Adelaide

Adelaide, a city often overlooked by the international traveller, has a wealth of attractions to make it appealing to a wide variety of people.  As the capital city of South Australia, it's the perfect size - large enough to lots of culture, infrastructure and service, while being small enough to have character, the chance to bump into some locals and not be totally overwhelming the way a massive city can.

One of the nice things about the downtown area is that the major streets are laid out methodically in a grid pattern, so you shouldn't have too many problems finding your way around, and then it's surrounded by parkland.  It's a good city to get around on foot, or you can hop on a tram or bus.

Aerial view of Adelaide

Due to its location on the eastern side of the Gulf St Vincent, Adelaide has many easily accessible beaches that are only 20 minutes or so from the city centre.  You can even take the tram right from the heart of the city to the nearby suburb of Glenelg and wander on the beach near Jimmy Melrose Park.

If art and culture are more to your liking, you'll be glad to know that Adelaide has plenty of both to offer.  Held every March since 1960 is the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, internationally renowned and considered to be one of the world's greatest art celebrations.  It showcases theatre, opera, cabaret, dance, contemporary and classical music and new media.  If you're going to visit during this time frame, make sure you book your Adelaide Hotels well in advance.

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I always love the countryside where you find the vineyards and South Australia is no exception.  In this instance, the hard part is deciding which direction to go.  The most well known region would probably be the Barossa Valley about 60 km (40 mi) north of the city, the Wine Coast (or McLaren/Southern Vales) south of the city, or the Murraylands in the southeast.  There's also the Clare Valley, even further north than the Barossa Valley, but you could always find a hotel out of the city and combine the two regions.

Another 'must see' destination when you make it to Adelaide is Kangaroo Island, Australia's 3rd largest island.  It's only about 13 km (8 mi) from the tip of Cape Jervis, or about 112 km (70 mi) southwest of Adelaide.  You can either do a day trip from the city, or if you want to really explore and enjoy, you can book accommodation on Kangaroo Island itself.  At least a quarter of the island is protected and conserved, so it's a great place for wildlife.  Obviously the first one that comes to mind is the kangaroo, but you can also find goannas, bandicoots, wallabies, possums, echidnas, koalas and platypus.  It's also listed as an Important Bird Area due to some of the bird-life that is supported.

Feeding the wallabies on Kangaroo Island

What could be more Australian than feeding some furry critters on Kangaroo Island???  For a great list of bookable things to see and do, please check out the Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Barossa Valley Tours Sightseeing and Activities page on our website.