Adelaide

Understand

The South Australia time zone is 30 minutes behind Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) used in Victoria, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. It's also an hour and a half ahead of Australian Western Standard Time (AWST), used in Western Australia and 45 minutes ahead of Eucla which uses Central Western Standard Time (CWST). Border Village in South Australia is the exception, which also uses CWST. South Australia observes Daylight Savings Time, similar to other southern/southeastern states but unlike Western Australia, Queensland, or the Northern Territory. The NSW cities/towns of Broken Hill and Silverton also follow the same time as South Australia.

Climate

Adelaide is Australia's driest capital city, with summers that are hot and dry, and with winters that are slightly more wet and cool. In summer, the average daytime maximum is 27 °C (81 °F) and the average nighttime minimum is 18 °C (64 °F), but there is considerable variation; Adelaide can usually expect several heat waves a year when the daytime temperatures soar above 40 °C (104 °F), with overnight lows not going below 25 °C (77 °F) at night. Rainfall is light and infrequent throughout summer. The average in January and February is around 20 millimetres (0.8 inches) but completely rainless months are by no means uncommon. Given the regular hot weather, virtually every public building, indoor tourist destination and most public transport is fully air-conditioned. The sun is up from 6AM to 8:30PM. In winter from June to August, the average maximum is 15–16°C (59–61°F) and the minimum is usually around 8°C (46°F). Winter sees regular rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80mm. Frosts are common in the valleys of the Adelaide Hills, but rare elsewhere. Adelaide experiences no snowfall in the city centre itself, although on very rare occasions a small sprinkling can be observed on higher ground at the top of Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills. Sunrise and sunsets occur around 7:15AM and 5:15PM in the winter. Autumn and spring are slow, gradual changes between the extremes of summer and winter. From mid-February to late March, Adelaide goes into its mad March festival season of arts, music and sport festivals to take advantage of the moderate weather. Spring also makes a good time to visit Adelaide, as flowers are usually in bloom following the rains of winter.

History

Aboriginal history The first people to live on the Adelaide plains were the Kaurna people, whose territory extended from what is now Port Broughton to Adelaide's

Getting there

By plane 1 Adelaide Airport (ADL IATA) (around 7 km (4.3 mi) to the west of the city centre and is close to popular tourist beaches at Glenelg and Henley Beach). Adelaide Airport is well-connected to other major cities in Australia, and has daily international flights to hubs in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and New Zealand which allow for one-stop connections around the globe. More frequent flights connecting via Sydney, Melbourne or Perth may be cheaper. Travellers from East and Southeast Asia can catch direct flights from Singapore (on Singapore Airlines), Kuala Lumpur (on Malaysia Airlines) and Denpasar (on Jetstar Airways). Travellers from the Middle East or northern Africa can catch a daily flight on Emirates from Dubai or Qatar Airways from Doha. Travellers from Europe can take a one-stop journey to Adelaide on any of these carriers. Travellers from New Zealand can catch a direct flight flying daily from Auckland on Air New Zealand. Travellers from North America or South America can travel one-stop on Air New Zealand via Auckland or can transit to a frequent domestic flight after first landing in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Domestic services within Australia include frequent services to every mainland capital city on full-service carriers Qantas and Virgin Australia. Jetstar is a budget carrier that operates less frequent, heavily discounted services mainly to Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast. There are also flights to Alice Springs and Cairns. Regional services and operations are provided by Regional Express Airlines (Rex), Alliance Airlines, Cobham Airlines and Qantaslink flights operated by both Cobham Airlines and by Alliance Airlines. These services operate mainly to South Australia's regional cities and towns including Mt Gambier, Kingscote (Kangaroo Island), Port Lincoln and Whyalla, but also serve Mildura in Victoria and Broken Hill in New South Wales. There is only a single terminal for international and domestic departures; accordingly, transfers are relatively seamless. The airport has ATMs and currency change. Food and shopping is available both landside and airside. Lockers are available in the car rental area in the carpark, including some larger lockers that would fit bike boxes. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the terminal.

General aviation Adelaide Airport has a separate terminal for general aviation, but most private planes use 2 Parafield Airport. 18km north of the City.

Between the airport and the city Adelaide Metro's airport buses J1/J2/J7/J8 connect the airport with the City, Glenelg and some major sho

Getting around

By public transport Train, tram and bus services are operated under the Adelaide Metro brand and use a unified ticketing system. The website and app can be used to plan a journey, including full navigation and real time updates. Apple Maps and Google Maps provide a similar experience.

