops at 52-56 Hutchison Street. The Ghan Expedition train also stops nearby at Manguri on its Darwin to Adelaide run, with a coach into town. More in getting to Coober Pedy in 2026.
Ready to book
Pick your road, then your night underground.
Free cancellation on every tour; the notice period depends on the trip.
From town
★ 4.410 hoursFree cancellation
