Located a staggering 3,071 kilometers from Melbourne, 3,862 kilometers from Perth, and 3,380 kilometers from Brisbane, the Northern Territory is one of the most remote destinations to visit in Australia. Head to the Top End and you’re closer to East Timor and Indonesia than you are to Sydney, but you’ll be surprised at just how many great things there are to do in Darwin!
The NT’s capital has developed tropical living into an art form. If it’s too hot, just take a dip in the public lagoons that line the Waterfront Precinct, while nothing quite beats a sundowner as you cruise around Darwin Harbour. There are museums and galleries, botanic gardens and night markets, deckchair cinemas and crocodile cruises to experience in Darwin.
Best of all, just a day trip away from Darwin are tropical attractions like the Adelaide River, Litchfield National Park, and Kakadu National Park. You can even take a long-distance pub crawl in a helicopter!
With so many things to see and do, you might not know where to begin. So we’ve compiled our list of the absolute best things to do in Darwin for you. Stick to these fun and unique Darwin bucket list recommendations, and there’s no doubt you’ll have an amazing time exploring Australia’s Top End.
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12 Fun and Unique Things to do in Darwin, Australia
1. Visit the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT
If you’d love to start your trip by learning more about the local history and culture, then a visit to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is one of the best things to do in Darwin. The “MAGNT” overlooks the waterfront at Fannie Bay and is home to tens of thousands of objects, artifacts, and exhibits that tell the Northern Territory’s story from its earliest prehistoric origins.
Step inside and you’ll find a gallery devoted to Cyclone Tracy, which wrought havoc across Darwin in 1974. Every year, MAGNT hosts the best of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, while it’s also the permanent resting place of “Sweetheart,” a taxidermied, 5-meter-long saltwater crocodile that once terrorized the Northern Territory.
2. Explore Darwin’s Waterfront Precinct
Darwin’s Waterfront Precinct is where you can make the most of urban life in the tropics. The waterfront is where the indigenous Larrakia people fished and lived for centuries before the area was settled by Europeans, who laid the foundations for modern Darwin in 1869.
Today, the Waterfront Precinct is a buzz of restaurants, bars, and hotels that would be unrecognizable to any of Darwin’s original inhabitants. Tropical parks and gardens line the Esplanade, harbor cruises depart from Stokes Hill Wharf, and locals and tourists alike cool off in the crocodile-free Wave Lagoon or along the manmade Beach.
3. Take a Cruise of Darwin Harbour
A harbor cruise is one of the most fun things to do in Darwin. Hop aboard either the Charles Darwin (a fast and comfy catamaran) or the Tumlaren (a restored sailing schooner), and you’ll be whisked out to sea by Darwin Harbour Cruises.
Enjoy beautiful views of Darwin’s skyline from the harbor as you laze on the sun deck and crack open a cold beer from the cooler. Sunset cruises include grazing snacks and mango ice cream, while the Dinner Cruise includes a platter of locally sourced seafood for you to feast on.
4. Visit the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens
Home to 42 hectares of landscaped tropical flora, the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens offers a lovely respite from the city.
Take a stroll through this public park and you’ll see unique plants and trees, like boabs and bromeliads, which thrive in the Northern Territory and Africa Madagascar gardens.
Learn more about the region’s native flora and fauna at the Visitor and Event Centre, and stop for an iced coffee at Eva’s Cafe, which you’ll find inside the historic Wesleyan Church in the botanical gardens.
5. Go to the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets
If you love street food, art, buskers, and live music, you must spend an evening at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. One of the coolest things to do in Darwin, the sunset market on Mindil Beach has been entertaining the city since 1987.
Open every Thursday and Sunday evening (only in the dry season), around 200 stallholders set up shop, showcasing everything from Aboriginal artwork to upcycled homeware. Feast on calamari, churros, or wood-fired pizza as fire dancers and musicians entertain the crowd.
6. Explore the Darwin Aviation Museum
Aviation lovers will be in paradise at the Darwin Aviation Museum, which has been wowing visitors with its collection of historic aircraft since 1988. This unique museum tells the surprisingly interesting story of aviation within the Northern Territory, a region so vast that air travel is vital.
