Darwin has come alive since the opening of the Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin; I noticed this when travelling up there for a long weekend in July. We had considerable trouble finding accommodation for this time luckily enough we were able to be confirmed into the Palm City Resort which is located on the Esplanade Darwin, at the Parliament House end of town.
 
Palm City Resort has many different room types.  From your standard hotel rooms, interconnecting hotel rooms, the next room type is a duplex villa that is located around he pool.  There is also a couple of executive & spa Villas.
The Standard Duplex Villa's have kitchenette, queen size bed, balcony & electric BBQ, which is extremely handy up there.  The Resort is in a very good location.  It was within walking distance of fish feeding which is on twice daily depending on the tides.  This cost is  $4.00 per person, bread is provided for the fish.  It's a good idea to get there early as it draws large crowds.
 
We headed to the Parap Markets, which is a 10-minute drive from the centre of town.  These markets are held every Saturday.  The market is full of great food, local crafts, plants and jewellery.
During the dry season the world-renowned Mindil Beach Markets are held on a Thursday & Sunday night.  It is approximately 10-15 minute drive by taxi ($15.00) or the Arafura Shuttle (3.00 per person) These markets are HUGE they consist of local and international cuisine with delicious Thai, Laksa's & seafood.  There are plenty of craft stores, leather, Art & a lot of very unique Australian trinkets.
 
Mindil Markets are an afternoon event, so after your shopping, it is great to just relax and enjoy a cold beverage & have dinner on the beach watching the spectacular sunset over the Indian Ocean!! It's a must!!
Once a year the Beer Can Regatta is held at Mindil Beach, which draws around 15000 people.  The boats for the regatta are all made out of beer or soft drink cans.  There were plenty of weird and wonderful creations.  On there beach there is plenty of entertainment for everyone!!!
 
Flight times from Darwin to Sydney aren't all that nice; we were on the overnight flight that departed at 1am.  I would recommend that if you had this flight that a late check out is paid for, as there is only so much you can do around the pool.  What we decided to do is a sunset sailing cruise, as accommodation was unavailable for this night.
 
We booked our cruise on the Star Chaser sailing boat; we got their number out of a brochure at the hotel.  The cruise departed from Cullen Bay Marina through 'The Lock'.  It is BYO or your can purchase beverages on board.  The cost includes nibbles and champagne at sunset.  You are on board for approximately 4 hours; the cruise is through Darwin Harbour which gives you a great look back onto the mainland, all the way down to the wharf where there are some great restaurants.
 
We choose to have dinner in Cullen Bay on the return from the cruise.  There are plenty of different restaurants with great seafood!! This was the perfect way to end a hot, relaxing 4 days in Darwin!!!