Alice Springs to Darwin Road Trip Itinerary

 
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Alice Springs: Gateway to Australia's Red Centre

As your plane descends over the vast red outback, you know you have arrived somewhere special where adventure awaits.

Situated in Australia's geographic centre, Alice Springs is surrounded by gorges and stark desert plains. At 1,500 kilometres from the nearest city, it's certainly remote. But Alice brims with local colour you can't find anywhere else. You won't forget your visit in a hurry.

Alice Springs Desert Park: Nocturnal Tour

As the sun sets, you will see the desert springing to life: it's time for a fascinating night-time adventure in Alice Springs Desert Park. The Mulga Walk is a large predator-proof enclosure in the foothills of the park. Join an expert guide to spotlight the region's incredible endangered animals including bilby, echidna, and mala.

Accommodation: Alice Springs - 2 Nights

Alice Springs
cis a 3.5-star property offering individual studio villa accommodations, surrounded by tropical gardens and set around a crystal clear swimming pool with island and waterfall. Free WiFi is accessible throughout the property. All villas at Desert Palms Alice Springs are air-conditioned and include bougainvillea-covered verandas, private private bathrooms and kitchenette facilities.
Desert Palms

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Free Day to Explore the West MacDonnell National Park

Easily accessed from Alice Springs, each of the West MacDonnell chasms and gorges has its own unique character and scenery. Drive, or jump on a bike and ride along the 17 kilometre cycle path, to Simpsons Gap to see the permanent waterhole and spot rock wallabies that live in the Gap's rocky ridges.

Photograph Standley Chasm at midday when it lights up in fiery colours. Find refreshing relief from the heat of the day at the picturesque swimming holes in Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen Gorge and Redbank Gorge.

Trek the Larapinta Trail, which stretches more than 223 kilometres from the Alice Springs Telegraph Station to Mount Sonder. Discover the Ochre Pits that desert Aboriginal people once used as a quarry for art and ceremonial body decoration.

West MacDonnell Ranges

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Alice Springs to Tennant Creek via the Devils Marbles

Collect your rental car. Leaving Alice behind, continue your outback expedition to Tennant Creek in the Barkly Tablelands. Pass through tiny Northern Territory townships along the way including Wycliffe Well, a UFO sighting hotspot!

Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles) Conservation Reserve

Be sure to stop at the Devils Marbles, 100km south of Tennant Creek. These famous rocks have formed over millions of years; they are a sacred site for the traditional landowners, who believe them to be the eggs of the Rainbow Serpent, an important Dreamtime figure in Aboriginal culture.

Tennant Creek

Break your journey tonight at Tennant Creek, known for its million-acre cattle stations, gold mining history, iconic rock formations and Aboriginal heritage.

Explore the Tennant Creek Telegraph Station to get a feel for life here 140 years ago. Built in 1872, it formed part of the Overland Telegraph Line linking Australia with the rest of the world.

Approximate Distance: 508 km | 315 miles   Total Driving Time: 5 hours 33 mins

Accommodation: Tennant Creek - 1 Night

Devils marbles Karlu Karlu
The Bluestone Motor Inn is the perfect base from which to explore the diverse nature and culture of the Australian outback. Bluestone is the perfect place to stay at the halfway mark along the track from Alice Springs to Darwin and back, or coming west from Mt. Isa.
Bluestone Motor Inn Tennant Creek

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Tennant Creek to Daly Waters

Make your way up to the town of Daly Waters surrounded by vast outback landscapes.

A Night At The Historic Daly Waters Pub    

No Top End experience is complete without a trip to the multi-award winning Daly Waters Pub, whose comfortable hotel rooms will host you tonight. Feast on hearty "pub grub" and listen to the locals telling legendary tales of the town's early days. From cattle stampedes to murders and shootouts, this now-quiet location has had a colourful past!

Approximate Distance: 407 km | 253 miles   Total Driving Time: 4 hours 45 mins

Accommodation: Daly Waters - 1 Night

Daly Water
The historic multi-award winning Daly Waters Pub is an iconic Australian outback pub. There are a variety of accommodation styles to select for your stay ranging from new deluxe 2 bedroom cabins of a high quality that have their own en-Suite and large Shared Veranda, They sleep up to 2 people 1 X extra-large double Bed, split system Air-Conditioning, Flat Screen sat TV, Vast Box, Tea, and Coffee.
Daly Waters Pub Accommodation

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Nitmiluk National Park & Gorge Dinner Cruise

Head to the Katherine region to experience the incredible scenery of Nitmiluk National Park.

