South Australia has to be one of the more underrated states in Australia that’s not really talked about or hyped up as a travel destination. But trust me when I say that SA has all the dining, wining, beaches, and art culture that you would need without the hustle of a big city.
Let me show you all the things you need to know to plan your South Australia trip with MiTravel Planning Board (sponsored)
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Booking flights
I flew from Sydney using credit from cancelled flights with Virgin Australia, however, you would be looking at ~$200AUD return during non-peak times from Sydney.
As always, as soon as you know you want to travel, book your flights as soon as possible for the best prices!
Booking accommodation
I would recommend staying near Adelaide CBD as it’s central to the main restaurants and beaches, and it’s a good base for day trips.
I based myself in an Airbnb (in a cute little cabin that had everything I needed) in Marleston, a suburb ~10mins drive away from the CBD.
I also splurged on a Tiny Home in the Barossa Valley with In2TheWild, and while this was a bit more expensive, it was my first experience in a Tiny Home and it delivered! Highly recommend staying at Tiny Rosie.
Renting a car
Do you need a car to travel around South Australia? I would say yes (for ease of getting around and having the freedom to go where and when you’d like)
I always go with Avis due to discounted work perks and the Qantas Frequent Flyer points I can earn.
When budgeting for your trip, don’t forget about the following costs associated with renting a car
- Car rental = $60/day
- Rental car insurance = $10/day (I go with Rental Cover)
- Fuel = $87 (for over 600km of driving from long day trips)
- Parking = $30 (Adelaide CBD parking is all metred, but definitely more affordable than Sydney parking!
My tip for parking is to download the Park Adelaide app, put in your rental car details, and when you find a parking spot, use the app to pay (save yourself from touching the machines!)
What to pack
The climate in South Australia is pretty moderate. I visited in March and I had beautiful 25+ degree celsius sunny days that truly still felt like summer. However, definitely pack a jacket and a jumper for the colder nights.
The research stage (with MiTravel Planning Board)
Kickstarting my travel research, I went straight to MiTravel Planning Board and created a new trip for Adelaide.
I clicked “invite” so my partner could join as a member of my board. This enabled us to collaboratively plan and save all our research in one place (previously we’d have all the details over messages or in excel, so this was much more aesthetic and efficient for us)
The board starts off empty, but as you slowly start researching and exploring places (via the Explore tab) and adding it to your Planning Board, you’ll start to see your itinerary come to life! (I go into more detail about how you can use MiTravel through the different stages of the itinerary below)
They've also recently released a new feature called Travis, an AI chat bot who is your travel assistant and can help you with your travel bookings. Make sure to check it out!The 5-day itinerary
Day 1 | Adelaide City Sightseeing
Using MiTravel as a search engine
You can use the Explore tab on MiTravel Planning Board like a search engine to find plenty of other top-rated cafes in the area by searching for keywords such as “cafe”, checking out opening times and ratings on the right panel then choosing places to go based on their location by using the map. Once you’re satisfied you can “Add to board” (and it will pop up on the Planning Board)
Pick up your rental car and drive into the city for some food. I recommend Crack Kitchen for their nourish bowl, probably one of the best I’ve ever had!
Next on the agenda is Adelaide central markets. Spend some time here exploring the small book stores, flower shops, and artisan food stalls, or just admire the wall art. You could alternatively come here for lunch or save it for a food tour on another day.
For the rest of the afternoon, I would highly recommend checking out Adelaide Botanic Gardens. It’s truly beautiful here with so many places to relax, lay in the sun, and explore the gardens. I came back here on my last day as well and I’ve somehow made it a bit of a tradition to visit each state’s botanic garden before I fly home so I can reflect on the trip.
Then it’s time for dinner at Africola. Prepare your tastebuds for an African cuisine set menu selected by the chef that day. You can pick a few dishes that you’d like to definitely try on the menu but otherwise sit back and enjoy the plates being served.
Using MiTravel to save all your notes and documents
If you’re like me and want to know what is on the menu before visiting, you can easily attach documents, confirmations, tickets and in this case the menu to your MiTravel Planning Board and add notes to the card so you can quickly refer back to what you want to eat!
Day 2 | Barossa Valley & Tiny Home
Using MiTravel to create polls and vote
If you’re in a big group, it may be hard to plan an itinerary that everyone loves. So what better way to decide what should be the next activity than through some healthy democratic voting! You can use the “Create a Poll” feature on the Planning Board tab and ask a question. The answer with the most votes wins.
That is how day 2 was decided as a vote between going to the beach or to a winery. And you can guess which activity won!
Start your day with some breakfast at Cafe Troppo. There’s a park right next door where you can take a stroll in to stretch out your legs before the next leg of the trip.