Fares There are three ways to pay for your journey:

Tap and Pay. Contactless credit or debit cards by Visa or Mastercard are accepted, including those in a digital wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay. Ensure you tap on before each journey, there is no need to tap off like other cities in Australia. MetroCARD. A rechargeable plastic card that costs $10 (including $5 initial travel credit). The card can be purchased at major train stations (Adelaide, Elizabeth, Gawler, Noarlunga Centre, Oaklands, Mawson Lakes and Salisbury) as well as most newsagents and corner stores. The card can be recharged wherever they are sold as well as on trains and trams. Ensure you tap on before each journey, there is no need to tap off like other cities in Australia. Buy and Go. An app allowing you to purchase QR code tickets on your smartphone. Ensure you scan your QR code ticket before each journey. The peak fare is $4.55 whilst the off-peak fare is $2.60 (June 2025). Off-peak fares are applicable between 9AM and 3PM on weekdays as well as all weekend. Each fare allows a travel period of two hours for any distance travelled. There are free trams and buses in the City centre (see below for details).

Trains

Adelaide has four main lines and three branch lines, all radiating from 6 Adelaide Railway Station on the northern edge of the City. Despite its name, it is not a Metro system in the usual sense of the word, but a suburban rail system. Travelling north:

The Outer Harbor Line extends to Le Fevre Peninsula in the north-west of the city, via Port Adelaide and Glanville. The line provides access to the Semaphore tourist precinct, the historic maritime district in Port Adelaide and the Queen Street cafe strip in Croydon. The Grange line branches off the Outer Harbor line at Woodville. The Port Dock line branches off the Outer Harbor line at Alberton. The Gawler Line extends to Gawler Central in the north of the city, via Ovingham, Mawson Lakes, Salisbury and Elizabeth. Travelling south:

The Seaford Line extends to Seaford in the south of the city, via the beachside suburbs of Brighton and Noarlunga Centre. The line provides access to beaches at Brighton and Hallett Cove and the Westfield Marion at Oaklands. The Flinders Line branches off the Seaford line at Woodlands Park and terminates

See

Adelaide's main important attractions are mostly centred in the City and North Adelaide. Unlike Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth, Adelaide isn't a place you would want to go to specifically for city life and it's a lot less bustling than the other big cities. Instead, Adelaide is a place where you can enjoy a more laid back pace of life as if you were in the countryside, but with easy access to the usual big city amenities. Adelaide is known for its churches, and a trip to Adelaide is never complete without visiting one of its churches, not because of any historical or religious significance, but rather for their architecture. If you can only afford time to see one, St. Peter's Cathedral in North Adelaide is one of the most iconic churches in Australia. Adelaide does not have a pass covering all the attractions.

Parks and gardens Most of Adelaide's parks and gardens surround the city, forming a nice boundary distinguishing it from the rest of Adelaide instead of them being completely in the outskirts. There is also another boundary around North Adelaide as well, bordering the River Torrens making most of Adelaide's parks and gardens concentrated in that small but yet diverse green patch of land in the city. Most of the other parks and gardens are otherwise found in the outer suburbs, particularly in the southeastern areas of Adelaide, often spacious and have a vast recreational space. The parks in the city and North Adelaide are an obvious sign that you're in a city, while some like Morialta Conservation Park give a feel that you're out and about in the bush while some like Belair National Park have the perfect smooth transition between urban and rural.

There are three national parks in the Adelaide area:

The first national park of South Australia; Belair National Park is home to numerous significant buildings including an old government house. The park has many walking trails as well as some waterfalls The second national park of Adelaide is somewhat on the border of Adelaide, and is very much a bird sanctuary, the coastal national park of Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara (if that name is hard to pronounce or is too long, Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary or Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park will do), is home to several white beaches and is a particularly good place if you want to see dolphins The third and newest national park is Glenthorne National Park—Ityamaiitpinna Yarta (if that's too long, Glenthorne National Park will do) was created in November 2020, which is fairly new

Do

Beaches

Adelaide's beaches are mostly in West Adelaide, given the fact that it's the only large district to have a coastline. While Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara also has a long coastline, it's protected and not really a beach for swimming. If there's anything that's a must at any Adelaide beach, it's surfing at one of the many surf beaches (Glenelg and West Beaches), an Australian classic. Some beaches have surf schools and places where you can rent surfboards, but to a much lesser extent than Sydney. However, there are some beaches in particular, that get more visitors and are more popular beaches than others:

Glenelg Beach – The historic beachside suburb of Glenelg has a jetty, the Grand hotel and many restaurants and cafés. Very popular with young and old, lots of volleyball competitions. West Beach – Ideal for family walks and swimming. It is reasonably close to both Glenelg and Henley Beach. At Henley Beach there is Henley square which hosts some 15 restaurants - an excellent dining venue. All the beaches along Adelaide's coastline are excellent white sand beaches, some with public toilets and cold water showers. If you want to 'wet a line' there are jetties at (suburban beaches, from north to south) Grange, Semaphore, Henley Beach, Glenelg, Brighton and Port Noarlunga.

