South Australia Travel Guide

Glenelg is Adelaide's most popular seaside town, reached directly from the city centre in about half an hour by a vintage tram, easy to reach and relaxed in feel. It was early South Australia's colonial landing place, and now golden sand, a jetty and a beachfront promenade lined with restaurants, cafes and shops are lively yet easygoing. Visitors can swim, stroll the jetty for sunset, or browse the shops on Jetty Road. At dusk the sun sinks into the gulf, with twilight and lights reflecting, a favourite spot for Adelaidians to relax. The tram, beach and sunset make a classic half-day of Adelaide seaside life.

Monarto Safari Park (formerly Monarto Zoo), in Monarto, South Australia, is the largest open-range zoo in Australia and is described as one of the largest open-range zoos outside Africa. Visitors can ride the free Zu-Loop shuttle or join pre-booked guided tours to get close to African lions, giraffes, rhinos, zebras and native kangaroos in expansive habitats. It is open 365 days a year, including Christmas and public holidays; allow at least four to five hours.

Adelaide Botanic Garden was founded in 1857 and is South Australia's urban oasis, famed for its Victorian glasshouses — above all the Bicentennial Conservatory and the Amazon waterlily pavilion. Palms, medicinal and arid plants are displayed by zone, a refined spot to escape heat, learn and stroll. Its heritage rose garden shifts with the seasons, and free guided tours introduce rare species.

Adelaide Hills is a magnificent hill region near Adelaide. Featuring cool climate, rolling green hills, famous wine regions (Hahndorf German town) and wildlife — a charming pastoral destination. Cool climate (natural air-conditioning). Hahndorf — Australia's oldest German settlement with German architecture, sausages and beer. World-class Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc wines. Cleland Wildlife Park for kangaroo and koala encounters. Visiting for cool-climate wine and German culture is a relaxing Adelaide pastoral trip.

North Terrace is Adelaide's celebrated cultural boulevard, lined with a string of national institutions. Along it sit the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA, with over 45,000 works and free entry all year), the South Australian Museum (renowned for its Indigenous and natural-history collections), the State Library (with a magnificent 19th-century domed reading room), and landmarks including the University of Adelaide, Parliament House, the Adelaide Botanic Garden and the Festival Centre. Closeted in trees with grand heritage facades, it is aptly dubbed a 'museum district you can walk'. The free 99A/99C city loop buses make hopping between venues easy for a cultural day out.

The Meningie Cheese Factory Museum sits in the lakeside town of Meningie on the shore of Lake Albert. Housed in a volunteer-restored part of the former Lakeside Dairying Company premises, it displays old butter churns, vintage typewriters, farm equipment and domestic curiosities telling the story of how the people of the district lived and prospered. Run by community volunteers with no regular attendant, visitors typically drop a donation in the box and explore; the other half of the restored building is a restaurant serving local dishes such as the famous Coorong mullet.