The museum protects and preserves 19 aircraft, including a full-sized B52 Bomber stationed here by the US Air Force in the 1950s. The museum is also home to the remains of a Japanese fighter plane shot down during bombing raids off Darwin in World War II, a stark moment in local history that you can learn more about in the dedicated Second World War gallery.
7. Day Trip to Litchfield National Park
Escape the city with a day trip to Litchfield National Park, one of the most spectacular Darwin attractions. Just a 90-minute drive from Darwin, Litchfield National Park is home to crashing waterfalls, giant termite mounds, and freshwater swimming holes.
Visit Litchfield National Park and you can explore a unique ecosystem of rainforest, creeks, and gorges, with Florence Falls, Tolmer Falls, Wangi Falls, and Buley Rockhole being some of the best places to visit. Rent a four-wheel drive for the day, take a helicopter ride over the rainforest, and pack your swimsuit for a dip!
8. See ‘Jumping Crocodiles’ on the Adelaide River
For one of the most unique things to do in Darwin, take a cruise along the Adelaide River, less than an hour’s drive from the CBD, and you can see the fearsome “Jumping Crocodiles” in their natural element. The Adelaide River is a well-known haunt for saltwater crocodiles, and the local tour guides have decades of experience showcasing these deadly animals to visitors.
Once the crocs are sighted, the boat crew will dangle a large chunk of meat over the side of the boat, presenting a tempting target for the wild crocodiles, which are accustomed to hunting low-flying birds and flying foxes in a similar manner. When the crocs jump and bite, you’ll be left in awe of their animal power.
9. See Ancient Rock Art in Kakadu National Park
A trip to Kakadu National Park is one of the must-do things in Darwin. Covering a vast area of some 19,684 square kilometers, Kakadu National Park protects wetlands and Outback landscapes, including famous natural sights like Jim Jim Falls.
But for tens of thousands of years, Kakadu National Park has played an important role in Aboriginal culture and history. The national park is home to distinctive Aboriginal rock art, including the historic site of Ubirr, where the oldest rock paintings are thought to be 40,000 years old.
10. Have a Drink on a Heli Pub Crawl
A “Heli Pub Crawl” is one of the most unique things to do in Darwin. Given the Northern Territory’s remote character, many of the best pubs are found in equally remote locations.
The Lodge of Dundee, on Dundee Beach, is an hour and a half drive away from the city, for example, while Crab Claw Island Resort and the Noonamah Tavern are in beautiful places but are incredibly difficult to reach.
In true Darwin fashion, the solution to this drinking problem is a Helicopter Pub Crawl. From Darwin, you’ll be flown across the Outback (the pilot isn’t drinking!) to the Northern Territory’s quirkiest pubs, seeing gorgeous landscapes from above and drinking with the quirkiest characters in the taverns.
11. Watch a Movie at Deckchair Cinema
Embrace the outdoor lifestyle with an evening at the Deckchair Cinema, one of the best places to visit in Darwin. This unique outdoor cinema shows the latest movies all through the dry season (from late April to early November), with a different screening every night of the week.
Sit back in your deck chair with a cold beer from the bar and enjoy the sounds of the great outdoors as you wait for the movie to start!
12. Learn About Aboriginal History on the Tiwi Islands
Located 80 kilometers north of the city, the Tiwi Islands are one of the most interesting Darwin attractions. You’ll have seen Bathurst and Melville (the two largest islands) from the mainland, and if you’d love to learn more about the Aboriginal communities that call the islands home, you can join a day tour from Darwin.
You’ll board your ship in Darwin Harbour before crossing the Beagle Gulf to Wurrumiyanga (around 2.5 hours sailing time), where you’ll meet your Aboriginal guide and be welcomed to the Tiwi Islands. A day trip will reveal more of the islands’ history, and you’ll have a chance to see the colorful artwork the islanders are world-renowned for producing.
There you have it! The 12 best things to do in Darwin. What’s your favorite thing to do in Darwin?
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