A 7 Day Road Trip Itinerary Through South Australia

What’s better than a road trip that crisscrosses beautiful wineries, incredible eateries and stunning scenery? Well, one that does as much good for your soul as it does the communities you traverse.

Plan a road trip through South Australia, taking in Adelaide, some incredible wine regions, and an island escape, and leaving behind a boost to local economies by throwing a case of your favourite vintage in the boot and grabbing supplies from local businesses on the road.

Day one: Arrive in Adelaide

Adelaide is nourished by the ample food bowls all set within a stone’s throw of the city limits. Naturally, this makes her a food-lovers paradise. From the amazing Adelaide Central Market to the internationally lauded restaurants, it’s tough to find a terrible meal in Adelaide. You’re here to pick up your rental car, assuming you’ve flown in from elsewhere, but you really ought to spend some quality (meal)time before you head for the highway.

Adelaidecentralmarket — Adelaide Central Market has everything from karkalla kimchi to espresso-rubbed Italian cheese.

Hot tip: While excellent eateries are prolific in the city, when you’re short on time, direct your Uber to Peel and Leigh streets, where you’ll find lively pubs, bars and cafes brimming with brio any day of the week.

Stay: There is a great accommodation in Adelaide to suit every budget. Our tip? Stay close to the action at The Mayfair.

Day two: Adelaide to the Adelaide Hills (45 minutes)

Set off early to make the most of your time in the Hills. The drive is short enough to grab your first coffee on the go and arrive ready for your second at FRED Eatery in Aldgate. Fortified, it’s time to designate a driver and set course for some cellar doors. Propagate your list of wineries as you see fit, but some worthy inclusions are always Unico Zelo , Shaw + Smith , and Pike & Joyce .

Add Pike & Joyce to your list of wineries

Hot tip: For a taste of the Bavarian, roll onto Hahndorf in time for lunch and roam the Lutheran-founded town where you can find delightfully kitsch German-ness and, if you’re organised enough, an incredible lunch at The Bridgewater Mill .

Stay: If you’re hankering for a luxe escape, book Sequoia at Mount Lofty House. For more humble digs, try a tiny house experience with Cabn .

Hahndorf is Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement

Day three: Adelaide Hills to Barossa Valley (50 minutes)

This world-renowned wine region is flush with 80 cellar doors from the big hitters such as Wolf Blass, Henschke Cellars and Jacob’s Creek to smaller producers where treasures await the curious. Naturally, with such fine vines, good food is inevitable, so you’ll find some exceptional dining here, too.

Hot tip: Before you set off tomorrow, you have time for one last Barossa highlight – if you’re open to a pre-dawn start to the day, that is. Barossa Valley Ballooning ascends into the sky above the valley for an exquisite perspective of this stunning region.

Stay: A good option for families and groups, or if you decide to stay on for an extra day, is the contemporary but affordable Barossa Valley Apartments . For loftier lodgings, The Louise offers impeccable luxury.

Day four: Barossa to McLaren Vale (1 hour and 40 minutes)

Today you make the crossing to the southern side of Adelaide as you begin your journey toward Kangaroo Island. But it wouldn’t be sensible to bypass the pristine beaches and undulating vine-woven hills of McLaren Vale. Here wine and food go hand-in-hand with coastal pursuits of the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Hot tip: If you’re here for a good time, not a long time, condense a few experiences into one at the Chalk Hill Collective. The ideal spot to take in a couple of tastings and grab a bite, this is a clever collaboration between Never Never Distilling Co ., Chalk Hill Wines and Vera Pizza Oztalia. And… those views!

Condense a few experiences at Chalk Hill Collective.

Stay: It may be small, but this ‘Escapod’ is ultra-sleek. The Cadole Avalon at The Vineyard Retreat is a beauty from every angle.

Day five: McLaren Vale to Cape Jervis (1 hour) to Kangaroo Island (45 minutes)

If you happen to be departing the ’Vale on a Saturday, before you go, swing by the Willunga Farmers Market to stockpile some supplies for the crossing to Kangaroo Island.