Also known as Katherine Gorge, the 13 gorges of Nitmiluk are hugely significant to their traditional owners, the Jawoyn people, as home to the spirits of creation.

Nitmiluk Sunset Dinner Cruise

Enjoy a relaxing Dinner Cruise in front of the magnificent Nitmiluk Gorge as it changes colour with the setting sun. Over a three-course candlelit dinner, you will discover the stories and ways of the Jawoyn people. With fresh local produce cooked on board and a glass of sparkling wine, you will soak up your tranquil surroundings in style.

Approximate Distance: 276 km | 171 miles   Total Driving Time: 3 hours 04 mins

Accommodation: Nitmiluk National Park - 2 Nights

Nitmiluk National Park
Accommodation:
Nitmiluk Cabins places you steps from Nitmiluk National Park and within a short 5-minute stroll to Katherine Gorge. Highlights at this campsite include 2 restaurants, an outdoor swimming pool, and free self-parking. All 10 accommodations feature TVs with digital channels, and you can enjoy free WiFi, balconies or patios, and coffee/tea makers. Fridges, microwaves, and hobs make in-room dining convenient.
Nitmiluk Cabins

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Nitmiluk - Scenic Helicopter Flight

Nitmiluk Scenic Helicopter Flight

For a different perspective of Nitmiluk - and a breathtaking photo opportunity - take an exhilarating helicopter flight over 3 of the unforgettable gorges. The view from the air is simply stunning as you follow the twisting and turning of the gorges.

This afternoon you are free to enjoy Nitmiluk at your leisure: canoe the gorges, seek out your perfect swimming hole, or simply wander the park and take in your beautiful surroundings.

Katherine Helicopter Flight

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Travel to Litchfield National Park

Litchfield National Park

Discover spiritually significant waterfalls, ancient rainforest and unspoilt woodland in abundance at Litchfield National Park. Known for its cascading waters, natural spas and whirlpools, this is the ideal place for a refreshing swim.

Litchfield is also famous for its bizarre landscape of giant termite mounds. Standing up to two metres tall, they are astounding feats of architecture not to be missed.

Don't miss the Lost City, a dramatic gathering of 500 million-year-old rocky outcrops looking very much like a sandstone town.

Approximate Distance: 197 km | 123 miles   Total Driving Time: 2 hours 02 mins

Accommodation: Batchelor - 1 Night

Litchfield National Park
Batchelor Butterfly Farm Accommodation is a 90 minute drive from Darwin and situated just 30 minutes from the beautiful and popular Litchfield National Park with its numerous water holes and spectacular waterfalls. The perfect place for a vacation! Stay in our motel style units or be self contained in our Butterfly Home Stay.
Batchelor Butterfly Farm Cabins

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Drive to Darwin - Tropical Light Sunset and Twilight Cruise

Experience a 45-minute cruise to the Darwin harbour to catch the last rays of the setting tropical summer sun. Expect dark, moody, orange, pink or yellow illuminated rays in the sky. And then, as twilight awakens, expect the colours to stretch the sky and intensify, a quintessential Darwin experience enjoyed through a unique perspective.

Journey to the back of the harbour to a thriving landscape of trees in the sea, where birds find sanctuary at the end of the day, and where natures embrace has a backdrop of Darwin city reflecting twilight's mood. This is an area of Darwin that few tourists visit.

Approximate Distance: 44 km | 28 miles   Total Driving Time: 37 mins

Accommodation: Batchelor - 1 Night

Darwin
Surrounded by tropical gardens, with swimming pools and a waterfall at its center, Travelodge Resort Darwin offers fully refurbished accommodations in a tropical oasis, in the heart of Darwin city center. Free WiFi is providedAll rooms are air-conditioned and include cable TV, in-room safe, bathroom with shower, and a refrigerator.
Travel Lodge Darwin

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Travel to Darwin and depart

Your final port of call is the Top End city of Darwin, where you will drop off your rental vehicle and meet your onward flight.

We know you will enjoy your 8 Day Alice Springs to Darwin Self Drive Tour and take wonderful memories with you as you journey home. We hope you will return soon to discover even more highlights of this incredible continent.

Darwin City

Profile picture for user Danielle
What Danielle says about this tour: "You can't get more Australian than the Northern Territory. Often missed by travellers in favour of coastal destinations, this culture-rich state is like nowhere you've ever seen before. This 8-day tour takes you from the desert to the tropics, with the incredible natural wonders of the Outback in between. Who needs a beach holiday when you can have rainforest waterfalls and swimming holes hidden in the gorges of Nitmiluk? Take the plunge and you'll be rewarded with a unique holiday adventure with memories to last a lifetime."
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