By road
The Stuart Highway is the only highway into Darwin; heading directly into the city centre and extending southwards all the way to Alice Springs about 1,500 km and Adelaide 3,042 km or 1,886 mi. You can access Darwin from all the Australian capital cities staying on regularly trafficked sealed bitumen roads with regular services. The drive from Sydney or Perth is about 4000 km-4500 km 2485 mi-2800 midepending on the route you choose, plan your trip and your stops carefully. Don't assume you can get fuel at night.
By Sea
Cruising has increased in popularity in the Northern Territory and the schedules for several international cruises include a day stopover in Darwin. Expedition cruise ships touring the northern coast of Australia are becoming a popular way to visit remote Aboriginal art communities in Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt.
Cruise ship dock at Fort Hill Wharf, which is quite close the Stokes Hill Wharf by water, but it is a 2 km or so by road. It is around 1 km 0.6 mi to the Esplanade, and 2 km 1.2 mi to downtown.
By train
The Ghan (http://www.gsr.com.au) is a tourist train that crosses the continent from Adelaide to Darwin twice a week. It is invariably more expensive than flying, but it is a journey for those who enjoy train travel, or who want to bring their car without the hassle of driving. There are transfers in Adelaide from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. You can also transfer your car from any of these origins. The train line to Darwin was built relatively recently, and was designed primarily for freight. The terminus for the train is near the deep water port at East Arm, approximately 7 km 4.5 mi from the city centre; on the other side of Frances Bay, take a taxi, or get your accommodation to arrange a pickup for you. Buslink (http://www.buslink.com.au...) provide a complimentary service for guests traveling in Gold class. For guests traveling in Red class, a shuttle bus service is provided. Tickets are purchased from the driver and no booking is necessary. Return services run from the Transit Centre on Mitchel St. There is no public transport to the train station.