It all happens at Willunga Farmers Market.

Hot Tip: SeaLink offers daily ferry services from Cape Jervis to Kangaroo Island. It’s best to check their website for prices and special offers, as they occasionally discount fares. As a rough guide, expect to pay around $98 for a vehicle and $74 per person, and be sure to book in advance.

Stay: From camping grounds to holiday rentals and luxury lodges, there’s accommodation to suit every traveller on the island.

Sealink takes you comfortably to Kangaroo Island.

Day six: Kangaroo Island

Awaken to beauty so absorbing you’ll make an impassioned pact with your travelling companion to return. The rugged beauty, crystalline waters and serene beauty of the island will keep you gushing.

Penneshaw Kangaroo Island — Drive the coast of the beautiful Kangaroo Island. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Hot tip: There’s so much to do on Kangaroo Island, it’s lucky you’ve pledged to return, as you won’t get to it all in just two days. Make sure, though, to visit Vivonne Bay with its dreamscape white-sand beach and enticing waters. Keeping to nature, a stroll around the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch is imperative.

Vivionne Bay, Kangaroo Island. — Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

But you have permission to temper all that fresh, coastal air with a trip to Kangaroo Island Spirits and some of the small island wineries. After all, it’s best to stay on theme.

Kangaroo Island Spirits, Kangaroo Island, South Australia — Book a table in the Gin Garden to enjoy the Wild Gin. (Image: South Australian Tourism Commission)

Stay: If your South Australian road trip calls for a grand finale, book this evening’s accommodation at Oceanview Eco Villas . These two elegantly appointed villas offer up restorative island outpost vibes with their clifftop locale.

Day seven: Kangaroo Island to Adelaide (4 hours)

As you make the return crossing from Penneshaw to Cape Jervis, reflect on the diverse beauty, inspiring locals and enduring spirit of South Australia. This itinerary is a welcome reminder, that while we’re often quick to book an overseas flight, some of the world’s most astonishing landscapes and attractions are just a road trip away.

Eternal optimist and dad Quentin Long takes on the ultimate parenting challenge: a holiday his teenagers might like, at South Australia’s newest wildlife experience.

Teenagers. I can’t wait to take them on a holiday. Said no one ever. Caught between the twin evils of missing out on hanging with their mates and enduring the embarrassment of their parents, a holiday with the family for a teenager is tantamount to an act of torture.

And, for parents, forcing a teenager away from their dens and enduring the sullen moping that can escalate to outright verbal attacks is a battle for which most of us don’t have the strength. But it is the sense of responsibility to create moments of connection that keeps us signing up for more. It really is the hope that kills us.

And with that sense of hope, I rope the kids and wife into a trip to the recently opened Monarto Safari Resort. Located next to Monarto Safari Park, an hour’s drive from Adelaide, this new accommodation is set within the Wild Africa precinct, a 550-hectare conservation area that replicates the wild African savannah.

Arriving at Australia’s only safari resort

sunset over Monarto Wild Africa precinct — Monarto Safari Resort gives visitors the experience of an African safari in our own backyard. (Image: Oliver Long)

“Zebras!” the youngest exclaims after he barges through the doors of our interconnecting rooms, clattering bags against his brother and the skirting board to ensure he is first through. After all, every moment is a potential competition to be won.

“I think they are giraffes,” the eldest states as he stands on our balcony and points to a far stand of trees. I squint into the distance and murmur that my 50-plus-year-old eyesight seems to agree. “Look, an ostrich,” my wife says. “And an emu.”

a zebra in Monarto Safari Park — Zebras roam the vast conservation area that replicates their African habitat. (Image: Quentin Long)

The intertwining of Australian and African fauna in the wide, open spaces of the Wild Africa precinct is surprisingly not jarring. Rather, the cognitive dissonance of kangaroos and emus strolling past zebras and giraffes adds to the enjoyment.

