The Beachhouse in Glenelg

Adelaide is one of Australia’s most family friendly tourist destinations. You’ll find a range of activities that will keep kids busy for your whole stay. At the same time, South Australia as a whole offers enough diversity to satisfy adults as well, with plenty of culture, nightlife, and fine dining. In short, that means that everyone in the family will enjoy their time here. Here are some activities that will satisfy your whole crew, from young to old.

One of your best bets for pleasing the crowd is the Adelaide Zoo. More than 300 species are spread over beautifully manicured lawns. Your kids will appreciate the magnificent animals, while you’ll enjoy seeing them learn in this stimulating environment. Younger kids will find the Children’s Zoo particularly exciting, with hands on opportunities to interact with cute, cozy creatures.

Adelaide is also home to an impressive number of playgrounds. This may not get the tourist hype of other attractions, but your kids will certainly appreciate the time spent hanging from the monkey bars. A couple of the most popular are Glover Playground in North Adelaide and the Bush Magic Playground, located on Jeffcot Street. Both are filled with features that you won’t find at the average playground.

After you’ve had a couple of days of learning at the zoo and the various museums throughout Adelaide, take the tram out to the suburb of Glenelg for a visit to the Beachhouse. This is the kind of amusement park that your kids always beg you to take them to, and this time, why not? After all, you are on vacation! The Beachhouse features waterslides, arcade games, and a five-story playcastle that will keep the younger kids busy for hours. There’s a café on site as well, so bring a good book and set the kids free to enjoy themselves.

Up in Port Adelaide, there are plenty of activities for the whole family to explore once you’ve seen the sites down in Adelaide proper. Everyone is sure to enjoy the National Railway Museum, filled with exhibits that delve into the important history of Australia’s railroads. The Museum also operates a coastal steam train that departs at 11am each day during school holidays. For a more relaxing method of transportation, hop on one of Port Adelaide’s bicycles, available for free in two-hour stretches. All you need is a valid ID, and you’ll be pedaling away in no time.

Adelaide is a great place to bring your family for a wholesome vacation. Your kids will love the exciting activities during the day, and by nightfall they’re sure to be ready for an early bedtime. That way, maybe you can head out for an hour or two to enjoy all that Adelaide has to offer for older folks.

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Adelaide at Night

As a city, Adelaide offers exceptional opportunities for nightlife. The combination of great restaurants, lively pubs, and booming nightclubs is guaranteed to make for an exciting night no matter where you end up. Here’s the info you need to get started on your way towards a great time in this South Australian gem.

Once dinnertime rolls around, your best bet is to head down to Gouger Street, widely regarded as the center of Adelaide’s dining scene. The street runs through the Adelaide Central Market, home to a hodgepodge of international options including Thai, Vietnamese, French, and Italian restaurants. This area is sure to provide an option to satisfy any palate. If you’re looking for something a bit simpler and more casual, check out Rundle Street in the East End. This is a great area to enjoy a meal outside, with many small cafes offering patio service.

After you’ve had a chance to digest, it’s high time to get your party on. If you dined on Rundle Street, you don’t have very far to go; some of the hottest nightlife in all of Adelaide runs along this thoroughfare. Rundle is particularly well known for its jumping live music scene, with some of the best talent in Adelaide performing throughout the week. Some of the most popular of these venues include the Crown and Scepter, Grace Emily, and the Governor Hindmarsh hotel. Adelaide also gets its fair share of international acts, who usually perform at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. In the past, world famous bands like Pearl Jam and Coldplay have graced the stage.

If you’re looking for thumping beats and dancing bodies, some of the most popular nightclubs are Savy, Apothecary, and Kings Head. If that’s not quite your scene, don’t fret: quieter bars and pubs are interspersed throughout, along with chic lounges where you can find stunning singles sipping martinis.

For a truly unique Adelaide experience, Skycity Adelaide combines dining, entertainment and nightlife to provide a great time in one central location. Skycity is situated in the restored Adelaide Railway Station, so you’ll enjoy all of this fun in a culturally and historically significant place. Skycity is also a casino, so if you’re feeling lucky, hit the tables for a night of gambling.

You’re sure to enjoy your night in stunning Adelaide. With its perfect mix of laid back dining and drinking to the glitz and glamour of hopping nightclubs, the city is the center of South Australian nightlife.

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Wombat at the Adelaide Zoo

Adelaide is the perfect place to spend some quality time with nature’s finest creatures. With almost 10 zoos and wildlife sanctuaries within an hour’s drive of the city center, you’ll be sure to see a broader range of animals than you could have believed possible. Here’s a guide to help you make the most out each of these exciting opportunities.

