The Kimberley: All-Inclusive 10-Night Small-Ship Cruise with Horizontal Falls, Roundtrip Flights & Pre-/Post-Cruise Stays

Your cruise includes:

• 10-night Coral Adventurer cruise in your choice of stateroom
• Roundtrip economy-class flights from Melbourne (MEL), Sydney (SYD) or Brisbane (BNE) to Darwin and back from Broome
• Two nights of pre-cruise accommodation at Hilton Darwin (or similar)
• Two nights of post-cruise accommodation at Mantra Frangipani Broome (or similar)
• All-inclusive daily gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner handcrafted by chefs onboard the cruise
• Select wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks and juices with lunch and dinner onboard
• Bottle of red, white or sparkling Australian wine in your cruise stateroom on arrival
• Complimentary 24-hour tea and coffee onboard the cruise
• Complimentary excursions and sightseeing per the itinerary
• Daily lectures and briefings from experienced guides onboard the cruise
• Use of Xplorer and Zodiac tender vessels during the cruise
• All entrance fees to national parks and ports, including Traditional Owner Fees, per the itinerary
• Post-cruise transfer from the cruise ship to Mantra Frangipani Broome
• Onboard Wi-Fi
• Tips and gratuities

Your adventure begins in Darwin and ends in Broome.

Roundtrip economy-class flights from Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane are included in your package. Departures from other cities are available for a surcharge. Please see the ‘Fine Print’ for details.

On Day 1, please make your own way to your departure airport and from Darwin airport to Hilton Darwin, where you will spend two nights before your cruise.

Your cruise departs Darwin at 9am on Day 3 (please make your own way from Hilton Darwin to Fort Hill Wharf). Please ensure you arrive in time for boarding at 8am on Day 3. The ship docks in Broome at 8am on Day 13. A post-cruise transfer from the ship to Mantra Frangipani Broome is included in your package. You will spend two nights at Mantra Frangipane Broome following your cruise.

On Day 15, please make your own way from Mantra Frangipane Broome to the airport.

When travelling within Australia, please check current state/territory border entry requirements to ensure you’re eligible to travel and have completed any required permits or passes.

Want to know more about Darwin, the Kimberley or Broome? Our insider travel guide includes handpicked places to eat and drink, the best activities in the area, and special experiences to make your trip memorable.

Day 1: Depart Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane – Darwin

Today, board your included flight from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Darwin, the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and the striking Northern Territory, where rich Aboriginal history abounds in the sacred sites, elaborate rock art and mystical Dreamtime stories of the land. Make the most of your time in Australia’s smallest capital city from your central launchpad, located within the iconic CBD, just minutes from the Esplanade, Mitchell Street, Crocosaurus Cove and the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels.

Make your own way to Hilton Darwin for your pre-cruise stay.

Want to know more about Darwin? Our insider travel guide includes handpicked places to eat and drink, the best activities in the area, and special experiences to make your trip memorable.

Accommodation: Hilton Darwin

Day 2: Darwin

With the entire day before you, you could prearrange a tour of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park or a saltwater crocodile cruise on the Adelaide River (at own cost), or take it easy with a stroll through Darwin’s art-clad laneways. As the sun descends over this breathtaking harbour city, why not enjoy a pizza under the stars at local gem Cucina Sotto Le Stelle or a beer at the waterfront The Precinct Tavern?

Accommodation: Hilton Darwin

Days 3–12: All-Inclusive Kimberley Cruise

Your once-in-a-lifetime Kimberley cruise begins in Darwin early this morning. Make your own way to Darwin’s Fort Hill Wharf for boarding at 8am, with time to settle in before a 9am departure. There will be a light breakfast available upon boarding before you cruise across Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and sail into Western Australian waters. Spend the day familiarising yourself with your luxe stateroom, then, as dusk settles, cheers to this incredible escape over welcome drinks with your fellow travellers and captain.

Accommodation: Coral Adventurer

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Throughout your time at sea, experience the otherworldly magic of Western Australia. Your itinerary is weather-dependent, but below is a glance at the spectacular wonders you may witness in the Kimberley.

Want to know more about the Kimberley? Our insider travel guide includes handpicked places to eat and drink, the best activities in the area and special experiences to make your trip memorable.

Please note: Xplorer and Zodiac vessel exploration is dependent on weather and tide conditions.

King George River and Oomari Falls

Cruise through the 400-million-year-old gorges of King George River to discover the 80-metre-tall King George Falls, the most impressive waterfall in the Kimberley and the highest twin falls in Western Australia. The King George River plunges over ancient sandstone cliffs into tidal waters, creating this world-renowned sight. Early in the waterfall season, you may cruise around the base of the fall, while in later months, you may view the honeycomb erosion patterns of the sandstone cliffs up close.

Vansittart Bay (Banjal)

Gain a fascinating insight into Indigenous rock art (up to 20,000 years old) as you visit the spectacular Banjal (Vansittart Bay) and explore the nearby Anjo Peninsula, where the well-preserved 1942 wreckage of a DC3 plane can be seen. Ngula, or Jar Island, is named after the pot shards found here, brought to the island by Makassan fishermen harvesting sea cucumbers (also known as trepang).

Mitchell Falls (Punamii-Uunpuu), Winyalkan Island and Swift Bay

Take an optional scenic helicopter flight (additional costs apply) to see the otherworldly Mitchell Falls (Punamii-Uunpuu), where emerald rock pools cascade down the escarpment. Alternatively, you could explore the sandstone caves of Wollaston Bay or Wollaston Creek, a series of labyrinthine weathered tunnels, arches and columns, or visit Wandjina and Gwion Gwion rock art galleries at Swift Bay.

