Darwin - where to camp?

Have a fat wallet...we just tried booking in (we have) but found that it is rather expensive , some parks do not/will not take bookings...you just turn up early and wait till someone goes out...parks further out may be cheaper but we got in to one closer in to town for $34 night...others are $39-50 night....Lee Point is good and quiet but the mossies and midgies are bad out there....you really just have to ring around for the best price and availability....cheers and good luck

We stayed at Leprechaun in Winnellie as it was closest to where we needed to take the caravan for air conditioner repairs (which we needed in the Darwin climate); and is the closest to the city centre. We were about 5 kms from central Darwin, and there was a bus stop right outside the gate which would be very convenient for sightseeing in the city centre. Winnellie Post Office was a short walk so i posted CD back ups of my photos home. We drove around each day anyway as we took in a number of things each day, including visiting the nearby Aviation Museum, the WWII fuel tunnels in the city centre and re-stocking the larder at Casuarina.

Small park with old amenities but they found us a roomy site we could manoeuvre into with our F250. We did not have a booking. Friendly and helpful owners and staff. There are a number of small CPs in and around Darwin; not all take bookings, and not all listed in every directory. We found out about Leprechaun from someone we met at Mataranka who had been to Darwin a week or two before and found it hard to get a place as he went from park to park and was turned away because they were full. He had previously tried ringing and at some parks was told 'we don't take bookings - come in and see'. He saw Leprechaun by chance when re-fuelling, got a place and was happy with the park. Surprisingly quiet for a Darwin location.

Check out reports on Badgers:

Badger's Caravan Park Reviews

Not all parks will be reviewed on Badgers.

A recent thread on the caravaners forum brought up a lot of parks that people stayed at and were happy with, and yes, they aren't cheap, but neither are parks in other cities.

Motherhen

Tumbling waters Holiday Park, Cox Peninsula Rd Berry Springs, 89886255
Lakes Resort & CP, Doris Rd Berry Springs, 89886277
Woolianna Tourist Park, Wooloianna Rd, Daly River 89782478
Mt Bundy Station, Adelaide River, www.mtbundy.com.au 89767009
Big4 holiday park, Howard Springs, 89831169
Hidden Valley Tourist park, 25 Hidden Valley Rd, Berrimah (Darwin) 89471422

Mt Bundy is 100k from Darwin, Tumbling Waters about 40k, Woolianna about 165k, Howard springs about 25k.

Best value for money? It's only my opinion....
Mt Bundy, Tumbling Waters, Lakes resort and Big4 Howard Springs.
Woolianna is right on the Daly River so you fish from the pontoon and don't need a boat; or you can take a fishing charter from there. Lakes resort is child friendly as is Tumbling waters.
plenty to choose from and lots to see no matter where you stay.
Territory Wildlife Park is a must see (all day) (Berry Springs).
Have fun. regards

Thanks for the advise guys ... booked Tumbling Waters. Ticks all the boxes!

Mt Bundy looked good but horses and I don't mix which sounds odd but if there's horses at the local "show" I have to dose up for allergies just for the dust in the air! Ridiculous I know but that's how it is!

Now looking at booking accommodation on the way up and back!