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State of South Australia



South Australia is the fifth largest state in Australia with a population of 1.4 million. It is home to long summers, stunning beaches and award-winning wine, events and festivals. The gateway to the Barossa, Flinders Ranges and Kangaroo Island, South Australia has the easiest access to the Australian outback of any state. Adelaide, a place of natural beauty and simple elegance, is the capital city of South Australia.

Guide to South Australia

Top destinations




Capital City: Adelaide
Among Australia’s cities, Adelaide has long been at the forefront in terms of cultural activities. It is a place of natural beauty and simple elegance. The city centre has wide flat streets, and is surrounded on all sides by parklands. The urban landscape is highlighted with many elegant colonial buildings, museums, churches and galleries.
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  • Barossa and Clare Valleys
    Two of Australia’s premier and most famous wine regions, the wineries here, started by 19th Century German settlers in the Barossa Valley, that put Australia on the world map as a producer of fine table wines. All the big name brands have wineries there among lesser known brands, offering winery tours, tastings and cellar door sales.
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    • Murray Riverlands
      Australia’s longest river, the mighty Murray, winds its way past vineyards, citrus orchards, vertical limestone cliffs, and towering red gums on its way to the Southern Ocean. The River has abundant wildlife with prolific, raucous birdlife, fish and many native animals. Rich in heritage, the region’s restored paddle steamers, museums and villages recapture the history of the River.
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      • Kangaroo Island
        With its rugged, pristine coastline, Kangaroo Island – Australia’s third-largest island – is located off mainland not far from Adelaide. The island’s relatively unspoiled environment offers opportunities to see native animals in their natural environment, spectacular scenery, pristine beaches and a rugged, wave-swept Southern Ocean coastline. By contrast, the island’s hinterland is a patchwork of green fields and tree-lined roads receding to the surrounding low hills.
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        • Flinders Ranges
          The Flinders Ranges is without doubt the most accessible outback region of Australia. Tracks throughout the Flinders Ranges wind through stunning rocky gorges. The air is crisp and clear, the colours are vibrant and the wildlife abundant. The play of light on rocky spurs, towers, gorges and valley floors make this country a never-ending delight for landscape artists and colour photographers.
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          • The Three Peninsulas
            Fleurieu, Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas all jut out into the Great Australian Bight, but are as different from each other as it is possible to be, apart from perhaps the stunning coastal vistas on their western shores. Fleurieu, the closest to Adelaide, has wineries, rolling hills and pretty towns; Yorke has a copper mining heritage; Eyre is a mix of outback open spaces, small picturesque communities and fascinatingly shaped granite formations.
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            • Limestone Coast
              Midway between Adelaide and Melbourne, the area’s bedrock that gives the region its name provides a natural filter for its vineyards. The unique terra rossa soil of the Coonawarra produce some of the world’s best red wines. This unique area is also noted for its rock lobster, world-heritage listed caves with their 350,000 year old fossil bed, and Mt. Gambier’s Blue Lake, located in an extinct volcanic crater, which mysteriously changes colour for three months of the year.
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              • Coober Pedy
                Promoted as the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy is a remote, extremely eccentric town in the middle of nowhere. Most of its residents live underground in caves bored into the rock of the hills around the town, all because of the harsh summer temperatures. One of the most unique places in Australia and perhaps the world, Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry.
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                • Nullarbor Plain
                  A semi arid, flat plain which extends across the border between Western Australia and South Australia from Ceduna to near Kalgoorlie. The Eyre Highway, the road link between east and west across the Nullarbor, is a drive everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. The head of the Gt Australian Bight is where Southern Right Whales come between June to October of each year to breed and give birth to whale calves. The nearby Bunda Cliffs are a magnificent sight in themselves and stretch in an unbroken line for 200 kilometres to the Western Australian border.


Getting There

By Air:
All domestic and international air traffic into South Australia is through Adelaide International Airport, which is 4 km from the city centre in the suburb of West Beach. The airport is connected with the public transport system or taxi and the city centre can be reached with 15-25 minutes. Skylink Adelaide operates a regular service to most commuter specified destinations within the CBD area from the airport, as well as services out to Keswick Interstate Railway Terminal. The main flight routes are:

Hobart to Adelaide: from 3 hours 35 minutes
Launceston to Adelaide: from 3 hours 35 minutes
Sydney to Adelaide: 2 hours 10 minutes
Darwin to Adelaide: 3 hours 35 minutes
Melbourne to Adelaide: 1 hr. 20 minutes
Perth to Adelaide: 3 hours 30 minutes


By rail
Sydney is connected by rail to Adelaide via the Indian Pacific. The train operates between Sydneys Central Station and Keswick Rail Terminal in Adelaide, the journey is completed in 24 hours 40 minutes. Perth is connected to Adelaide by the Nullarbor Plain leg of the Indian Pacifics east to west coast journey. The trip between East Perth Terminal and Keswick Rail Terminal in Adelaide takes 22 hours.