Prince Frederick Harbour and Bigge Island (Wuuyuru)

Travel to Prince Frederick Harbour and Wuuyuru, or Bigge Island, and cruise the sprawling harbour, dotted with islands covered in luscious mangroves and monsoon rainforests. Take in white-bellied sea eagles and birds of prey as they soar in the skies above and, at low tide, watch as the expansive mudflats reveal a plethora of mudskippers and mangrove crabs. Later, board an Xplorer vessel and cruise through the rarely visited rock formations along Porosus Creek.

Prince Regent River and Careening Bay (Wunbung-gu)

Sail down Prince Regent River in an Xplorer vessel and enter one of the last untouched wilderness areas on Earth, a haven for more than half of the Kimberley’s native wildlife and home to Mambulbada, or King Cascade waterfall. This waterfall is one of the most beautiful sights in the Kimberley, take a moment to watch as the freshwater tumbles down the staggered sandstone terrace or enjoy a refreshing cool off as the Xplorer vessel gets up close to the waterfall.

Afterwards, continue to Wunbung-gu, or Careening Bay, where Lt. Phillip Parker King and the crew of the HMC Mermaid were stranded for 17 days in 1820. Onshore, see the 200-year-old Mermaid Boab Tree, which is etched with the words HMC Mermaid 1820, carved into its trunk by the ship’s carpenter.

Montgomery Reef (Yowjab)

Watch as the Indian Ocean reveals a kaleidoscopic underwater world of reef with a visit to Yowjab, or Montgomery Reef, the world’s largest inshore reef with 11-metre tides. When the tide falls away, the coral reef appears to rise from the ocean in a torrent of cascading water, and marine creatures such as octopuses, turtles, reef sharks and manta rays are revealed.

Aboard the Xplorer and Zodiac vessels, learn about the reef from your expert guide, watch as opportunistic birds take advantage of the bounty left exposed in the rock pools, and marvel at this unique spectacle that, in a few hours’ time, will again be reclaimed by the ocean.

Doubtful Bay and Raft Point (Ngumbree)

Unearth some of the oldest art on Earth in its rawest form as you venture to Doubtful Bay and Ngumbree, or Raft Point. Here, you can take a journey back in time — up to 50,000 years — as you see the Worrora Indigenous stories painstakingly etched in the gorges, rock outliers and caves. If a Traditional Owner guide is available to accompany the group, you will be able to visit the galleries. The galleries are not easy to get to; the journey involves landing on the beach and then hiking and climbing up steep inclines, but the treasures hidden within are worth the effort. At the tip of Raft Point, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of the bay, and artwork telling age-old stories of creation, animals, hunting, love and tradition.

On your journey, you may also visit the mighty Sale River, Steep Island and Ruby Falls at Red Cone Creek.

Horizontal Falls and Buccaneer Archipelago

Set sail to Talbot Bay to see the incredible phenomena, Horizontal Falls — described by David Attenborough as ‘one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.’. Skim across the bay in a Zodiac vessel to the mouth of Horizontal Falls, where tides as high as 13 metres thunder through the rust-red ridges of the McLarty Range. Water builds up on one side and is forcibly pushed through the bottleneck, creating a rushing horizontal waterfall of swiftly flowing seawater.

Then, continue to the pristine Buccaneer Archipelago, an oasis of over 1,000 islands strewn across the turquoise Timor Sea, where the rocks are estimated to be over two billion years old. At Cycle Creek, you’ll be rewarded with views of magnificent geological rock formations as you glide through the ochre ‘Iron Islands’ and past Koolan Island, before sunset drinks at Nares Point.

Lacepede Islands

Dive deep into the wilds of the outback this morning with a cruise to the remote wilderness sanctuary of the Lacepede Islands. Located 120 kilometres off the coast of Broome, these islands sit atop a kaleidoscopic coral reef and provide a protected class-A nature reserve for a menagerie of birdlife, including the brown booby and roseate tern. Marvel at the birds above as you ride Xplorer and Zodiac vessels into the lagoon, where you’ll discover a significant breeding site for green turtles, Australian pelicans, frigatebirds and gulls.

Day 13: Arrive in Broome

Welcome to Broome, the gateway to the unspoiled beauty of the Kimberley region. A landscape of undulating sand dunes and glistening coastline, where you can watch camels parade along the pillowy sands of the iconic Cable Beach, Broome is unlike anywhere else in Australia. Arrive at 8am this morning and enjoy a transfer to your accommodation for the night – Mantra Frangipani Broome – before spending the day at leisure.

Want to know more about Broome? Our insider travel guide includes handpicked places to eat and drink, the best activities in the area, and special experiences to make your trip memorable.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Mantra Frangipani Broome

Day 14: Broome

Today is yours to explore as you wish. Be sure to prearrange a sunrise camel ride along Cable Beach (at own cost). Sway alongside the Indian Ocean as the sky transforms into a blaze of gold and blue — this is a not-to-be-missed experience. Afterwards, you could wander to The Zookeepers Store to get your caffeine fix and then perhaps enjoy a tasting paddle at Matso’s, Australia’s most remote brewery.

Accommodation: Mantra Frangipani Broome

Day 15: Depart Broome – Arrive Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane

Your adventure comes to an end today as you check out of your hotel for your included flight home.