Sport As every city does, Adelaide also is known for its sport. As with most other Australian cities, Australian rules football (AFL) is the most popular sport, with cricket not far behind. Unlike Queensland or most of New South Wales, rugby league is not popular in Adelaide.

Cricket – During the summer months get down to the Adelaide Oval for a cricket match. Australia plays host to a couple of touring nations like England for the Ashes, India and South Africa and each summer and they will play a few matches at this beautiful ground which is just between the city and North Adelaide, in that small space of greenery. This is also the home ground for Adedlaide Strikers in the Big Bash League. Tickets for internationals tend to be snapped up quickly, but domestic matches like Sheffield Shield and One Day Cup are frequent and equally exciting. AFL, the peak league for professional Australian Rules Football. Home games for the local teams the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power are played at Adelaide Oval in North Adelaide in the winter months. Tickets are generally reasonably priced, and getting tickets shouldn't be a problem —- check out the AFL website for more details. SANFL, the state Aussie Rules league, has 5 games per week

Buy

Unlike the "big four" Australian cities, top-end luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada do not have a presence in Adelaide. The Victorian Adelaide Arcade that runs south from Rundle Mall has a fine collection of boutiques and specialist shopping such as numismatics, antiques and chocolatiers. Another good place to look for semi-luxury items would be Burnside Village in the eastern suburbs.

Malls and shopping precincts Although Adelaide has many malls and shopping precincts, there are some that are of particular interest to travellers:

Rundle Mall in Adelaide City – a pedestrian-only shopping strip, with many arcades and side streets coming off it. Runs parallel to North Terrace. Over 800 shops. Tea Tree Plaza (TTP for short) in Tea Tree Gully – a medium-sized shopping centre with over 250 shops. Tea Tree Plaza is the terminus of the Adelaide O'Bahn dedicated busway which begins in the city centre at Hackney Rd. It is easy to get there from the city centre; most of the buses that stop on the Grenfell St stops travel to the TTP interchange via the O'Bahn busway. It's 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. The much smaller Tea Tree Plus shopping centre is right next to Tea Tree Plaza. Westfield Marion Shopping Centre in West Adelaide – Adelaide's largest shopping mall with over 400 shops. There are direct buses from the city centre to this Westfield. Harbour Town also in West Adelaide just next to the airport – it's a mid-sized mall undergoing an expansion, featuring outlet shopping, situated up against the western edge of the Adelaide Airport. Only a short bus ride from the Airport, and 30 minutes from the city and North Adelaide. Also, no, this is not a spelling mistake.

Food Shopping When it comes to food markets, Adelaide is never short of them. Some in particular include:

The Central Market between Grote and Gouger St, west of Victoria Square in Adelaide/City and North Adelaide – which has all your fresh fruit and veggies under one Victorian roof. It's not just vegetarians that will salivate here since foods and non-foods of every variety compete for the best displays. For those looking to buy food to take back home, Central Market is probably what you'd be looking for Chinatown While it may come as a surprise to many, Adelaide also has a Chinatown, which is a pedestrian-only area (Moonta St) adjacent to Central Market. City East IGA – thi

Eat

Local dishes Adelaide's local cuisine generally does not differ much from standard Australian fare, but there are a handful of dishes unique to Adelaide that are worth trying while you're here. The pie floater is an Australian meat (usually beef) pie in thick pea soup, often garnished with ketchup. This is sold at numerous pubs and cafes throughout Adelaide, but the place locals will point you to if you want to get the most classic version is Cafe de Vili's in Mile End South. The AB is Adelaide's answer to the halal snack packs of the East Coast, consisting of yiros meat on top of a bed of hot chips, and topped off with tomato sauce, chilli sauce, garlic sauce and barbecue sauce, though it is not halal. Two shops, namely the North Adelaide Burger Bar (also known as the Red & White) and the Blue & White, both in North Adelaide, claim to have invented the dish.

The BYO culture While fairly unusual in the rest of the world, it's common for restaurants in Australia and New Zealand to allow patrons to bring bottled wine to dinner. This practice is called 'BYO', short for "bring your own". BYO arose from a loophole in liquor licensing laws, but is now a great opportunity to enjoy some of the wine that you have bought in a wine region, or to visit a local 'bottle shop' and enjoy a wider selection at lower prices. Nowhere in Australia is BYO more common than in Adelaide. Most restaurants in Adelaide which serve alcohol will also allow BYO, though it's a good idea to call ahead to make sure. It's common for a charge called 'corkage' to be applied to the bill, regardless of whether the bottle is sealed with a screw cap or a cork. Corkage will typically be around $10–15 per bottle, though higher charges are not unheard of.

