Qantas (tel. 13 13 13 in Australia; www.qantas.com) serves Darwin daily from Alice Springs, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, and Canberra, either direct or connecting through Alice Springs. Virgin Blue (tel. 13 67 89 in Australia; www.virginblue.com) flies direct to Darwin from Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth with connections from other cities and regional centers. Jetstar (tel. 13 15 38 in Australia; www.jetstar.com.au) flies from Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide. Tiger Airways (tel. 03/9335 3033; www.tigerairways.com.au) flies from Melbourne. Airnorth (tel. 1800/627 474 in Australia, or 08/8920 4000; www.airnorth.com.au) flies from Broome and Kununurra in Western Australia and from Mount Isa in Queensland. Skywest Airlines (tel. 1300/660 088 in Australia or 08/9477 8301; www.skywest.com.au) flies from Broome.
Darwin Airport Shuttle Services (tel. 08/8981 5066; www.darwinairportshuttle.com.au) meets every flight and delivers to any hotel between the airport and city for A$12 one-way or A$18 round-trip adults, or A$8 one-way, A$14 round-trip for children aged 5 to 12. Bookings are only necessary for city-airport transfers. A cab to the city is around A$35. Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, and Thrifty have airport desks.
Greyhound Australia (tel. 1300/473 946 in Australia; www.greyhound.com.au) makes a daily coach run from Alice Springs. The trip takes around 22 hours, and the fare is A$366. Greyhound also has a daily service from Broome via Kununurra and Katherine; this trip takes around 27 hours and costs A$378.
The Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin railway line is the Top End's only rail link. Great Southern Railway's Ghan (tel. 13 21 47 in Australia; www.gsr.com.au) runs a twice-weekly round-trip, leaving Adelaide on Sundays and Wednesdays at 12:20pm and Alice Springs on Mondays and Thursdays at 6pm. The return trip leaves Darwin on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. The adult one-way fare is A$716 for a "day-nighter" seat, A$1,372 for a sleeper, A$1,973 for a first-class sleeper, more for Platinum Class, which has cabins around twice the size of standard Gold Twin Cabins, each with a double bed, en-suite bathroom, and 24-hour room service.
Darwin is at the end of the Stuart Highway. Allow at least 2 long days, 3 to be comfortable, to drive from Alice. The nearest road from the east is the long and dull Barkly Highway, which connects with the Stuart Highway at Tennant Creek, 922km (572 miles) south. The nearest road from the west is Victoria Highway, which joins the Stuart Highway at Katherine, 314km (195 miles) to the south.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
