The River Torrens passing through the University of Adelaide

Adelaide [1] is the capital city of South Australia. Its population is slightly over 1 million, which makes it by far the largest city in the otherwise sparsely populated state.

Adelaide is centrally located among the wine regions of McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Clare Valley, all of which are within day-trip distance.

Get In

By car

Adelaide is within a reasonable driving distance of the capital cities on the east coast. The shortest route from Adelaide to Melbourne takes eight to nine hours (stay safe: make sure you rest well every couple of hours).

• Melbourne - Adelaide = 736km via Horsham (National Highway 8) or 901km via Mt Gambier (National Highway 1)
• Sydney - Adelaide = 1422km via Mildura (National Highway 20) or 1659km via Broken Hill (National Highway 32)
• Adelaide - Brisbane = 2031km via Broken Hill

By plane

Adelaide has a brand new airport with international connections to Hongkong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

If you prefer to fly, Adelaide is less than an hour from Melbourne and less than three hours from Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart by plane, and slightly further from the other capital cities. Direct flights to and from Auckland, NZ are now possible with the newly expanded Adelaide airport.

The airport is connected with the public transport system (Bus ticket 2.1 AUD) or taxi (ca. 18 AUD) and the city center can be reached with 15-25 minutes. Airport to the closest beach West Beach is 4kms away. West Beach is an excellent swimming beach and is well serviced with holiday apartments.

By train

Adelaide is part of the cross-country train network, and there are regular services from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The train to Alice Springs (and Darwin) departs from Adelaide.

Get Around

Train, tram and bus services are provided by different companies but they are well integrated and use a unified ticketing system, "Metroticket". Single trip tickets can be purchased on-board any bus and allow the passenger to move freely around the transport network for two hours.

The Passenger Transport InfoCentre (corner of King William & Currie Streets, Adelaide) is the place to visit for timetable and route information. Economical "multi-trip" tickets containing 10 trips are available, and you can save even more by travelling only between 9am and 3pm on an "interpeak" multi-trip ticket. Tickets and route information can also be obtained from many newsagents, delis and post offices.

The city center is compact and can be easily covered on foot, but for the leg weary there are two free buses. The Bee Line (#99B) leaves from Victoria Square (every 5–10 min. Mon–Thurs 7:40 AM–6:00 PM, Fri 7:40 AM–9:20 PM; every 15 min. Sat 8:30 AM–5:30 PM) and heads up King William Street to North Terrace, along past the train station, down to Hindley Street and then back to Victoria Square along the same route. The City Loop Bus (every 20min) has thirty stops taking in all the major cultural and commercial centres, beginning at Adelaide Train Station. Both buses feature ground-level access ramps.

There is a tram that runs from Victoria Square to the popular seaside suburb of Glenelg. This uses the standard ticket system and the whole trip takes less than 30 minutes.

Be warned that bus and train frequency declines sharply after 6pm, with hourly intervals being typical in the suburbs. The transport network ceases operation before midnight, so expect to catch a taxi if you are out after this time. A special bus service called the Wandering Star offers a service from the city centre to your house (or as near as possible) after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. The ticket cost is AUD$6. There are eleven Wandering Star routes for different sections of the metropolitan area.

Taxis are provided by several companies and can be hailed on the street or arranged by phone. There is a common rate of flagfall and a per-distance/time charge, both of which are increased at night and on weekends.

The AdelaideMetro website contains comprehensive information about public transport in Adelaide.

