What is a Litchfield tour like, and how is it different from Kakadu?
A day tripClose enough to Darwin to do properly in one.
Litchfield is the swimming one. Waterfalls with plunge pools at the bottom you can get straight into, about a 450km round trip from Darwin, $179 with transfers included. Kakadu is bigger, further and about rock art and crocodiles. Litchfield is about being in the water.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
People come to the Top End for Kakadu and come home talking about Litchfield. It is closer, smaller and far more of the day is spent out of the vehicle, which in that heat is the whole thing.
Litchfield or Kakadu?
- Litchfieldabout a 450km round trip, waterfalls and plunge pools, swimming most of the day. One day does it properly.
- Kakaduaround 615km in a day, rock art at Ubirr, wetland cruises and crocodiles. Enormous, and really wants two or three days.
- If you have one daytake Litchfield. If you have three, take a trip that does both — several do.
- The swimming is the difference.Litchfield's pools are croc-checked and open; Kakadu's water is mostly for looking at from a boat.
The Litchfield day
| Trip | What you do | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Litchfield Tour | **Wangi Falls** and a swim beneath the cascades, plus the park's other falls and the magnetic termite mounds | Small group, up to 20 | $179 |
Darwin accommodation transfers are included. Prices update on their own.
What is in the price
- Transfers from your Darwin accommodationboth ways.
- Your guide and the vehiclean air-conditioned minibus, small group of up to 20.
- Park entrywhere it applies.
- Time in the water.That is what the day is built around, so bring swimmers and a towel.
Litchfield as part of a longer trip
Three and five day trips pair Litchfield with Kakadu, which is the combination most people should book if they have the days — the waterfalls break up the driving and the rock art gives it depth.
| Trip | Length | Where you sleep | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Gorge | 5 days, 4 nights | Tents or Swags | $1799 |
Getting there
- Around 120km south of Darwinon sealed road to the main falls. The day trip covers roughly 450km all up with the loop through the park.
- Darwin accommodation transfers are includedso you do not need a car.
- No mealsthere is a stop at Batchelor on the way to pick up lunch to take into the park.
- Bring swimmers.That's the single most useful thing on this page.
When to go
The dry season, roughly May to October, when the swimming holes are open and the roads are all passable. In the wet the falls are at their most spectacular and most of the pools close — swimming areas shut when the park says so, and that is about saltwater crocodiles moving in on high water, not about comfort.
Worth knowing
- The swimming holes are checkedbefore the season opens and the guides know which are open on the day.
- It is hot.The Top End runs warm year round — bring more water than feels sensible and a hat that shades your neck.
- Some falls close in the wet seasonwhen the water runs too hard. Your guide works around it, and the wet is also when the falls are at their most spectacular.
People also ask
- Which Kakadu tour should I do from Darwin?
- What day trips can you do from Darwin?
- What is included on a tour?
- Where should I go in Australia?
Where this comes from. Each operator's own itinerary, distances and inclusions sheet, as held on that trip's page here. Prices are the current from price and update on their own.