Darwin Transport

It's easy to find places in Darwin and even easier to get around. The buses can take you almost everywhere, or you may prefer to travel by taxi, private hire car, mini bus or you can even hire a bicycle. Darwin has a fairly good city bus service, but it's only in full swing from Monday to Friday and it shuts down entirely on Sundays.

Walking is a great way to see the sights and there are brochures designed especially for this purpose. They outline places of interest and historical landmarks, and are available at certain spots around town. The Tour Tub is a private bus which does a shuttle of Darwin's major places of interest. There is an extensive network of bicycle tracks; bikes can be rented or borrowed from many of the backpackers' hostels.

By bus

Getting around Darwin is fairly easy thanks to taxis and public transportation. The public bus service is good, but be aware that it doesn't run on Sundays (and it takes a lunch break on Saturdays). Fares are charged according to zones. There are also tour cards that allow you to travel unlimited for a day. For those who want to take a tour along with their bus ride, check with your hotel or hostel about some of the different tour companies driving around the city.

There's also a hop-on/hop-off bus called The Tour Tub that charges a set daily fee. The city bus terminal is located on Harry Chan Avenue (near the Bennett Street end of the Smith Street Mall). The suburban Casuarina terminal is on Bradshaw Terrace, and the suburban Palmerston terminal is at the edge of the Palmerston Shopping Centre.

Taxis

There are several taxi companies in operation in Darwin, and if a vehicle has an official taxi sign, you know that you are not going to be overcharged. As standard, there is a minimum charge as soon as you get in and this goes up after 18:00, but in general, taxi fares in the city are not expensive. Some of the more popular companies include Darwin Radio Taxis (tel: +61 13 10 08), City Radio Taxis (tel: +61 889 813 777), Darwin Combined Taxis and Taxinet North.

Tourist services

To visit all of the major city sights, you can hop on and off the Tour Tub. The buses run between 09:00 and 16:00, with a set fare all day (tel: +61 898 152 33). Galaxy Tours and Charters run a similar service, visiting a few different places, as does the Darwin Runner Shuttle (tel: +61 893 255 77). A similar evening tour operates on Darwin Day Tours (tel: +61 898 168 55).

From the airport

Getting to and from Darwin's airport is fairly easy, as it is only 13kms from the city centre. There is an airport shuttle bus which will drop you off or pick you up from nearly anywhere in the city. However, you must book one day in advance of travelling to the airport. Family and group booking prices are available. Alternatively, you can take a taxi. A taxi rank/zone is located at the front of the airport terminal.