Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Australia: the Top End, Darwin, Kakadu and Litchfield
6 days from Darwin: two nights in the city, two nights in Kakadu for Ubirr, Burrungkuy and Yellow Water, then a night at the gate of Litchfield for its waterfalls and swimming holes.
6 days · Round trip from Darwin · up to 12 guests
Sandstone outcrop country in the Top End, photographed by CSIRO in 1992; not a stop on this trip Photo: John Coppi, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSIRO_ScienceImage_4282_Rocky_outcrop_south_of_Darwin_in_Arnhem_Land_NT_1992.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 6 days, 5 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Darwin
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 4 h on day 5No drive day is longer than 4 hours.
- Activity level
Moderate
Short walks of 1 to 3 km at a time on sandstone, uneven rock steps and sandy tracks, about 2 to 4 hours on your feet a day in heat of 30 C or more; the climbs at Ubirr and Burrungkuy are short but steep, and Florence Falls has a long flight of steps down to the pool. Every climb and swim can be sat out.
- Meals included
- 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 3 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,065 (estimated price)
- Season
- May to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Ubirr's rock art galleries and the Nadab floodplain from the lookout at sunset
- The East Alligator River with an Aboriginal guide on the Guluyambi Cultural Cruise
- Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) at opening, with the Namarrgon (Lightning Man) painting in the shade
- Yellow Water Billabong by boat in the late afternoon: crocodiles, jabiru and sea eagles
- The Larrakia Cultural Centre and the Cyclone Tracy gallery in Darwin, both included
- A late-afternoon swim at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls, then Wangi Falls early the next morning
- Two nights in Kakadu in one hotel, and a hotel with your own bathroom every night
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day, and none is longer than 4 hours.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,065 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 4 h, on day 5.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Darwin
Darwin International Airport to your hotel in central Darwin
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Darwin
- Drive about 18 min
Fly into Darwin International Airport (DRW), about 13 km from the city centre, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the short run to our central hotel, a few minutes on foot from the Esplanade. Darwin is Gulumoerrgin in the language of the Larrakia people, its traditional owners, and it is a young-looking city for a reason: Cyclone Tracy flattened most of it on Christmas Day 1974.
Afternoon
The afternoon is free. Walk the shaded paths of Bicentennial Park along the clifftop, or go down to the Waterfront, where the Recreation Lagoon is netted for safe swimming. At 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the days ahead: the heat, the crocodile rules and what to pack for Kakadu.
Evening
Then we walk to dinner together as the sun goes down over the harbour.
Included
- Pick-up at Darwin International Airport (DRW)
- Welcome briefing with your guide at 6 pm
- Welcome dinner in Darwin
Optional experiences
- Mindil Beach Sunset Market, on Thursday and Sunday evenings in the dry season (free to enter)
Free time: Free until the 6 pm briefing
Activity: Land by about mid-afternoon to settle in before the briefing; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner.
Darwin with the Larrakia
Darwin city: the Larrakia Cultural Centre, Fannie Bay and the Waterfront
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Darwin
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
A slow first morning, so you can shake off the flight before Kakadu. We start at the Larrakia Cultural Centre, where Larrakia people give an introduction to the saltwater country Darwin is built on: its seasons, its stories and the languages still spoken here. Then a short drive to Fannie Bay and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, where the Cyclone Tracy gallery plays a recording of the storm, and the Aboriginal art collection gives you a first look at the bark paintings and carvings of Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal at the Waterfront. Your guide also covers the other history people forget: Japanese aircraft bombed Darwin on 19 February 1942, and the wartime tunnels and memorials are close by.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are yours, and dinner is wherever you like.
Included
- Larrakia Cultural Centre, entry included
- Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory at Fannie Bay, with the Cyclone Tracy gallery
- Sit-down lunch at the Darwin Waterfront
Optional experiences
- WWII Oil Storage Tunnels on the waterfront (price shown at booking)
- Mindil Beach Sunset Market, on Thursday and Sunday evenings in the dry season
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Darwin
Activity: Easy walking, mostly indoors and in shade.