Your next stop is a 1h drive to the famous Barossa Valley. For me, I drove straight to Harvest Kitchen in the heart of the Barossa for lunch, which is co-located on the Calabria Family Wines estate with a tasting room right next door. I was a bit early for my booking so I enjoyed a wine tasting before diving into a delicious set menu.
I enjoyed the Feed Me Eden menu for $49pp with a choice of 5 dishes. If you are looking for a bit more food, you can choose the Feed Me Like a Barossan menu for $59pp. The food was delicious and the views were spectacular. Highly recommend this experience!
Next, for the day I had planned to visit Seppeltsfield road distillers, Henley Farm Cellar Door, Maggie Beer Farm, Barossa Valley Cheese, and Lyndoch Lavendar Farm (please pay these places a visit if you have the time, don’t be like me and not plan ahead!)
I didn’t have as much time as I thought so I only ticked off visiting Barossa Valley Cheese to pick up some brie to snack on at the Tiny Home.
I then visited a supermarket to pick up some groceries at Foodland Tanunda that I would need to prepare dinner (and for breakfast the next day) as there’s no UberEats at the remote Tiny Home as you can imagine.
Then it was time to head to my accommodation for the night at Tiny Rosie. My first experience in a Tiny Home was beautiful. I took as many photos as I could and loved how cosy it all felt.
It’s completely off-grid with a compostable toilet and solar-powered energy. One thing I didn’t realise was I had to turn on the gas for hot water! So I took a cold shower and tried to heat some water without the gas HAHA Finally I contacted the host and she reminded me to turn the gas on and voila we had heat!
I was also surprised I actually had reception so I watched some Netflix before drifting off to sleep and naturally waking for sunrise the next morning.
Day 3 | Pink Salt Lakes OR More Wineries
Using MiTravel as an itinerary planner
If you’re finding it hard to keep track of all the places you want to go and the distance - this is where MiTravel Planning Board really comes into play.
While the Itinerary feature is still being developed, you can use the colour and tagging function like I did to set a colour specific to a day and add a tag.
For my trip to Bumbunga Lake, I gave it a tag of “Day 3”. You can then filter on the “Day 3” tag and/or colour. All activities tagged to the same day will appear on the map which is a great way to visually see the position of all your activities and the distance you'll be travelling.
Start your morning with some home-cooked breakfast in your Tiny Home (remember to buy enough groceries for dinner and breakfast from your grocery run the day before)
Otherwise, you can go to The Williamstown General as an alternative.
From here there are two options you can take:
- Go north and see a pink salt lake at Bumbunga Lake (1.5h drive from Tiny Home)
- Drive back to Adelaide (1h drive from Tiny Home) + visit McLaren Vale
Option 1 | Bumbunga Lake
I went with option 1 and drove north to see my first pink salt lake. Unfortunately, it was all dried up when I visited. Pro to that is I could walk on the lake, con to that is you don’t get the beautiful contrast to see an actual pink lake.
This also meant I didn’t get the photos I was hoping to with my drone. Alas, I also spent so long at the first lookout that popped up on Google maps, when I should have saved some battery to go to a lookout about 3mins up the road. That would be the best place to launch from and fly over the crisscrossed road to get amazing top-down views. Google map links: First lookout where you’ll come across the platform and the ‘lochness monster’: https://goo.gl/maps/WcqK6FSzk5JmEcR27; Second lookout: https://goo.gl/maps/bSMi9yf5kf8sJt2C6
Lunch for me was at the back of my car overlooking the lake with leftover sandwiches I had prepared in the Tiny Home (my go-to is salami, cheddar and lettuce in a soft bun).
Then began the long 1.5h drive back to Adelaide. At this point, I was going to get back by 5pm so my plans to visit McLaren Vale could not come to fruition (perhaps for another day!).
Not wanting to miss out on any golden hours, I then drove across to Glenelg beach (15mins from CBD) and caught a beautiful sunset across the jetty, and spotted where I’d be catching some opera by the beach the next night.
By then I was starving and was very keen on a heartwarming pho at Little NNQ (which was delicious and very affordable!) Highly recommend.
Note this was a Friday night so parking was so difficult to find. I ended up parking in the Central Market car park and because I ate so quickly (under 1h), parking was only $2! My tip would be to arrive early to find cheaper street parking if coming on a Friday or weekend.
Option 2 | McLaren Vale
If you’re not like me and instead have no interest in seeing lakes (or driving long roads – I don’t blame you!) then definitely head back to Adelaide, freshen up and head for another beautiful wine region just 30mins from the CBD – McLaren Vale.
