South Australia with Kids: A handy holiday guide
South Australia
Explore South Australia with your family
South Australia is a natural playground. At Kangaroo Island, penguins, sea lions and spectacular scenery will have the family enthralled. Cruise down the Murray River on a houseboat or stay on a farm in the Clare or the Barossa Valley, where parents can also indulge in a little wine tasting.Â
Once you’ve seen Adelaide and sampled the best Adelaide Hills produce, head for the Flinders Ranges with the spectacular Wilpena Pound or head up the Birdsville or Oodnadatta Tracks for a desert awakening.Â
All South Australia Stories
Adelaide family travel guide
Your South Australia family holiday guide
Kangaroo IslandÂ
Australia’s third largest island, a 45-minute ferry ride from the mainland, offers pristine beaches and wonderful wildlife experiences. Visiting Kangaroo Island is like being on an Australian safari, with the chance to spot kangaroos, koalas and echidnas on a daily basis, as well as sea lions at Seal Bay. You can even hand feed kangaroos and wallabies and interact with koalas, penguins and wombats up-close during talks at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park. Make time to visit Remarkable Rocks, explore Flinders Chase National Park and go sand boarding down the dunes at Little Sahara.
Adelaide
For a fabulous family holiday in Adelaide check out the activities around Adelaide Showground, Adelaide Museum, Migration Museum, and Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens. For great animal experiences try Cleland Wildlife Park, Granite Island Park or even a dolphin-watching tour just off Glenelg Beach.
South Australian wine regionsÂ
From playgrounds to kids’ cheese and cordial, wildlife parks and outdoor games, there are plenty of family-friendly wineries to visit in South Australia, giving parents the chance to enjoy a guilt-free glass. They include Kimbolton Wines and Woodstock Wines on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Z Wines and Jacob’s Creek Wines in the Barossa Valley and False Cape Wines on Kangaroo Island.
Discover more:
- Adelaide Hills
- McLaren Vale
- The Barossa ValleyÂ
Murray RiverÂ
Imagine a relaxing holiday spent floating along the Murray River, with kids swinging on rope swings, jumping off jetties and swimming in the famous waterway. A houseboat holiday is a fantastic way to escape a group of friends or extended family, with a range of sizes and styles to choose from to suit any group or budget. Â
Coober PedyÂ
Stay in an underground motel and explore underground homes, churches and art galleries in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy, which lies around 800km from Adelaide along the Stuart Highway. The Old Timers Mine, which was dug by hand in 1916, features a self-guided tour through display galleries, two underground houses and precious seams of opal, while the Umoona Mine & Museum has an underground house, Aboriginal interpretive centre, panoramic theatre, historic displays, opal shop and Aboriginal arts and crafts. Ask at the visitor centre how to ‘noodle’ through permitted mine areas to search for your own gemstones.
Flinders RangesÂ
Drive along dusty red roads and walk amongst towering ancient cliffs and craters in the Flinders Ranges, around five hours’ drive north of Adelaide. You can also visit Aboriginal rock art sites and weave your way through settlers’ ruins. Wilpena Pound — a large amphitheatre created through erosion over millions of years — is a must visit, as is William Creek Hotel, located in a small town that is surrounded by the world’s largest cattle station.
Eyre Peninsula
Swim with sea lions and dolphins in their natural habitat at Baird Bay, 700km west of Adelaide on the Eyre Peninsula. Nicknamed ‘the puppies of the sea’, sea lions are particularly playful to watch. Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience takes you on a small boat out to Jones Island, where you can swim in natural rock pools surrounding their island home.
Table of Contents
Opening image: A family on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. © Tourism Australia