See

Glenelg Town Hall

The pier at Glenelg Beach

• Historic beachside suburb of Glenelg offering a jetty, the 'Grand' (a quality hotel) and many restaurants and cafes. Catch one of the historic trams from Victoria square Adelaide.
• Beacon Hill in North Adelaide (provides a spectacular view of the city, especially at night)
• Adelaide Hills, including the Mt Lofty Summit which provides spectacular views of the Adelaide plains, Adelaide metropolitan area, Adelaide CBD, Glenelg and surrounding areas. There is a restaurant at the Mt. Lofty summit, which is moderately priced and there is a souvenier shop which also offers tourist information.
• Hahndorf German settlement, a short drive up the freeway, attractions include a small chocolate factory, parks with barbeque facilities and a playground plus many small stores selling all manner of products.
• Walking North Terrace will take you past the Casino (Railway Station below), Parliament House, Government House, the State Library, Museum, Art Gallery (free entry), Adelaide University, University of South Australia, Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Botanic Gardens. A worthwhile trek!
• Catch an O-Bahn bus out to the North East suburban shopping centre of Tea Tree Plaza. The O-Bahn is a 12Km long guided bus way, where special street buses run on guided tracks at up to 100Kmh and uses the unified metroticket system mentioned above.
• During mid-March, the Clipsal 500 supercar racing event is very popular, sporting massive street parties, huge concert line-ups and many fanatic Adelaidians.
• During late Feb-March, in even numbered years, the Adelaide Fringe Festival (second largest of its type in the world) and Festival of Arts bring the city alive with music, arts, dance and culture from all over the world. Both are large and very popular events visited by people from all over the world. WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance) is another hugely popular music festival now held every year in March. People come from all over Australia and overseas to be at this very special event. Adelaide at its very best.
• Lazy walks along white sandy beaches.
• Picturesque Victor Harbor and Granite Island, just an hour or so drive south of Adelaide. Granite Island is one of the few places you can see Fairy Penguins in their natural habitat.
• The stunning Flinders Ranges begin just one and a half hours north of Adelaide
• Whispering wall at the Barossa Reservoir.
• Conservation parks such as Cleland and Warrawong, cleveland is a good stop on the way down from Mt. Lofty the park offers gas BBQ facilities (Entry fees apply).

Museums and Galleries

Adelaide from the Torrens

• Art Gallery of South Australia is located on North Terrace, Adelaide (half way between Kintore Avenue and Frome Road in between the South Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide), 8 8207 7000, [2]. Open everyday 10am to 5pm, except Christmas Day.
• South Australian Museum is located on North Terrace, Adelaide (next to the Art Gallery of South Australia). [3] Open everyday 10am to 5pm, except Good Friday and Christmas Day.
• Port Adelaide Maritime Museum
• Port Adelaide Lighthouse
• Port Adelaide SA Train Museum
• Glenelg Museum & historic tram
• Gawler Museum, via Gawler train line

National parks

• Belair National Park is a national park of 835 ha, located 11KM south of Adelaide City. Due to it's history as a "Recreation Park" it has many good trails for bushwalking, as well as tennis courts and grassed areas available for hire, and a good adventure playground for children. Old Government House, the colony's first official Vice-regal summer residence, is located within the park. [4] A vehicle entry fee applies to cars entering the park, or else it's western parts can be accessed from the Belair line train, a 35 minute journey from Adelaide city. The park gates are open daily from 8am to sunset, everyday except Christmas Day.

Do

• Wineries, beaches, whale watching, fairy penguins and other attractions south of the city on the Fleurieu peninsula.
• The Skycity Adelaide Casino on North Terrace adjoining the Festival and Convention centres.
• The Adelaide Botanic Gardens are FREE to enter and are a worthwhile visit, the gardens are quiet and relaxing even though they're in the heart of the city. They contain many large grassed areas ideal for relaxing, just outside the gardens are the city parklands where ball games and picnics can be held. There is a cafe in the gardens and a conservatory. The bicentennial conservatory is not free, but it is worthwhile, is simulates a tropical rainforest with mist falling from the roof. Be warned, it is quite humid if you have difficulties breathing or can't tolerate warm temperatures you should not enter.
• West Beach is ideal for family walks and swimming - it is close to both Glenelg and Henley Beach. At Henley Beach there is Henley square which hosts some 15 restaurants - an excellent dining venue.)

