Getting to the Northern Territory is easier than you might think. Alice Springs is only a 3 hour flight from most Australian capital cities. And the tropical, close-to-Asia vibe of Darwin is accessed by several airlines domestically and internationally. View our Aviation Fact Sheet here. Road, rail and sea routes are also available.
Major air services
Qantas operates regular services into Alice Springs and Darwin from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Cairns. Plus direct flights from Canberra to Darwin, flights into and out of Yulara (Ayers Rock Airport) and links around the Territory.
Jetstar, offers low-cost direct flights between Darwin and Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Cairns. They also link Darwin to Denpasar (Bali), Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore.
Virgin Blue serves Darwin from Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, with flights to all Australian States and Territories, New Zealand and selected Pacific islands. They also offer direct flights from Sydney to Uluru.
Singapore Airlines’ affiliate Tiger Airways is a low-cost airline flying to Alice Springs and Darwin from Melbourne.
Airnorth, northern Australia’s major regional airline, flies between Darwin and destinations including Elcho Island, Broome, Kununurra, Gove, Groote Eylandt, Milingimbi, Maningrida and McArthur River. Interstate and international services include Perth, Mt Isa and the Gold Coast, and Dili in Timor-Leste.
Western Australia’s major regional airline, Skywest, flies three times a week between Perth and Darwin via Broome.
From overseas
Jetstar has services between Darwin and Denpasar (Bali), Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore. Plus Darwin, Yulara and Alice Springs are easily accessed with domestic services from most airports, so you could also include the Territory as part of a wider Australian program.
By rail
The Ghan, running nearly 3,000 kilometres between Adelaide and Darwin, is an epic railway journey with stops at Alice Springs and Katherine.
By road
Turn your journey to the Territory into the ultimate road trip. Even the names of the highways ring with romance: the Explorer’s Way (Stuart Highway) from Adelaide; the Savannah Way that bisects the continent east-west, or the Overlander’s Way from Mt Isa.
By sea
Many cruise ships now include the Northern Territory in their schedules, often including a day stopover in Darwin. Expedition cruises are becoming a popular way to visit remote north coast Aboriginal art communities in Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt.