Darwin Public Pools 2026: Hours, Entry Prices and Which Pool to Pick — Casuarina, Nightcliff and Parap (Darwin, NT)

All three City of Darwin pools charge the same entry, $6.30 for an adult and $3.20 for a child, and all three are open until 7.30pm every day they open. The differences are in what each pool has: Casuarina has a lagoon and play areas, Nightcliff sits on the foreshore, and Parap is the competition venue. This guide sets out the hours, prices and facilities from the City of Darwin’s own pages, checked on 8 November 2026.

What are the opening hours?

The City’s pools page gives one set of hours for all venues. The Y Northern Territory (YNT) manages the pools on the Council’s behalf, including staff and bookings.

Day	Hours
Monday to Friday	5.30am to 7.30pm
Weekends and public holidays	8.00am to 7.30pm
Good Friday, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day	Closed

The City adds that times may change because of special events or maintenance, and tells swimmers to check the lane availability calendars on each pool’s page or contact the pool before heading down. The same page says a number of lanes are always kept open to the public for lap swimming during normal hours, but the calendars list which lanes are booked by clubs and groups, and may not include every one-off booking.

How much does it cost to swim?

Entry fees and charges are the same at every City of Darwin pool. The City points to the Public Swimming Pools section of the 2026-27 Municipal Plan for the full list; the table below is the one printed on the pools page.

Ticket	Single entry	30-swim pass	12-month pass	6-month pass
Adult	$6.30	$117	$567	$323
Senior	$4.90	$111	$520	$297
Child or concession	$3.20	$58	$324	$175
Family (2 adults, 2 children)	$17.00	Not listed

Thirty-swim passes expire after 12 months, and any swims left on the pass are void. The City defines the concession rate as full-time NT students, Commonwealth Health Care Card holders, NT Concession Scheme holders and DVA Gold and White Card holders on the main pools page; the individual pool pages word the list slightly differently (the Casuarina and Parap pages name the NT Pensioner and Carer’s Card). Photographic ID must be presented either way. Spectators are free, as are children under four accompanied by a paying adult, and the pools page adds one carer accompanying a person with a disability, or a person accompanying a holder of an NT Companion Card.

What does Casuarina Aquatic and Leisure Centre have?

The Casuarina Aquatic and Leisure Centre at 17 Gsell St opened on Saturday 13 July 2024 after the old Casuarina pool was redeveloped. The City says it contributed $19.3 million to the project, with a further $7.5 million from the Federal Government. The phone number is (08) 7912 8369.

Feature	Detail from the City
50m pool	8 lanes, 1.4m to 2.2m deep, start blocks at each end
25m pool	6 lanes, 0.9m to 1.4m deep, temperature-controlled
Lagoon	0.0m to 1.0m deep, zero-depth wet play area with a slope entry and hand rail, partial shade cloth
Shade	70 per cent hard structure shade over both lap pools
On land	2 BBQs, 6 picnic tables, a 3×3 basketball court, a dry play area with a sensory dome, a large grassed area
Gym	A Club Lime gym in the building

The City describes the lagoon as resort-style, with an aqua tower, fountains and water squirts. There is also a Community Room that the City, not the pool staff, manages; you book it through City of Darwin customer service on 08 8930 0300.

Are the Casuarina aqua slides open?

No. The Casuarina page carries a notice headed “Temporary Closure – Aqua Slides”: the slides are closed due to safety concerns, a safety audit has been done, and the City is awaiting the audit report and recommendations on next steps. It gives no reopening date.

What is Nightcliff Pool like?

The City’s Nightcliff Pool page calls it an iconic venue on the Nightcliff Foreshore, with views over Darwin Harbour and cool sea breezes. It is at 259 Casuarina Dr, and the phone number is (08) 7912 8371.

Feature	Detail from the City
Main pool	About 50m, 6 lanes, a hydro-lift for all-abilities access, some shade cloth
Toddlers’ pool	Shaded
Also listed	BBQ, picnic tables, showers, toilets, baby change, drinking fountains, wifi, bicycle racks and paths
Programs	Learn-to-swim and swim club training; Nightcliff Swimming Club, Darwin Masters and Darwin Triathlon Club train there

The Nightcliff page lists one main pool and a toddlers’ pool. It does not list a lagoon, slides or a playground for it.

What is Parap Pool like?

Parap Pool at 77 Ross Smith Ave is described by the City as Darwin’s dedicated swimming competition venue, FINA-compliant, and also open for recreation. The phone number is (08) 7912 8370.

Feature	Detail from the City
50m pool	10 lanes, 1.4m to 2.0m deep, partial shade, a moveable boom, start blocks at each end
25m pool	6 lanes, 1.2m to 1.35m deep, fully shaded
Temperature	Both pools are temperature-controlled
Play	A shaded, zero-depth wet play area and a playground
Clubs	Darwin Swimming Club, Darwin Masters and Darwin Water Polo

Parap also has two pool inflatables that run during special events and can be hired privately. The Kiama inflatable runs in the 50m pool and suits children aged 6 and over; the My Little Dragon inflatable runs in the 25m pool and suits children aged 3 to 8. Private hire for parties or special events costs $218.40 per hour, with a two-hour minimum, and bookings go through the pool.

Is there anything free or accessible?

Each pool has accessibility features, and the City publishes an accessibility guide for each one (a Word file and a PDF for Casuarina, Nightcliff and Parap) on its accessibility guides page. The pool pages list ramp access at the lap pools, aquatic wheelchairs at Casuarina and Parap, and the hydro-lift at Nightcliff.

The City’s events listing also shows a free program at Casuarina. Swimming NT’s swimABILITY, an inclusive swimming program, runs on Thursdays from 22 October to 3 December 2026, from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, at 17 Gsell St. The listing says it is free and asks participants to complete the registration link or QR code first.

Which pool suits which swimmer?

If you want	The City’s pages point to
A shallow, zero-depth play area for young children	Casuarina’s lagoon, or Parap’s shaded wet play area
A basketball half-court, BBQs and a grassed area	Casuarina
A 10-lane 50m pool	Parap
A pool on the foreshore	Nightcliff
Classes	Aqua fitness classes run at all three, but they are run by third-party operators and pool entry is not included in the class cost

Swimming lessons are provided by a number of organisations at each pool, so enquiries go to the pool directly. The City says contact the pool, not City of Darwin customer service, for bookings, swim passes, school carnivals and social functions.

What do the holiday closure pages say?

The pools page lists Good Friday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day as closed days at all three pools. The City’s holiday closure page showed the pools closed on 25 December and 1 January, with standard hours on the other days, for the 2025-26 period; it has not published a 2026-27 table yet.

Sources

• City of Darwin — Pools (checked 8 November 2026)
• City of Darwin — Casuarina Aquatic & Leisure Centre
• City of Darwin — Nightcliff Pool
• City of Darwin — Parap Pool
• City of Darwin — Casuarina Aquatic and Leisure Centre project
• City of Darwin — swimABILITY Term 4
• City of Darwin — Public Swimming Pool Accessibility Guides

Featured image: Nightcliff Foreshore, September 2025 (photo: DaHuzyBru / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with City of Darwin or the Y Northern Territory. Prices and times are as the City’s pool pages listed them on 8 November 2026.