Experiencing Africa in South Australia

a safari truck at Monarto Safari Resort — Accessible safari trucks are equipped to explore the Wild Africa precinct. (Image: Frankie The Creative)

Winding through the expansive open fields (they are enclosures of enormous proportions), the line between South Australian wheatfield and African savannah is easily blurred.

In the morning, we watch the steamy breath of hippos plume above the water. In the evening, they waddle from the dam to more comfortable sleeping quarters. Their enormous rhythmically swinging buttocks suggest that life doesn’t get much better for a hippo. We spy barbary sheep and their ostentatious beards. Three black rhinos feeding in the golden sunset. And two blackbucks relentlessly charging and clashing horns, trying to best each other. It mirrors what happens at home.

cheetahs in Monarto Safari Park — There’s a chance to see cheetahs on a game drive. (Image: Oliver Long)

I had never seen a cheetah do anything other than meander, but here we watch two break effortlessly and silently from a slow walk into a canter, displaying their terrifyingly lethal hunting ability.

Pleasingly – relieving, to be honest – the boys are enthralled with all the wildlife. They share turns capturing the animals, in surroundings as close to natural as possible, on my old DSLR camera. Reviewing their great and not-so-great photos creates a conversation and moments of connection that any parent of teenagers craves. Perhaps even better, the drives give them an opportunity to be wowed by nature again. They take on some of the commentary from the remarkably well-qualified guides.

Parents are treated as well as teens

the Marula Soak House, Monarto Safari Park — The day spa also comprises the Marula Soak House.

You can only push teenagers so far before you need to let them return to their natural slovenly state. After the morning drive and an enormous breakfast, we literally leave them to their own devices and head for some parental pampering at the Marula Day Spa. An hour-long massage is not enough, but we steal some extra time in the recovery room, sipping the aromatic and soothing Serengé-T, a bespoke combination of vanilla, licorice, lavender and lemongrass. From here, we watch the zebras buck and bite each other, secretly hoping our kids are not doing the same.

the Marula Day Spa lounge, Monarto Safari Resort — Relax post-treatment in the Marula Day Spa lounge.

Turns out, the boys did not hate the experience or me for putting them through it. In fact, they enjoyed, maybe even loved, the majority of our two-night getaway. We got a safari experience without having to take out our passports or a second mortgage. It gave some respite to my wife, connected us with the kids and expanded their horizons. That is no mean feat. But I won’t break my arm patting myself on the back; the kids will bring me back down to Earth.

zebras in Monarto Safari Park — Zebras can sometimes be seen from the resort. (Image: Isaac Long)

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

Monarto Safari Resort is an hour’s drive south-east of Adelaide/Tarntanya.

Staying there

the Savannah King room at Monarto Safari Resort — A plush Savannah King room.

Monarto Safari Resort accommodation includes twin, king and interconnecting rooms to one- and two-bedroom suites sleeping up to four guests. Waterhole rooms and suites have views of the waterhole, Wild Africa precinct and animals, whereas Savannah rooms and suites face the front of the hotel and surrounding plains.

Breakfast can be included in your booking and is served at Kutjera Restaurant & Bar, which is also open for lunch and dinner. Rates start at $285 per night for a Savannah Twin Room.

the signature sun-kissedmango dome dessert, Monarto Safari Resort — The menu features contemporary Australian cuisine such as the signature sun-kissed mango dome dessert.

Playing there

Monarto Safari Resort in the Wild Africa precinct — The resort is located within the Wild Africa precinct. (Image: Oliver Long)

The dawn and dusk game drives are inclusive and exclusive to Monarto Safari Resort guests and the only way to access the Wild Africa precinct. Guests receive exclusive discounts for park entry to Monarto Safari Park, the largest safari experience outside of Africa. The park is home to more than 50 species of exotic and native animals. A portion of every booking at the resort is donated to the Zoos SA Conservation Fund.

A feel-good road trip itinerary for South Australia