Buy

• Rundle Mall, pedestrian-only shopping strip. Runs parallel to North Terrace. Over 200 shops. http://www.touradelaide.com/rundle_mall.html
• The Central Market, fresh produce and a range of goods, with cheap multi-storey parking. Closed Mondays and Wednesdays. Located between Grote St and Gouger St, west of Victoria Square. http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/CentralMarket/
• Chinatown, pedestrian-only area (Moonta St) adjacent to Central Market.
• The Tea Tree Plaza complex (TTP for short) is a medium-sized shopping centre with over 250 shops. The Tea Tree Plaza Interchange is the terminus of the Adelaide O'Bahn dedicated busway which begins in the city centre at Hackney Road. It is easy to get there from the city centre; most of the buses that stop on the Grenfell Street stops travel to the TTP interchange via the O'Bahn busway. It is easy to see from a distance as it has the large antenna and supporting pyramid type structure, well-known to the locals, on the roof of the Myer department store. Ample parking is available around, on top of, and underneath the complex. More information is at http://westfield.com/teatreeplaza/. The much smaller Tea Tree Plus shopping centre is right next to Tea Tree Plaza.
• Westfield Marion Shopping Centre is Adelaide's largest shopping centre with over 400 shops. There are buses direct from the city centre, timetables can be found at http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/routes/timetables/241-297_ttable.pdf. More information on Marion Shopping Centre as well as how to get there can be found at http://westfield.com/marion/.

Eat

Adelaide

• Gouger Street offers a wide range of tastes to suit many budgets in a variety of Asian, Italian and seafood restaurants as well as upmarket French, Argentinian and many other choices. From Friday to Sunday make sure to reserve a table to avoid disappointment. Gouger Street also incorporates Adelaide's "China Town Arch" which fronts a large number of budget eating options. As well as The Central Market, which on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings are buzzing with produce traders, sights and smells.
• Hutt Street offers a small variety of upmarket restaurants that please most tastes.
• Rundle Street large number of al fresco cafes and restaurants of varying budget and taste.

North Adelaide

• An eclectic mix of small restaurants and cafes make Melbourne Street an interesting place to eat.
• The variety of take-aways, pubs, cafes, bakeries and restaurants that line most of O'Connell Street means you wont be wanting.

Suburbs

• The Parade, Norwood boasts a long stretch of shopping and cosmopolitian dining. Buses from the CBD numbering 122-124 or a very short taxi ride.
• Jetty Road / Mosley Square, Glenelg has a variety of restaurants and pubs at the end of a 30 minute tram journey.

Drink

There's at least one pub on every block of Adelaide's CBD (usually more) as well as many suburban watering holes. Night clubs are situated on Rundle Street, Gouger Street, Hindley street and Light Square as well as in many other places. Some of the night clubs on Light Square and Hindley street are situated next to Strip Clubs so make sure you join the right queue.

For younger travellers, the following might the places to be. These locations are frequented by those straight out of high school (as well as some still in school) so it can be a bit much for some. Foreigners are particularly welcome.

• General Havelock Hotel, [5] 162 Hutt Street
• The Exchange [6] corner of East Terrace and Grenfell Street
• The Crown and Anchor 196 Grenfell Street, corner of Union and Grenfell

A popular night club for the GLBT crowd (heteros welcome!) is Mars on Gouger Street. There's also a few well known "gay friendly" pubs and clubs.

Adelaide at WikiPubs.org [7] The listing of pubs for Adelaide at the World Wide Pub Wiki, WikiPubs.org.

Sleep

Serviced Apartments

Serviced, short-term apartments are widely available throughout Adelaide and are available for stays as short as one night. Amenities typically include kitchen, washer and dryer, and separate bedrooms. A full range a quality properties exist from budget to 5 star.

• Southern Cross Apartment Rentals Offers a wide range of serviced apartments through out Adelaide.