Because I didn’t visit these places myself, I don’t have any specific recommendations. But here’s the list of wineries I had planned to visit and some restaurants to support your planning!
Wineries
- Victor’s Place (26min from CBD)
- Coriole Vineyards – $15 wine tasting (6mins from 1)
- The Cube (6mins from 2)
- Hugh Hamilton Wines – $10 wine tasting (10 mins from 3)
Restaurants
- The Currant shed ($65 for 2 courses, $85 for 3 courses)
- Victor’s Place ($62 for 2 courses, $78 for 3 courses)
- D’Arry’s Verandah ($77 for 2, $92 for 3)
- Maxwell ($130pp)
Then for dinner, my plans were to visit Nola to try some Cajun & Creole cuisine, in a retro bar featuring live music. Being by myself, probably better that I come back another time with friends to experience this.
Day 4 | Fleurieu Peninsula Coastal Day & Opera by the Beach
After visiting all the wineries, it’s time for a coastal day down the Fleurieu Peninsula. This is only one of three peninsulas in South Australia (with each having its own unique character, beautiful rockpools, and beaches to explore).
I chose Fleurieu Peninsula because it’s the closest to get to and an easy day trip from Adelaide. This was easily one of my favourite days in South Australia (and not just because I love the water and beaches, but because of how easy it is to get to).
You could easily spend multiple days down the coast and camping at free campsites. But with my limited time, I will show you what I managed to see (and what I planned to see, so if you have more time you should definitely visit!)
Start your day with a small detour back to Glenelg Beach for breakfast at The Daily Fixx. I did a quick takeaway meal and off I went to my first stop. Below you’ll also find my recommended places to visit, and the distance to each, and any of my notes.
- Hallett Cove (25mins from CBD)
- Port Noarlunga (12mins from 1) – I skipped this spot to have more time at Port Willunga
- Port Willunga Beach Caves (17mins from 2) – The iconic caves are on the south side of the beach. I also had some fish and chips at a nearby restaurant here
- Sellicks beach (11mins from 3) – you’ll need to drive quite far down after your GPS says you’ve arrived to get those epic cliffside shots
- Carrickalinga Beach (23min from 4) – I didn’t make it past Sellicks, but the next few stops are highly recommended stops!
- Second Valley (16min from 5)
- Rapid Bay (9min from 6)
- Deep Creek (14min from 7)
I would have continued to at least Second Valley, but I needed to head back to Glenelg for a beach opera performance of La Boheme. Fun fact, I saw an ad for this opera at the airport after I landed. Coincidentally it was playing the weekend that I was there, so I flexed my plans, bought tickets on my first night and knew I had to plan around it.
Being flexible really pays off, because sometimes you don’t even know what you could experience until you’re at your destination. I’m really all about that ‘say yes’ mentality when it comes to experiences and I’m so glad I got to watch my first opera with a beautiful sunset backdrop.
Day 5 | Adelaide Zoo OR Adelaide Hills
On your last day in Adelaide, you have two options:
- Take it easy and visit Adelaide Zoo
- Do more wine tasting at Adelaide Hills
Option 1 | Adelaide Zoo
I went with option 1 because at the time I visited, the state was running a campaign to help small businesses attract tourists and customers following the drop in tourism since covid.
This involved putting your name into a ballot and if you won, you would receive a $100 voucher to spend on any activity within Adelaide.
I was lucky to win a voucher and I put it towards a Panda and Friends Experience at Adelaide Zoo. I was part of a group that got to enter the zoo before opening time for a private tour and see the Red Panda and Giant Pandas up close.
Then you’re free to roam around the zoo until closing time, but I decided to head off for brunch as I was getting a bit hungry!
I ate at Exchange Coffee and then did a bit of window shopping as it’s closely located to the main shopping strip.
Following lunch, I only had a few hours left before my flight, so I headed back to the Botanic Gardens to enjoy some time in the sun and reflect on the trip I had before flying home.
Option 2 | Adelaide Hills
An alternative last day is to visit the Adelaide Hills. I didn’t get to visit this beautiful area but below are a few suggestions and what I had originally planned if I had more time
- Mount Lofty Botantical Gardens (28mins from CBD)
- Udder Delights Cheese Cellar (12mins from 1)
- Ambleside Distellers (2mins from 3)
- Buzz Honey (2mins from 3)
- Beerenberg Farm Shop (2mins from 4)
Using MiTravel to keep your friends and family up to date
The last feature of MiTravel Planning Board that I used was sharing my board with my parents so they would know where I’d be and be able to check in with me throughout my trip.
You can invite them as ‘Viewers’ so they don’t mess up any of your planning but they can also see where you might be on a particular day for your safety.
If you’ve found this guide useful, don’t forget to like, share & pin!
