What day trips can you do from Darwin?
Five, and Litchfield is the one to do first. Waterfalls you can swim under, a 450km round trip, $179. Kakadu is a bigger day at 615km and $249. Arnhem Land needs a permit and goes with a traditional Aboriginal guide — the one almost nobody knows you can do in a day.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
Darwin is the base for the Top End, and the Top End runs on distance. Every trip below includes transfers from your accommodation, which matters here more than most places because there is no public transport to any of it.
The day trips
| Day trip | What you do | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Litchfield Tour | **Litchfield** — Wangi Falls and a swim beneath the cascades. About a 450km round trip | Small group, up to 20 | $179 |
| 1 Day Kakadu Tour | **Kakadu** — Ubirr and a guided walk at the World Heritage rock art galleries. A long day, around 615km | Small group, up to 21 | $249 |
| 1 Day Arnhem Land & Mikinj Valley | **Arnhem Land**, Minkinj Valley — rock art beneath the escarpment, visited with special permission | Max 17 | $305 |
| 1 Day Katherine Gorge Tours | **Katherine Gorge** — a two-hour boat cruise below 70-metre cliffs | Up to 29 | $339 |
| 1 Day Arnhem Land & Injalak Hill | **Arnhem Land**, Injalak Hill — rock art with a traditional Aboriginal guide | Max 16 | $345 |
Prices are per person and update on their own.
Which one?
- Litchfield if you want to swim. Waterfalls, plunge pools and the shortest drive of the five — it is the day most people enjoy most.
- Kakadu if you want the rock art and the scale. Ubirr is extraordinary, and the park is roughly half the size of Switzerland.
- Arnhem Land if you want something almost nobody does. It is Aboriginal land and you need a permit, which the trip arranges. Injalak Hill goes with a traditional owner as your guide, in a group of sixteen.
- Katherine Gorge for the boat. Two hours on the water below seventy-metre walls, in the largest group of the five at up to 29.
A word on the Arnhem Land days
- Early starts — both leave Darwin at 5:15am, with later pick-ups at Aurora Kakadu and Jabiru if you are already out that way.
- Small groups of 16 or 17, because the permits limit numbers.
- Injalak Hill is on unformed paths with no handrails, so it is the more demanding of the two.
- You are a guest on Aboriginal land, and the guiding reflects that. It is the reason to go.
More than a day
Two and three days reach the gorges and the wetland cruises a day trip cannot, and three days is where Kakadu stops being a drive-through.
| Trip | Length | Where you sleep | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Day Kakadu Tour | 2 days, 1 night | Bush Camping in Tents | $815 |
| 3 Day Kakadu Tour | 3 days, 2 nights | Safari tent or swag | $729 |
| 3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Safari | 3 days, 2 nights | Safari Tent | $819 |
| 3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Tour | 3 days, 2 nights | Swags or Safari Tent | $955 |
| 5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield, Katherine & Arnhemland | 5 days, 4 nights | Private Safari Camp | $1749 |
| 5 Day Kakadu & Koolpin Gorge Safari | 5 days, 4 nights | Private Safari Camp | $1799 |
The trips
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Where this comes from. Each operator's own itinerary, distances and pick-up sheet, as held on that trip's page here. Prices are the current from price and update on their own.