Into Kakadu: the East Alligator River and Ubirr
Darwin to Fogg Dam and Mamukala Wetlands on the Arnhem Highway, then the East Alligator River, Ubirr and Jabiru
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Jabiru
- Drive about 4 h
We leave Darwin at 8 am and reach Fogg Dam within the hour, while the egrets, jacanas and whistling ducks are still busy on the water. Then it is east along the Arnhem Highway, across the Adelaide and Mary river floodplains, into Kakadu National Park, listed by UNESCO for both its nature and its culture. A short boardwalk at Mamukala leads to a bird hide over the wetland.
Afternoon
Lunch is near the East Alligator River, the border with Arnhem Land, and in the early afternoon we board the Guluyambi Cultural Cruise, where an Aboriginal guide talks about the river, bush food and the crocodiles basking on the banks. Late in the day we walk the galleries at Ubirr: X-ray fish and turtles, Mimi spirit figures and early contact paintings.
Evening
We climb to the lookout for sunset over the Nadab floodplain, then drive about 40 km to Jabiru. If the morning runs late, your guide drops the Mamukala stop rather than cut short the cruise or Ubirr.
Included
- Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve in the morning
- Kakadu National Park pass
- Mamukala Wetlands bird hide
- Lunch near the East Alligator River
- Guluyambi Cultural Cruise on the East Alligator River with an Aboriginal guide
- Ubirr rock art galleries and sunset from the Nadab lookout
- Dinner in Jabiru
Easier option: Walk the flat main gallery circuit at Ubirr and watch the sunset from its foot, skipping the climb to the lookout.
Activity: About 3.75 hours of driving with three stops. Ubirr's circuit is about 1 km, with a short, steep scramble of about 250 m up rock to the lookout.
Burrungkuy at opening, Yellow Water at golden hour
Jabiru to Burrungkuy (Nourlangie), Cooinda and Yellow Water Billabong, then back to Jabiru
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Jabiru
- Drive about 2 h
We are at Burrungkuy, also called Nourlangie, when it opens at about 8 am, while the rock shelters are cool and in shade. A loop of about 1.5 km leads past the Anbangbang shelter, used by Bininj people for thousands of years, to the main gallery and its painting of Namarrgon, the Lightning Man, who brings the storms of the wet season. If a Parks Australia ranger talk is running, we join it. From there we drive to Cooinda and the Warradjan Cultural Centre, which tells the story of Kakadu's seasons and peoples.
Afternoon
Lunch is at Cooinda, and the middle of the day, the hottest part, is free in the shade at Cooinda. In the late afternoon we board the boat on Yellow Water Billabong, an Indigenous-owned cruise through paperbark and pandanus, looking for crocodiles, jabiru, magpie geese and sea eagles as the light goes gold.
Evening
Dinner is back in Jabiru.
Included
- Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) rock art walk with your guide
- Warradjan Cultural Centre at Cooinda
- Lunch at Cooinda
- Late-afternoon Yellow Water cruise
- Dinner in Jabiru
Optional experiences
- Scenic flight over Kakadu's escarpment and floodplains (price shown at booking)
Easier option: Stay on the flat lower path at Burrungkuy and the Anbangbang Billabong shore, skipping the lookout climb.
More active option: Climb to Gunwarrdehwarde Lookout at Burrungkuy for the view to the Arnhem Land escarpment.
Free time: Middle of the day free at Cooinda
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in the morning, on sandstone paths and steps. The drive back to Jabiru, about 55 km, is after dark.
West to Litchfield's swimming holes
Jabiru to Batchelor by the Arnhem and Stuart highways, then the Magnetic Termite Mounds, Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Batchelor
- Drive about 4 h
Morning
After breakfast we leave Kakadu the way we came in, west along the Arnhem Highway, with a coffee stop near the Mary River, then turn south on the Stuart Highway to Batchelor, the small town at the gate of Litchfield National Park.
