Home › Kakadu tours › Things to do in Kakadu

What are the best things to do in Kakadu?

Rock art, crocs, fallsUbirr at sunset, a billabong cruise, then the waterfalls.

See the rock art at Ubirr, cruise a billabong among the crocodiles, and get out to the waterfalls. Ubirr's galleries are World Heritage listed, and climbing it at sunset is the classic Kakadu evening. The Corroboree Billabong and Mary River cruises put you among saltwater crocodiles and the Top End's birdlife. In the dry, 4WD tracks reach Jim Jim and Twin Falls, and the longer trips add Koolpin Gorge, a permit area open to 40 visitors a day, or a flight over the park. A day from Darwin is from $249; three days with two nights inside the park from $729.

Checked on 28 October 2026.

In a day Ubirr from Darwin from$249 Three days Two nights in the park from$729 Five days Koolpin Gorge from$1799

Kakadu is Australia's biggest national park, about half the size of Switzerland, and dual World Heritage listed, for its nature and for its culture. What there is to do falls into three parts: the rock art, the wetlands and the escarpment country with its gorges and falls.

The rock art

Ubirr.Some of the best examples of rock art in northern Australia, on a guided walk through the galleries. The 5 day Top End trip climbs it at sunset.
Nourlangiethe other great gallery, painted over tens of thousands of years and still culturally live.
Arnhem Land, next door.Injalak Hill with a traditional Aboriginal guide, or the Mikinj Valley's rock art beneath the escarpment, visited with special permission. Both run as a day from Darwin, or join at Jabiru at 8:30am if you are already in Kakadu.

The wetlands and the crocodiles

Corroboree Billabonga boat cruise among saltwater crocodiles and prolific birdlife. It is on the 2, 3 and 4 day trips.
The Mary River Wetlandsa crocodile and wildlife cruise, with a huge range of Top End birdlife, on the 3 day Kakadu and Litchfield tour.
The Adelaide River floodplains at sunrisefor the birdlife, on the way in on the 2 day retreat.
Camp beside the water.The 3 day trip sleeps at Mardugal Billabong and at Garnamarr, at the base of the escarpment, with a barbecue of croc, buffalo and kangaroo on the first night.

The gorges, the falls and the air

Jim Jim and Twin Fallsdown the 4WD tracks, and Maguk as well on the 4 day retreat. The tracks are open in the dry season.
Koolpin Gorge (Jarrangbarnmi).A permit-access area limited to 40 visitors a day, given by the traditional owners. The 5 day safari spends its time out here.
A light aircraft flight over Kakaduon day 1 of the 2 day retreat. In the wet, a flight is the way to see the falls at their biggest.

Which trip reaches what

Trip	Length	What it is built around	From
1 Day Kakadu Tour	1 day	A guided walk at Ubirr's World Heritage galleries	$249
2 Day Kakadu Tour	2 days, 1 night	Ubirr's rock art and the Corroboree Billabong cruise	$815
3 Day Kakadu Tour	3 days, 2 nights	Two nights inside the park, the Corroboree Billabong cruise and a croc, buffalo and kangaroo barbecue	$729
3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Safari	3 days, 2 nights	The Corroboree Billabong cruise, then Litchfield	$819
3 Day Kakadu & Litchfield Tour	3 days, 2 nights	The Mary River Wetlands cruise and two nights in the park	$955
2 Day Kakadu Retreat	2 days, 1 night	A flight over Kakadu, the Adelaide River at sunrise, a resort night in Jabiru	$1899
4 Day Kakadu & Katherine Retreat	4 days, 3 nights	Jim Jim or Twin Falls, Maguk and the Corroboree Billabong cruise, in hotels	$1999
5 Day Kakadu & Koolpin Gorge Safari	5 days, 4 nights	Koolpin Gorge, a permit area for 40 visitors a day	$1799
5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield & Katherine Gorge	5 days, 4 nights	Ubirr at sunset, then Litchfield and Katherine Gorge	$1799

Every trip starts and finishes in Darwin. Prices update on their own.

How much you fit in

One dayis Ubirr from Darwin, with your accommodation transfers included. It is around 615km on the road, so it is a big day, and the guide does all the driving. Lunch at Bowali is at your own expense.
Two or three daysadd a night in the park and the billabong cruise. Three days is where the rock art and the escarpment both fit without watching the clock.
Four or five daysreach the falls and gorges the shorter trips cannot: Jim Jim, Twin Falls, Maguk and Koolpin Gorge.
Rather a bed than a tent?The 2 day retreat stays in a suite at Anbinik Resort in Jabiru in a group of six at most, and the 4 day retreat is in twin-share rooms.

When to go for what

Kakadu has two seasons. The dry, May to September, opens everything: Jabiru averages 1mm of rain in June and 2 to 3mm in July and August, with days around 32°C, and every 4WD track is open to the falls. The wet is the green season: 356mm in January, the falls at their most spectacular, the billabongs at their fullest and the park nearly empty. Ubirr and the wetland cruises stay open, and a scenic flight shows you the falls. There is more on the green season on our Kakadu in the wet page.