Melbourne to Darwin road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The Melbourne to Darwin drive covers a distance of 3,740km, with a driving time of 39 hours. Turn it into an epic outback road trip, however, and there are some amazing stops along the way.
A road trip from Melbourne to Darwin is a mammoth undertaking. It crosses the Australian continent from south to north, ploughing through seemingly endless outback. However, this drive can be enormously good fun, and packs in some of Australia’s highlights along the way.
Before leaving, you may want to tick Melbourne Cricket Ground tours, Yarra River dinner cruises and cross-city hot air balloon flights off your Melbourne wish list. For a great range of Melbourne tours and experiences, explore here. To track down the best value Melbourne accommodation, come this way.
Darwin, meanwhile, brings schooner cruises, airboat tours and cage-swimming with massive crocodiles.
At the end of the route, Darwin is the hub for Kakadu National Park and Arnhemland cultural tours, plus day trips to Litchfield National Park that include the infamous jumping crocodile cruise. To search for the best Darwin accommodation deals, head here. To check out the full range of tours and experiences available, go here.
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Melbourne to Darwin distance and driving time
The distance from Melbourne to Darwin by car is 3,740km. This makes for a driving time of around 39 hours, which obviously no-one is going to attempt in one stint behind the wheel.
Turn it into a road trip over the course of a week or so – preferably at least two weeks – and things get considerably less onerous, however.
👇 7 great day trips while you’re in Melbourne 👇
- Great Ocean Road tour – with koalas 🐨.
- Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island tour – with penguins 🐧.
- Yarra Valley wine tour – with gin, cider and cheese 🍷.
- Grampians National Park tour – with bushwalks and LOADS of kangaroos 🦘.
- Mornington Peninsula tour – with hot springs bathing 🛀.
- Wilsons Promontory tour – with all manner of native wildlife 🦘🐨.
- Dandenong Ranges steam train ride – plus wildlife at Healesville Sanctuary and chocolate-tasting in the Yarra Valley.
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It is best to split the journey into more manageable chunks. This Melbourne to Darwin road trip guide covers the recommended highlights. However, Australia Travel Questions has put together detailed information on each leg of the road trip in separate guides. Click through on any of the road trip segments below for further information.
Melbourne to Darwin road trip legs
Melbourne to Adelaide: 727km
Adelaide to Port Augusta: 309km
Port Augusta to Coober Pedy: 540km
Coober Pedy to Alice Springs: 688km
Alice Springs to Tennant Creek: 508km
Tennant Creek to Katherine: 675km
Katherine to Darwin: 317km
7 great Darwin experiences to book before arriving
- Swim face to face with an enormous crocodile in the Cage of Death.
- Enjoy the romance of Darwin Harbour on a sunset dinner cruise aboard a traditional fishing ketch.
- Explore Darwin’s food and art scenes on a 3.5 hour walking tour – with lunch or dinner included.
- Flit between Darwin’s top attractions with a hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
- Combine a wildlife tour with the famous jumping crocodiles cruise.
- Get a history fix on a Bombing of Darwin WWII tour and harbour cruise.
- Get the adrenalin pumping on a high speed airboat or jetski tour.
For ease of reading, the overall Melbourne to Darwin guide has been broken down into separate pages. Read on to go through the highlights in geographical order.