High-resolution Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) archive imaging and high-dispersion spectroscopy are used to study the complex morphological and kinematical structure of the planetary nebula , ( catalog NGC 2818 ) . We analyze narrow band H \alpha , [ O iii ] , [ N ii ] , [ S ii ] and He ii images , addressing important morphological features . Ground-based longslit echelle spectra were obtained crossing NGC 2818 at five different positions to precisely determine kinematical features in the structure of the nebula . A distance of 2.5 kpc ( 64 ) was used to determine physical scales . Constructing models to fit the data with modern computational tools , we find NGC 2818 is composed by : ( 1 ) a non-uniform bipolar structure with a semi-major axis of 0.92 pc ( 75 arcsec ) , possibly deformed by the stellar wind , ( 2 ) a 0.17 pc ( 14 arcsec ) diameter central region , which is potentially the remnant of an equatorial enhancement , and ( 3 ) a great number of cometary knots . These knots are preferentially located inside a radius of 0.24 pc ( 20 arcsec ) around the central star . The major axis of the main structure is oriented at i \simeq 60 \arcdeg with respect to the line-of-sight and at PA = +89 \arcdeg on the plane of the sky . Expansion velocities of this nebula are V _ { pol } = 105 { km s } ^ { -1 } and V _ { eq } = 20 { km s } ^ { -1 } , which lead to our estimate of the kinematical age of \tau _ { k } \simeq 8 , 400 \pm 3 , 400 yr ( assuming homologous expansion ) . Our observations do not support the idea that high velocity collimated ejections are responsible for the formation of microstructures inside the nebula . We determine the systemic velocity of ( catalog NGC 2818 ) to be V _ { HEL } = +26 \pm 2 { km s } ^ { -1 } .