The calendar comes first
Between the wet and the dry, the same 150 km is either a smooth run or a closed road. Creek crossings, unsealed sections and park closures follow the season, so check the month before you check the map.
Darwin has the shortest set of distances on this list. Litchfield is 100 km, Kakadu 150, Katherine 317. Only Broome at 1,870 breaks the pattern.
That changes what a hire is for. You are not buying distance, you are buying access to a handful of parks, and some of that access depends on the vehicle class rather than the kilometres. A van booked for the wrong month sits in a campground while the roads it was meant for stay shut.
The compensation is that nothing here is far. Litchfield at 100 km is out and back inside a day, which leaves the evening free and makes a short hire of four or five days genuinely useful rather than a compromise.
Distance and access
| Place | Km | Road status |
|---|---|---|
| Litchfield | 100 | sealed to the park, falls road seasonal |
| Kakadu | 150 | sealed highway, some tracks need 4WD |
| Katherine | 317 | sealed, subject to flooding |
| Broome | 1,870 | sealed, a two-day run |
A 4WD for the parks, not the highway
The highway in both directions is sealed and a 2WD handles it. The park tracks and the falls roads are the reason to take a 4WD, and in the wet they are the reason to wait.
Explore Wicked Campers for campervan and 4WD hire in Darwin. Check vehicle availability and road restrictions with the operator.
Darwin questions
When do the parks reopen?
After the wet, once the crossings drop and the unsealed roads are graded. The date moves each year, so check park advice for your month rather than a fixed calendar.
Does a 2WD reach Kakadu?
Yes, on the sealed highway to the main areas. The falls, the billabongs reached by dirt and the escarpment tracks are where a 2WD stops being enough.
How far south is sensible in one day?
Katherine at 317 km is a comfortable day with stops. Past that the towns thin out and the next real destination is a two-day drive rather than one.