How far is Kakadu from Darwin?
About three hours by roadDarwin at 5:15am, Jabiru at 8:30am, and a park big enough to want a night in it.
A little over three hours by road. The early trips out of Darwin leave at 5:15am, stop on the way, pick up at Aurora Kakadu at 7:50am and reach Jabiru, in the heart of the park, at 8:30am. The one-day Kakadu trip covers around 615km there and back, from $249, with Darwin accommodation transfers included. That distance is why most people stay the night inside the park: the 3 day trip, from $729, sleeps two nights at safari camps in Kakadu with the meals included, and the 2 day trip, from $815, adds a night beside Mardugal Billabong and the Corroboree Billabong wildlife cruise.
Checked on 28 October 2026.
Kakadu is the Top End's big national park, and every trip into it leaves from Darwin and comes back there, with pick-up from where you are staying. The drive in is the easy part. What makes the distance matter is the size of the park once you are inside it: the rock art, the billabongs and the gorges are spread across it, so the question is really how much of it you want to see.
Darwin to Kakadu, by the clock
| Where | Time |
|---|---|
| Leave Darwin | 5:15am |
| A stop at Corroboree Park Tavern | On the way |
| Pick-up at Aurora Kakadu | 7:50am |
| Pick-up at Jabiru, in the heart of Kakadu | 8:30am |
The published timetable of the Arnhem Land day trips, which drive through Kakadu from Darwin on the way to their permit areas.
How far each trip goes
| Trip | Length | On the road | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Kakadu Tour | 1 day | Around 615km, there and back | $249 |
| 3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Tour | 3 days, 2 nights | Around 1,070km over three days | $955 |
| 5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield, Katherine & Arnhemland | 5 days, 4 nights | Around 1,400km over five days | $1749 |
| 5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield & Katherine Gorge | 5 days, 4 nights | Around 1,900km over five days | $1799 |
Distances are each trip's own figures, Darwin to Darwin. Prices update on their own.
One day, or a night in the park
- One day, from $249.Darwin accommodation transfers and a guided walk at the Ubirr rock art galleries. It is a long day on the road, and lunch at Bowali is your own.
- Two days, from $815.Ubirr's rock art, a night at a safari camp beside Mardugal Billabong, and the Corroboree Billabong cruise for crocodiles and birdlife. Pick-up from 6:30am.
- Three days, from $729.Two nights at safari camps inside Kakadu, at Garnamarr at the base of the escarpment and at Mardugal Billabong, with every meal from day 1 lunch to day 3 lunch, including a barbecue of croc, buffalo and kangaroo.
- Two days in a suite, from $1,899.A light aircraft flight over Kakadu, sunrise on the Adelaide River floodplains, and a night at Anbinik Resort in Jabiru, in a group of six at most.
Katherine, Alice Springs and Uluru
Katherine Gorge goes with Kakadu on the four and five day loops from Darwin, which drive both and come back to Darwin, from $1,749. Alice Springs and Uluru are a different trip: Alice Springs is about 1,500km south of Darwin down the Stuart Highway, and our Darwin to Alice Springs itinerary page has the trips that make that drive, with Litchfield's waterfalls on the way.
For which length suits you, see which Kakadu tour to do from Darwin, and for what is inside the park, the best things to do in Kakadu.
1 Day Kakadu Tourfrom $2491 day1 day. Darwin to Ubirr and backView trip
2 Day Kakadu Tourfrom $8152 days, 1 nightBush Camping in Tents2 days. A night beside Mardugal BillabongView trip
3 Day Kakadu Tourfrom $7293 days, 2 nightsSafari tent or swag3 days. Two nights inside Kakadu, meals includedView trip
5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield & Katherine Gorgefrom $17995 days, 4 nightsTents or Swags5 days. Kakadu, Litchfield and Katherine GorgeView tripPeople also ask
- Which Kakadu tour should I do from Darwin — one day, two or three?
- What are the best things to do in Kakadu?
- What day trips can you do from Darwin?
- Darwin to Alice Springs itinerary
Where this comes from. Departure and pick-up times, distances on the road, where each trip sleeps, what it includes and prices are that trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. The Darwin to Alice Springs distance is the figure on our Darwin to Alice Springs itinerary page.