Afternoon
About three and a quarter hours on sealed road brings us there for a long sit-down lunch out of the midday heat; the drive into the park and back adds about 45 minutes, so about four hours in all. In the afternoon we drive into the park, past the Magnetic Termite Mounds, flat grey slabs up to about two metres tall that are all lined up north to south to keep cool, and the much taller cathedral mounds. Then it is time to swim. Buley Rockhole is a chain of shallow rock pools and cascades, and Florence Falls drops twin streams into a deep, monsoon-forest plunge pool. By late afternoon most day-trippers have gone back to Darwin.
Evening
Dinner is in Batchelor.
Included
- Drive from Kakadu to Litchfield with a coffee stop
- Sit-down lunch in Batchelor
- NT Parks pass for Litchfield National Park
- Magnetic Termite Mounds and cathedral termite mounds
- Swimming at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls
- Dinner in Batchelor
Easier option: Swim in the shallow pools at Buley Rockhole, a few steps from the car park, and skip the stairs down to Florence Falls.
More active option: Walk the shaded Florence Creek track between Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls, about 3 km, while the van goes round.
Free time: Time in the water at Buley and Florence is unhurried; the evening is free after dinner
Activity: About 4 hours of driving in all, on sealed roads. Florence Falls has a long flight of steps down to the pool.
Wangi Falls and back to Darwin
Batchelor to Tolmer Falls and Wangi Falls, then Darwin International Airport
- Breakfast and lunch
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
We leave Batchelor after an early breakfast, ahead of the day-trip coaches from Darwin. First stop is the Tolmer Falls lookout, where the water drops off the sandstone plateau into a deep gorge; there is no swimming here, as the caves below shelter a protected bat colony. Then on to Wangi Falls, two falls side by side into a wide, clear pool with a sandy edge. If rangers have opened it for the season, this is the best swim of the trip.
Afternoon
A loop walk of about 1.6 km climbs through monsoon forest to a viewing platform above the falls, and lunch is a picnic in the shade near the pool. Around midday we head north on the Litchfield Park Road for Darwin, about an hour and a half away, arriving at the airport by about 2 pm. Your guide sees you to the terminal and checks your flight.
Included
- Tolmer Falls lookout
- Wangi Falls, with a swim when the pool is open
- Picnic lunch at Wangi Falls
- Drop-off at Darwin International Airport (DRW) or your Darwin hotel
Easier option: Stay by the pool at Wangi Falls instead of the loop walk.
More active option: Walk the Wangi Falls loop, about 1.6 km, up through monsoon forest to the platform above the falls.
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3:30 pm, or stay on in Darwin; we can drop you at a city hotel instead of the airport.
- Darwin2 nights
- Jabiru2 nights
- Batchelor1 night
- Darwinend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: We run only in the dry season, May to October. Days are around 30 to 34 C with low humidity and almost no rain; May and June evenings are pleasant, and by September and October the heat and humidity build, so we walk early, rest through the middle of the day and swim in the afternoons. As the dry season goes on, water shrinks back into the billabongs, so wildlife gathers at Yellow Water and Mamukala: saltwater crocodiles, jabiru, magpie geese, whistling ducks and white-bellied sea eagles. Wallabies are common at dusk; Wangi Falls opens for swimming only once rangers have checked it for crocodiles, often in May or June.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Kakadu's rock art and wetlands without camping
- People who would rather stay two nights in Kakadu than see it on a day trip from Darwin
- Birdwatchers and anyone keen to see crocodiles from a boat
- Swimmers who want the Litchfield waterholes at quiet times
- Those adding a Northern Territory fortnight with our Red Centre trip
Not for you if you want
- Wet-season travel: we run only from May to October
- Travellers who want Katherine Gorge or Jim Jim Falls in the same trip
- Anyone who wants a city-hotel bar every night: Jabiru and Batchelor are small towns
- People who cannot manage heat of 30 C or more
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
5 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Darwin2 nights
- Jabiru2 nights
- Batchelor1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 5 nights in hotels of at least a 3-star-plus standard, each room with its own bathroom: 2 in central Darwin, 2 in Jabiru in Kakadu National Park and 1 in Batchelor at the gate of Litchfield
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Darwin International Airport (DRW)
- A private air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed local driver, for our group only, about 1,000 km over six days