The centerpiece of Adelaide’s wildlife is the Adelaide Zoo. Over 3,400 animals roam the grounds of an 8 hectare landscaped paradise. The zoo centers its efforts on the super continent of Gondwana. If you haven’t heard of it, there’s no need to feel embarrassed: it hasn’t existed for millions of years! In those days, South America, India, Africa, and Australia were all joined together. Concurrently, the different geographical regions vary greatly in location, but are incredibly similar in terms of diversity.

For an experience that is uniquely Australian, the Parndana Wildlife Park is dedicated to animals native to the Continent. You’re sure to find the ubiquitous kangaroo (and feeding is encouraged), but the fun doesn’t stop there. There’s lots of different species on exhibit, including wallabies, wombats, emus, and koalas. All in all, an afternoon spent wandering through Parndana is a relaxing way to get back to nature.

About 20 minutes outside of Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills, Cleland Wildlife Park is another great wildlife destination. The Park is set up as an open range animal sanctuary, so you never know what kind of creature is going to pop its head around the next turn! One of the best ways to enjoy this park is through a nocturnal tour, led by knowledgeable scientists and researchers. This is a great chance to see the animals of Australia in a manner unlike any you’ve imagined before. Make sure to book in advance, as this popular tour fills up early.

Up north in Port Adelaide, you’ll find the Seahorse Farm, devoted to the study of (you guessed it!) the seahorse. These fascinating creatures have enjoyed endangered species status in Australia since 1998, and their stocks are still diminishing in the wild. That’s why the research and breeding work going on at the Seahorse Farm is particularly important.

One final option is probably too far out of the way for most visitors, but still deserves a mention just in case you find yourself with an extra few days on your vacation. Almost 800 kilometres northwest of Adelaide, the Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience offers a unique chance to interact with marine animals. You’ll be able to swim freely in the ocean with a pack of dolphins. Though its quite a distance from Adelaide, this can be one of those life changing experiences that you’ll never forget, so if you have the opportunity, go for it.

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Adelaide City, South Australia

Perhaps a bit overlooked in the shadow of Melbourne and Sydney, Adelaide is a wonderful smaller city that definitely deserves attention in any tour of Australia. At 1.1 million people, Adelaide is the largest city in South Australia, and a great place to spend a week on vacation. Between culture, sport, and outdoor activities, you’ll have a busy stay regardless of where your interests lie. So where should you start your Adelaide vacation? You’ll be rearing to go after checking into your accommodation, so here are some ideas for creating a unique Adelaide stay that you won’t soon forget.

One of Adelaide’s most appealing features is its compact nature. Virtually everything you want to see in the city is within walking distance; if not, it’s probably just a short bus ride away. All of this makes Adelaide eminently strollable, a great quality for any tourist destination. Indeed, there are attractions right in the heart of the city that you would never expect to find! A perfect example is the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Spread over 30 hectares, the Botanic Garden presents a number of unique plants in a gorgeous rainforest environment. The extra greenery cools down the entire space, making this a great place to spend a hot Adelaide afternoon. There is also an impressive display of Aboriginal artifacts, with helpful and interesting information provided as well.

The Garden probably isn’t the best option for a rainy day, so if the weather heads south, amble on over to the South Australian Museum. Over 3000 items are displayed on six floors, which translates to a full afternoon of fun and learning. A sampling of the permanent exhibitions include Adelaide astronaut Andy Thomas’ space suit, pieces from ancient Egypt, and an impressive collection of prehistoric fossils. Best of all, admission to the museum is free, so you won’t feel guilty spending as much (or as little) time as you want wandering through the halls.

The best time to visit the city is during one of the many festivals that occur throughout the year. The most famous example is the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Though it is only put on once every two years, it’s still regarded as one of the pre-eminent art festivals in all of Australia. It’s usually held in late February or early March, and is well worth the wait if you’re a serious art fan.

While Adelaide proper certainly has its fair share of attractions, many visitors head outside of the city to check out the natural beauty of the surrounding area. Just outside of the city, the Murray River offers any number of activities, from a gentle day of fishing to an exhilarating ride in a bouncing jetboat.

Adelaide (and the rest of South Australia!) makes for a great vacation spot for the whole family. A little quieter and without all the tourists of larger cities like Melbourne and Sydney, Adelaide offers a bit of a slower pace- perfect for spending quality time with those you care about the most in some fantastic Adelaide accommodation.