Melbourne is linked by rail to Adelaide via The Overland. This train is now operated by a private company  Great Southern Railway. The train completes three return trips a week, travelling during daylight. The train operates between the Melbourne terminal of Southern Cross Station, and Keswick Rail Terminal in Adelaide, and covers 828 kilometres between capitals in 10 hours 40 minutes.

The Ghan travels between Adelaide and Alice Springs in 1 day 1 hours 25 minutes. The second leg of the journey, from Alice Springs to Darwin takes 23 hours 50 minutes.

By coach (road)
Numerous operators provide coach services between Adelaide and Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Alice Springs and Adelaide. Services to other cities and towns across Australia are by connections to one of those destinations. The main routes followed are: 

Adelaide to Sydney via Mildura and Canberra (22 hours)
Adelaide to Melbourne via Stawall and Ballarat (9 hours 45 minutes)
Adelaide to Melbourne via Gt Ocean Road and Grampians.
Adelaide to Perth  At the time of publication, there were no regular scheduled coach service across the Nullarbor Plain between Perth and Adelaide. People wishing to travel by road may wish to consider one of the adventure oriented tours that include camping and sightseeing.
Adelaide to Alice Springs via Stuart Highway (19 hours 30 minutes)
Adelaide to Canberra via Mildura (15 hours 30 minutes)

Self drive
South Australias towns in the southern region are linked to each other, and to towns and cities in other states by a network of well signposted, well maintained sealed highways and major roads which allow for easy travel between localities. The capital cities are linked by highways that, in the main, bypass the smaller towns on the way, making the journey relatively uninterrupted. The only sealed road north of Port Augusta is Stuart Highway to Alice Springs via Woomera and Coober Pedy. The major routes from Adelaide through regional South Australia are:

Sydney via Renmark, Mildura, Wagga Wagga, Yass (Sturt and Hume Highways)

Sydney via Burra, Peterborough, Broken Hill, Cobar, Nyngan, Dubbo, Bathurst (Western, Mitchell, Barrier Highways, Main North Road)

Sydney via Murray Bridge , Pinnaroo, Ouyen, Hay, West Wyalong, Cowra, Bathurst (Gt Western, Mid Western, Murray Valley, Ouyen, Mallee, Princes Highways)

Darwin via Pt. Augusta, Woomera, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek (Stuart Highway)

Melbourne via Murray Bridge, Bordertown, Horsham, Ballarat (Dukes and Western Highways)

Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road (Meningie, Mt. Gambier, Heywood, Warrnambool, Apollo Bay, Geelong)

Melbourne via Keith, Mt. Gambier, Casterton, Hamilton, Mortlake, Camperdown, Geelong (Princes, Hamilton, Glenelg Highways)

Perth via Ceduna, Eucla, Norseman, Coolgardie, Merredin (Gt Eastern, Eyre and Princes Highways, Port Wakefield Road)

Port Lincoln and Eyre Peninsula via Pt. Augusta, Whyalla (Port Wakefield Road, Princes and Lincoln Highways)

Mt. Gambier via Victor Harbour, Tailem Bend, Kingston SE (Princes Highway)
Yorketown and Yorke Peninsula via Port Wakefield, Maitland (Port Wakefield, Maitland and Yorketown Roads)

Getting Around

In South Australia, the speed limit on the open road is generally 110 kilometres per hour. In South Australia, a drivers licence from your home country or another Australian state will usually suffice for up to three months, as long as it has photo identification and its for the same class of vehicle you intend to drive. If you re staying more than three months, you ll need to get a South Australian drivers licence. Be aware that some areas require you to surrender fruit and vegetable matter at a state border or upon entry into a fruit growing area to prevent Fruit Fly infestation, that could decimate the fruit industry.

By Air:
Within South Australia, there are several small regional airlines offering services throughout the State.
Regional Express flies daily to a number of regional towns around South Australia and interstate.
O Connor Air flies daily to Whyalla Eyre Peninsula and Mt. Gambier Limestone Coast
Airlines of South Australia flies daily to Port Lincoln Eyre Peninsula and weekdays to Port Augusta Flinders Ranges

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