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from arrival to departure, trained in the plants, animals and Aboriginal culture of the Top End, with an Aboriginal guide on the Guluyambi Cultural Cruise
Activities
- Darwin: the Larrakia Cultural Centre and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
- Kakadu National Park pass
- Fogg Dam and the Mamukala Wetlands
- Guluyambi Cultural Cruise on the East Alligator River
- Ubirr rock art and sunset from the Nadab lookout
- Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) rock art walk
- Warradjan Cultural Centre at Cooinda
- Yellow Water Billabong cruise in the late afternoon
- NT Parks pass for Litchfield National Park
- Litchfield: the Magnetic Termite Mounds, Buley Rockhole, Florence Falls, Tolmer Falls and Wangi Falls
Meals
- 5 breakfasts
- 5 lunches: at the Darwin Waterfront, near the East Alligator River, at Cooinda, in Batchelor and a picnic at Wangi Falls
- 4 dinners: a welcome dinner in Darwin, two in Jabiru and one in Batchelor
Not included
- International and domestic flights to and from Darwin
- Australian ETA or eVisitor
- Travel insurance
- Dinner on day 2 in Darwin
- Drinks
- Optional experiences, such as scenic flights or the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels
- Tips
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,065 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Five nights in hotels with your own bathroom, Darwin airport transfers, a private vehicle and licensed driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, the Guluyambi and Yellow Water cruises, the Larrakia Cultural Centre, the park passes, 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 4 dinners. Flights are not. Tell us any dietary needs when you book; we confirm them with each restaurant before departure.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in one vehicle, so everyone hears the guide at the rock art, fits on one boat and sits at one table at dinner. Other Top End trips take up to 16 or 20.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the airport on day 1 to the airport on day 6, trained in the plants, animals and Aboriginal culture of the Top End. An Aboriginal guide leads the Guluyambi Cultural Cruise, and a licensed local driver handles the road.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit and comfortable in heat. Walks are 1 to 3 km at a time, with short, steep climbs at Ubirr and Burrungkuy and a long flight of steps at Florence Falls. Each of those has an easier choice, and every swim is optional.
I am travelling solo. Do I pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, from CAD 1,065 more. If you are happy to share, ask us when you book and we try to pair you with another solo traveller of the same gender. You are a full member of the group either way, with the same seat, meals and cruises.
When is the best time to visit Kakadu and Litchfield?
The dry season, May to October, which is the only time we run. Roads and rock art sites are open, the sky is clear and wildlife gathers at the shrinking billabongs. September and October are hotter and more humid, so we walk early, keep middays in shade and swim in the afternoons. In the wet season floods close roads and many swimming holes.
Can we swim in Kakadu and Litchfield?
In Litchfield, yes: Buley Rockhole, Florence Falls and Wangi Falls are opened by NT Parks once checked for crocodiles, though Wangi often opens only in May or June. In Kakadu we do not swim, because saltwater crocodiles live in its rivers and billabongs.
Why is Katherine Gorge not on this trip?
Adding Katherine and Nitmiluk would mean a drive of four and a half hours or more and another one-night stop. We chose two full nights in Kakadu instead. On a private trip we can add Katherine Gorge as an extra night or two.
Can I combine this with Uluru?
Yes. Our Red Centre trip, Alice Springs to Uluru, runs from April to October, so the two fit together in the dry season. Flights link Darwin and Alice Springs; tell us your dates and we suggest the order and the flights.
Do I need a visa for Australia?
Yes. Canadians and Americans need an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), applied for in the official AustralianETA app before you fly; many European passport holders use the free eVisitor. Check the current rules for your passport well before you travel.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 11,250 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the hotels, transfers and cruises for you.
How does booking work?
Pick a start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and nothing is charged until then. The small group starts from CAD 6,250 per person sharing a room, with taxes; prices are indicative until we confirm your dates and name your hotels.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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