In the middle of the city, kids can swim in a pool right next to juvenile saltwater crocodiles, safely, so bring bathers. The Big Croc Feed runs at 11.30am and 2.30pm, and visitors can hold a baby croc from 9.30am. Allow two to three hours; it opens 9am to 6pm daily.

The Wave Lagoon is free of crocodiles and stingers, with lifeguards on duty, tubes supplied and a shallow area for younger children. Ten wave patterns roll through, up to 1.2m high, with 20-minute breaks between cycles. A family pass for two adults and three kids is $29; from October to April, lifeguards clear the water when lightning comes close.

Sweetheart, a 5.1m saltwater crocodile known for attacking dinghies, is on display at the museum at The Gardens. The Cyclone Tracy gallery has a 1970 elevated home and a sound booth playing the real sound of the storm. Entry is free, 10am to 4pm daily; the kids' Discovery Centre is closed until November.

More than 150 stalls, about 60 of them food, set up on Thursday and Sunday nights from 4pm to 9pm. The market runs from the last Thursday of April to the last Thursday of October, and Thursday is the big night. Box jellyfish are likely in the sea from October to May, so enjoy the sunset from the sand.

This park at Berry Springs, 45 minutes' drive south of Darwin, has about 6km of tracks and shuttle trains every half hour. The Flight Deck show at 11am features free-flying birds such as a wedge-tailed eagle, and the Nocturnal House has sugar gliders. Wet-season hours are 9am to 3pm, and a pass for two adults and up to four kids is $111.50 until 31 March 2027.

Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve is about an hour's drive from Darwin on sealed roads, and nearly 200 bird species have been recorded there. From August to October, water pythons shelter in the cracked mud while they wait for the rains. Head for the bird hides on the dam wall or Pandanus Knoll Lookout at sunrise or sunset, and obey every crocodile warning sign.

Crocodile feeding tours run at 10am, noon and 2pm, and the jumping crocodile cruise at 11am and 1pm costs a little extra. The park, 15 minutes from the city, also has lions, meerkats, spider monkeys and cassowaries. Entry for two adults and two kids was $140 in October 2026.

The Darwin Aviation Museum at Winnellie, about 8km from the city, has 19 aircraft including a B-52 bomber and the wreck of a Japanese Zero. Rare amateur footage shows the first air raid on Darwin. It opens 9am to 5pm every day, and a family ticket was $50 in October 2026.

At Stokes Hill Wharf, kids can climb aboard a retired Pilatus PC-12 and try a real pedal radio. A hologram of founder John Flynn tells how the service began, and a virtual reality show recreates the 1942 bombing of Darwin. From October to March it opens 9am to 4pm, with last entry at 3pm.

The free gardens, 2km from the city, open 7am to 7pm daily, and kids can hunt for five dinosaurs on the Cycad Walk. The Larrakia coastal walk follows a boardwalk through mangroves from Mindil Beach. The woodlands, Africa-Madagascar Garden and Rainforest Gully are closed for now.