Most people planning a Kimberley cruise start with the same question: is a week enough, or is a fortnight better? It depends entirely on what you want from the trip. Your Kimberley cruise duration isn’t a one-size-fits-all number. A 7-night reef and diving trip covers completely different ground than an 11-night coastal traverse, and neither is “better.” They’re built for different travellers.
We run three distinct itinerary lengths aboard MV Reef Prince, and after 15 years operating this coastline, we’ve got a fairly clear picture of who each one suits. This guide breaks down what each Kimberley cruise length realistically covers, what you’ll trade off at each length, and how to land on the right fit without defaulting to whichever cruise is cheapest or most talked about.
Kimberley cruise duration tips
How many days are enough for a Kimberley cruise? Our answer is ten to eleven nights, for most guests.
Rule of thumb
If your bucket list includes Horizontal Falls, King George Falls, and Aboriginal rock art, you need the 10–11-night classic or longer. The 7-day trip won’t get you there.
Peak-season departures on the 10–11 night classic fill early, particularly State Class and Class 1 cabins, so this is the itinerary to lock in first if your dates are fixed.
The three ways to cruise the Kimberley coast
For us, the best duration for a Kimberley cruise in Australia can be broken down into three ways.
Working out how many days for a Kimberley cruise suits you starts with picking one of these three options, then fine-tuning from there.
Is 7 days enough for a Kimberley tour?
Yes, with certain exceptions. Our 7-day Rowley Shoals cruise departs and returns to Broome, steaming overnight to a trio of coral atolls — Clerke Reef, Mermaid Reef and Imperieuse Reef — roughly 300 kilometres offshore, on the edge of the continental shelf. It’s a proper expedition in its own right, with days built around diving, snorkelling and fishing in remote reef country.
What the 7-day trip doesn’t include
So, is 7 days enough for a Kimberley tour that features waterfalls and gorges? Not on this particular itinerary. If reef diving is what draws you and seven days is all you have, it’s a brilliant choice. If you’re picturing gorges, tidal waterfalls and ancient art sites, you’d want the 10–11 night classic instead.
The 10–11 night classic: our recommended sweet spot
This is the itinerary we’d point most first-time guests toward. Running between Broome and Darwin (or the reverse), the 10–11 night trip works through the full run of Kimberley highlights at a pace that doesn’t feel rushed.
Across the trip, you’ll typically see:
King George Falls
With an overnight anchorage at its base.
Montgomery Reef
Australia’s largest inshore reef, exposed dramatically as the tide drops.
Horizontal Falls
And the tidal phenomenon that drives them.
King Cascades & Raft Point
With Aboriginal rock art including Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw) paintings.
The DC-3 crash site
The WWII wreck on Jar Island.
Yampi Sound
And a freshwater swim at Crocodile Creek.
13 days on the WA coast: the extended option
Our 13-day cruise runs the other way entirely, from Geraldton up to Broome, and it’s a different trip from the Kimberley coastal run.
Expect the Abrolhos Islands, Shark Bay’s seagrass meadows, Ningaloo Reef and the Montebello Islands along the way — a coral coast itinerary rather than a waterfalls-and-gorges one.
If you’d rather start this leg from the south, the cruise ship departing from Geraldton is where that itinerary begins.
It suits travellers who’ve already done the classic Broome–Darwin run and want to see the rest of the WA coastline, or anyone happy to commit nearly a fortnight to cover more ground in fewer, longer legs between ports. If you’ve got the time and you’d rather see everything in one go than come back for a second trip, this is where that instinct is best spent.
Best duration for your travel style
For some, the best Kimberley cruise itinerary and duration might combine two of these categories. For instance, guests who are both first-timers and time-poor. In this instance, the 10–11-night classic is still the pick, since it gives you the full Kimberley coast without the extra week the WA Coast trip requires.
Broome to Darwin, or Darwin to Broome
Direction is where your Kimberley cruise length becomes a logistical question rather than a sightseeing one. A cruise from Darwin means flying into the Northern Territory and out of WA, while starting from Broome to Kimberley keeps both ends of your trip in a single state.
Fly into WA, out of the Northern Territory. Ends closer to Kakadu if you’re extending.
Finishes in Broome, which keeps both ends of the trip in one state if you’re flying from Perth.
However you cut the time spent, the falls, reefs and rock art sites run the same either way — it’s purely a matter of flights and where you’d rather begin and end.
How to choose the right duration for your trip
There’s no single best duration, only the option that matches your time, your interests and how you like to travel.
Working through how to choose Kimberley cruise duration comes down to three questions:
We also offer a guide that walks through how to pick a Kimberley cruise, covering cabin class, season and ship size, once you’ve settled on a duration for your trip.
Timing your booking around duration
Duration and timing are more closely tied than most people expect. The 10–11 night classic runs during the dry season, broadly April to September, and cabins on peak-season departures are typically the first to sell out, sometimes well ahead of the season itself. If you already know you want the classic itinerary and you’ve got fixed dates, that’s the booking to make early. Our guide to the best time to visit Broome and Kimberley goes through the seasons month by month, including when whale season and waterfall flow overlap with your available dates.
The 7-day Rowley Shoals trips and the 13-day WA Coast departures tend to have a little more late availability, simply because there are fewer travellers chasing them compared to the classic run.
Finding your fit
If you’re still weighing up Kimberley boat cruises and which duration suits your trip, our small-ship, 36-guest setup on Reef Prince Kimberley means the same crew and the same handful of fellow travellers for the whole journey, whichever length you choose. It’s a more personal way to see this coastline than the bigger expedition ships offer, without asking you to pay for what you don’t need.
Not sure which of the three fits your dates and your bucket list? Get in touch, and we’ll talk through your options, or head straight to book your Kimberley cruise once you’ve settled on a duration.
We understand you may prefer to talk to us
Seven, eleven or thirteen days?
Tell us your dates and your bucket list, and we’ll tell you which of the three fits — in one phone call.
Mon–Fri 8.30am–5pm AWST · info@kimberleyexpeditions.com.au