Budget

• Adelaide Central YHA, 135 Waymouth Street, 08 8414 3010 (fax 08 8414 3015, email adlcentral@yhasa.org.au), [8]. $23 per bed per night in a dorm room, $60 for a private double room and $75 for double en suite. Non YHA members most pay an additional fee of $3.5 per night and person.
• My Place Adelaide, [9]257 Waymouth Street, 1800 221 529, very clean, good social vibe and free breakfast & free bus to Glenelg beach
• The Austral, 205 Rundle Street, 08 8223 4660, [10]. The Austral is a pub which provides accommodation upstairs from the bar area. Rooms are clean and fairly quiet despite the bar downstairs, although the mattresses aren't great quality. Bathrooms are shared. Close to Adelaide's centre. $35 per night single and $55 per night double.
• Plaza Hotel, 85 Hindley Street, 08 8231 6371 (fax 08 8231 2055, email plazahotel@bigpond.com) [11]. Single rooms $66 per night, double rooms $72 per night.
• Cannon Street Backpackers Across the Flinders Street Bus Terminal. Starting from $18 with in house bar. Lot's of Irish and English Backpacker that like to party hard, so place tends to be on a bit noisy.
• Shakesperes (central business district)
• Blue Galah (Rundle St. in the central business district)

Mid-range

• Adelaide City Park Motel, 471 Pulteney Street, 1800 231 444 (within Australia) or 08 8223 1444 (international) (fax 08 8223 1133, email citypark@chariot.net.au), [12]. Double rooms from $88 per night.
• Holiday Inn Adelaide, 65 Hindley Street, 08 8231 5552 (fax 08 8237 3800, email reservations@holidayinnonhindley.com.au), [13]. Double rooms $150 per night.
• Quest on King William, 82 King William Street, 08 8217 5000 (fax 08 8217 5050, email questkingwilliam@questapartments.com.au), [14]. These serviced apartments are available for short-term or long term rental. One bedroom apartments from $145 a night short-term or $135 per night for long-term rentals.
• Quest Mansions, 21 Pulteney Street, 08 8232 0033 (fax 08 8223 4559, email mansionsquestapartments@bigpond.com.au), [15]. These serviced apartments are available for short-term or long term rental. Studio apartments $138 a night short-term and $111 a night long-term. One bedroom apartments from $196 a night short-term or $158 per night for long-term rentals.
• Esplanade Apartments, Absolute Beachfront 80 Seaview Road West Beach, 08 83530443 (within Australia) or +61883530443 (international) (fax +61 88 3564478), email splanade@senet.com.au), [16]. Apartments one bedroom from $75 per night and two bedroom from $90 per night.
• Frogmore Apartments, Close to beach with excellent Mt Lofty Range Views 13 Military Road West Beach, 08 83533874 (within Australia) or +61883533874 (international) (fax +61 88 3564478), email splanade@senet.com.au), [17]. Apartments one bedroom from $75 per night and two bedroom from $90 per night, three bedrooms from$110 per night .
• Rydges South Park Adelaide, 1 South Terrace ph 1300 857 922 - The hotel is situated next to the southern parklands with views of the Adelaide Hills and features 97 well appointed bedrooms including 9 refurbished premier spa suites. Rydges Hotels and Resorts in an Austrailian owned and operated company.

Splurge

• Hyatt Regency Adelaide, North Terrace, 08 8231 1234 (fax 08 8231 1120, email adelaide@hyatt.com.au), [18]. Double rooms from $185 per night.
• Hilton Adelaide, 233 Victoria Square, 08 8217 2000 (fax 08 8217 2001), [19]. Double rooms from $250 per night.

Contact

There is extensive free Wi-Fi access in the CBD and the airport provided by Internode. View coverage here

Get Out

• Go to the wine regions of McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Clare Valley.
• Explore the natural environment of Kangaroo Island.
• Take 'The Ghan' (train) to Alice Springs (central Australia) or continue through to Darwin on the northern coast of Australia. The entire trip takes about 2 days if you do not stay in Alice Springs. It is a bit pricy, about $1800 per person if you want your own cabin with a bathroom. Much cheaper if you only want a seat with shared bathroom facilities at the end of the cabin.