City

The City caters to virtually every different taste and price range. Adelaide has one of the largest number of restaurants and cafes per person in Australia and most of the best are in the City.

Gouger Street, Chinatown and the Central Market precinct is a multicultural food and wine paradise. Best known in Adelaide for good quality Asian food at a reasonable price, Gouger Street attracts a wide range of clientele from lawyers and public servants from the adjacent courts and State government precinct to new migrants. Chinatown and Gouger St is the hub of Chinese cuisine and culture in Adelaide and there are a wide range of Chinese restaurants along the strip. Other Asian cuisines are also featured including Thai, Vietnamese and Indian. On the northern side of Gouger St, the Adelaide Central Market has a great range of hawker style

Drink & nightlife

There are pubs and bars (also known as "hotels" in Australia) dotted all around the CBD, but a few districts are worth singling out. Rundle Street and its neighbouring area known simply as "The East End" have a number of popular pubs. Hindley St used to be notorious as the seedy home of Adelaide's strip clubs and bikie bars, but it has undergone a renaissance, along with "The West End". The eastern end of Hindley Street is more mainstream, whereas the western end, west of Morphett Street has a few trendier and more alternative venues. The seedy places are still there, but so too is a university campus and a number of trendy bars and clubs. Also important are Gouger Street and its many restaurants but with an increasing number of bars and pubs. O'Connell Street is home to a few of North Adelaide's popular pubs. There are also many bars in the suburbs of Adelaide which are usually busier on Thursday and Friday evenings. Quite a few of the locals will go to the hotels in the suburbs on Thursday and Friday evenings, and go into the Adelaide CBD on Saturday evenings. Smoking in pubs and clubs is banned under South Australian law. Many drinking establishments have outdoor areas where smoking is permitted.

Sleep

Adelaide has hundreds of accommodation options in the CBD (central business district, i.e. downtown) to consider, from backpackers hotels to five star hotels. However, there are options out of the central area too. If you are travelling on business, there may be business-style accommodation near to where you are working, but otherwise, the city centre generally has more availability. If you are into camping, the closest camping to the city is in Belair National Park in the southeastern suburbs of Adelaide. The park is less than 10 km from the city, and there is a train service near the park. If you are into the beach, you have no choice but to choose the suburbs closer to the coast. The closest one to the city is Glenelg, but there are some in Port Adelaide or Outer Harbor too.

Budget There is a choice of backpacker accommodation around the central bus station. Popular districts for these include parts of the CBD and in some of the southern and northern outer suburbs of Adelaide.

Mid-range As always, your best bet of finding a choice of mid-range accommodation is the CBD (both the city and North Adelaide), often connected to Victoria Square by public transport. Sometimes a cheaper motel-style accommodation can be obtained on the roads leading into Adelaide. Outside the CBD, most accommodation found will likely be mid-range, but the prices may be slightly lower with more facilities.

Splurge Adelaide has the usual splurge chains such as Hilton and Sofitel, mostly concentrated in the CBD. Luxury hotels can be found throughout Adelaide, but in particular, the city and West Adelaide are worth checking out – the former for convenience, and the latter for its beach views.

Go next

Adelaide Hills, including the Mt Lofty Summit, provides spectacular views of the Adelaide metropolitan area. The Adelaide Hills are a series of villages, each having its own unique character. In particular, the towns of Hahndorf and Stirling are worth visiting. The wine regions of the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra. Kangaroo Island. Explore the natural environment. Flinders Ranges. Head north to explore the natural beauty and frontier history of the Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound Victor Harbor, 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. Visit the nearby surf beaches in Pt Elliot, Middletown and Goolwa. Whispering wall, at the Barossa Reservoir. Yorke Peninsula is a popular holiday destination for Adelaidians, and less touristy than Victor Harbor, with towns dotted along the coast and the rugged Innes National Park at the foot of the peninsula. Alice Springs, 1,500 km of driving. Main stops on the way are Port Augusta and Coober Pedy. Eventually, heading through the Northern Territory you will reach the turn off to Uluru. Melbourne, via Coorong National Park, followed by the Limestone Coast and finally the Great Ocean Road before arriving in Melbourne. Eyre Peninsula. Visit the historic town of Port Lincoln where you can see the massive tuna farms as well as going diving with Great White Sharks (in a cage) or swim with the dolphins and the seals. Also on the Eyre Peninsula is Coffin Bay, where Australia's best oysters are procured from.