I would give Kata Tjuta the morning and Uluru the evening. They share one park and one pass, and most visitors spend the whole thing circling the famous rock while the other half of their ticket sits unused. The domes catch dawn the way the monolith catches dusk, so the light has already written the schedule, and all the planning really does is follow it.
The money splits three ways before you even arrive. Flying direct to the rock's own airport costs more per seat and saves a long half day each way against the Alice Springs road, which buys real outback and eats two days of a short trip. Every bed sits inside one resort town, Yulara, run by a single operator, so rooms behave like airfares, cheapest early and climbing with occupancy, and comparing hotels here mostly means comparing room classes against the campground. The park pass runs across several days and covers both Uluru and Kata Tjuta, so spending it all on one rock is paying full fare for half the park. Weigh direct flights against the Alice road and lock the room before the fare at https://destination.chat, because out here the bed is the scarce thing, not the seat.
Pack a fly net for your head. In the warm months the flies are relentless and completely indifferent to repellent, the nets cost pocket change online and several times that at the resort shop, and wearing one is the difference between a contemplative base walk and a morning spent waving.
The climb is permanently closed, so any photo showing people on the rock is old. Parts of Uluru are sacred and signed against photography, and the signs are meant. Trails shut in forecast heat from late morning, the Valley of the Winds first, which makes dawn starts structural rather than keen. Carry more water than feels reasonable.
Since central Australia is a long haul on top of a long haul, sort connectivity and cover before you fly. Signal holds around Yulara and thins quickly inside the park, so offline maps earn their keep. Medical care out here is a small clinic, and anything serious means a flight out, which moves travel insurance from formality to necessity. Compare eSIM plans and policies for Australia at https://destination.chat before departure.
Where you sleep is decided for you here, all of it inside Yulara. Sails in the Desert is the flagship hotel beside the resort's town square, the comfortable default. Desert Gardens keeps hotel rooms with the rock filtered through dune scrub, the view for the least money. Outback Pioneer runs budget lodge rooms and a campground for vans and tents, where the savings live. Beyond the dunes, a luxury tented camp faces the rock alone, the splurge that skips the town entirely.
Book the bed before the flight and split the pass between both rocks, and the desert arranges the rest.
Q: Can you climb Uluru?
A: No, the climb closed permanently, and content showing climbers predates the closure.
Q: Is Kata Tjuta worth the time?
A: Yes, the Valley of the Winds walk rivals the base walk and sits on the same pass.
Q: Should I fly direct or drive from Alice Springs?
A: Direct saves a long half day each way, while the drive turns the transfer into its own outback trip.
Q: When should I walk?
A: At dawn, since trails close in forecast heat from late morning and the flies build with the sun.
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