Itinerary for Darwin (Australia)

Most visitors to Darwin would include trips to nearby national parks (Kakadu National Park)

Darwin (Northern Territory) is Australia’s smallest and northern-most capital city. A laid-back yet colourful coastal metropolis, Darwin is also the gateway to several exceptional national parks in the Northern Territory. As Darwin is a compact city, most visitors would typically incorporate trips to these nearby national parks in their itinerary. If you’re planning to visit the Northern Territory, let us share with you our tried-and-tested 10-Days Itinerary for Darwin!

How do we know the itinerary works? Because this is the actual 10-days itinerary for our Northern Territory adventure in Jun-2018! Go ahead and share it with your travel buddies!

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The Top End (Northern Territory, Australia)

The Northern Territory is a vast federal territory (as opposed to a state) located on the northern tip of Australia. Within the massive Northern Territory lies two distinct regions commonly referred to as “The Top End” and “The Red Centre”.

The Top End is used to describe the northern-most region of the Northern Territory. Encompassing Darwin, Kakadu, Arnhem Land, Katherine and Tennant Creek (see map).

While the Red Centre is the southern desert region of Northern Territory and includes the famed Uluru (Ayers Rocks).

For this blog, we’ll focus solely on the areas bounded by the Top End.

Best time to visit the Top End

The Top End has a tropical savanna climate. Characterised by two distinct seasons, a wet/hot season from November to April, and a dry/cool season from May to October.

During the wet season, monsoon rain and storms are prevalent and can cause flooding in many areas. Especially in the outback regions of the Top End. Road closures are common. Making any trip to the Top End outback (during this season) a tricky endeavour.

For the typical tourist, by far the best time to visit the Top End is during the cooler dry season. Consequently, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is also peak tourist season. Making accommodation and other tourism related services pricier.

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10-Days itinerary for Darwin (The Top End)

Based upon our 10-days Jun-2018 trip to the Northern Territory (via a 2WD campervan). Below is our 10-Days itinerary for the Top End.

Day#1: Darwin

Darwin Harbour Cruise
Defence of Darwin Experience (Darwin Military Museum)
Mindil Beach/Mindil Beach Sunset Market (only Thur/Sun)
Stay: Darwin

For more details on the listed Darwin attractions, see our blog on Things to do in Darwin.

Darwin Harbour Cruise (10-Days itinerary for Darwin)

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Day#2-4: Kakadu National Park

Day#2:

Accommodation at Jabiru: For recommendation on accommodation in Jabiru, refer to our Kakadu travel blog or click here for Kakadu Lodge.

Note: Self-drive is essential for any visit to the Top End. This itinerary is based upon using a 2WD vehicle. There are a few places of interest (esp. waterfalls) in Kakadu National Park that requires 4WD for access. For the detailed reasons why we opted for a 2WD (instead of 4WD) campervan (instead of car), refer to our Kakadu travel blog (see section on ”2WD vs 4WD“ and “Renting Cars vs. Campervan”).

Day#3:

Bardedjilidji Walk
Cahills Crossing at East Alligator (Erre) River
Ubirr (Ubirr Rock Art site) (rock art & sunset view)
Stay: Jabiru

Day#4:

Anbangbang Rock Shelter (Burrungkuy/Burrunggui) (rock art)
Yellow Water Wetlands, Ngurrungurrudjba (via Yellow Water Cruise) (river cruise)
Stay: Jabiru

For more details on the listed Kakadu attractions, see our other post Kakadu National Park Travel Blog.

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Day#5-7: Nitmiluk National Park

Day#5:

Drive to Katherine Town (3-hours)
Katherine Visitor Information Centre (Katherine Town)
Stay: Katherine

Accommodation at Katherine: For recommendation on accommodation in Katherine, refer to our Nitmiluk travel blog.

Day#6:

Edith Falls (Leliyn) (swim)
Katherine Hot Springs (swim)
Stay: Katherine

Day#7:

Nitmiluk Visitor Centre
Katherine Gorge (hike)
Drive to Litchfield National Park (2.5-hours)
Stay: Batchelor/Litchfield

For more details on the listed Nitmiluk attractions, see our other post Nitmiluk National Park Travel Blog.

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Day#8-9: Litchfield National Park

Day#8:

Magnetic Termite Mounds
Florence Falls and Buley Rockhole (swim)
Stay: Batchelor/Litchfield

Accommodation at Batchelor/Litchfield: For recommendations on accommodation in Batchelor/Litchfield, refer to our Litchfield travel blog or click here for Litchfield Tourist Park.