The Perfect Adelaide 5-Day Itinerary (including Kangaroo Island)

My Five-Day Adelaide Itinerary

Day One

Arriving in the capital of South Australia

Our train journey on The Ghan from Darwin had reached its final destination - Adelaide.

It was a fantastic experience to ride across the heart of Australia on such an iconic mode of transport.

We said goodbye to the new acquaintances and staff we had met during our two nights on The Ghan and hailed a cab to take us to Adelaide CBD (central business district).

We loved our experience on Australia's iconic train, but we were now ready to check into our accommodation in Adelaide for five nights and sleep in proper beds!

Choosing the right (and wrong) place to stay in Adelaide!

I had booked a stay at the Miller Apartments on Hindley Street, but sadly, even though the apartment was fantastic, the noisy street below us was not!

We found out later that this was the busiest street in Adelaide at weekends, with bars and restaurants spilling out into the street until the early hours!

Believe me when I say it sounded like Mardi Gras was taking place outside our window! It now made sense why the taxi driver laughed when I gave him the hotel's address; however, if you want nightlife in Adelaide, this is the perfect place to stay!

That aside, our five days in Adelaide were all good, and we enjoyed discovering Adelaide's best experiences.

Tips for booking accommodation

We spent one of the five nights in Adelaide on a trip to Kangaroo Island, but we still booked our apartment for five nights. This meant we could leave our suitcases there as we needed the apartment for a night when we returned to the city from Kangaroo Island.

We informed the concierge that we would be gone for one night/two days. It is always a good idea to tell your hotel if you are going on an overnight trip, so they don't worry that you have disappeared! This is especially important if you are a solo traveller.

Day Two

Exploring the landmarks in Rundle Mall

After a somewhat restless first night's sleep, we set off to explore the heart of Adelaide. Haigh's Chocolate Shop caught our eye first.

Founded by Alfred E. Haighby in 1915, Beehive Corner became home to Australia's oldest family-owned chocolate manufacturer.

It is an iconic institute that serves up a mouth-watering selection of confectionery. Of course, we had to sample the chocolate, and I would agree that it is pretty good, although my favourite is still the Swiss brand Lindt!

Rundle Mall is South Australia's premier shopping destination. The pedestrianised outdoor mall is packed with high-street stores, supermarkets, and restaurants.

Not forgetting Horatio, Oliver, Truffles, and Augusta, better known as the Rundle Mall bronze pigs.

These fun Adelaide sculptures depict four pigs in different poses, with one rummaging through the litter bin. They are a Rundle Mall landmark.

Another well-known sculpture is called 'Spheres' but is lovingly known as The Mall's Balls.

Aside from the pigs, there are a few cute coffee shops. We stopped by Koko Black, a chocolate shop that serves coffee - what could be better than that?

We were also thrilled to see a street busker playing an Aboriginal didgeridoo in the middle of the mall.

The deep echoing sounds produced by blowing into the long wooden instrument made our trip to Australia feel so real. I also spotted some tremendous Australian street art around the city.

Learning about Aboriginal Culture at the South Australia Museum

Having visited Darwin and seen Aboriginal people in real life for the first time, rather than on TV or in the pages of a travel guide, I wanted to learn more about Australia's Indigenous people. I asked my concierge where to find more information about Aboriginal culture, and he pointed me toward the South Australian Museum.

The museum building is beautiful and close to the South Australia Art Gallery and Adelaide University. The area, known as North Terrace, features well-manicured gardens and statues of explorers and founding fathers. It is a perfect place to take a break from sightseeing in Adelaide.

The South Australia Museum is one of the best free things to do in Adelaide, and I was pleased to see exhibits in the cultural galleries showing Aboriginal artefacts. The museum houses approximately 3,000 Aboriginal items, ranging from boomerangs to bark canoes.

Aboriginal Dreamtime

An audio display about Dreamtime really interested me. In Aboriginal culture, Dreamtime refers to the period when life was created, and Dreaming explains how life came to be; it encompasses the stories and beliefs behind creation. I was fascinated by learning about the Aboriginal people and their traditions.

This was my first visit to Australia, so I wanted to acknowledge and respect the Aboriginal culture. By visiting the museum, I gained a deeper understanding of the people who have existed as the custodians of Australia for over 65,000 years.

If a walking tour of the tourist sights in Adelaide is something you would enjoy, you can book the Ultimate Adelaide Guided Walking Tour with the South Australia 2024 Tourism Awards winner. You will see key landmarks including the Town Hall, Rundle Mall, Central Market and Chinatown.

Visit Glenelg Beach to watch an Adelaide sunset

The beauty of Adelaide is that while it is South Australia's capital city and a thriving metropolis, it is also a short tram ride away from Glenelg Beach.

After a morning of experiencing the city landmarks, we hopped on the tram from the corner of Rundle Mall and, within 35 minutes, were at the beach.

Glenelg Beach is one of the best things to see in Adelaide. With golden sand stretching for miles, it is everything we imagined an Australian beach to look like and more!

The only trouble was that we didn't have our swimsuits, so we went for a leisurely walk along the promenade instead.

We travelled to Adelaide in February, and I'm not going to lie about how hot it was - easily in the high 30s. We even saw volunteers handing out water and free sunscreen to visitors.

Luckily, we had come for the sunset, and it was starting to cool down. We had heard that one of the cool things to do in Adelaide was to watch the sunset from the end of Glenelg Pier.

While we waited for the evening light show to start, we enjoyed drinks and nibbles at The Moseley, a trendy beach bar.

Watching the sun slip behind the horizon was a fantastic sight and, for us, an Adelaide must-do. It was also the first of many incredible sunsets we would witness during our six weeks in Australia.

Days Three and Four

A fantastic trip to see the wildlife on Kangaroo Island

No trip to Adelaide would be complete without travelling to Kangaroo Island. No words are good enough to describe this wildlife haven; you must see and experience Kangaroo Island yourself.

If you are on a tight schedule, a one-day Kangaroo Island tour with lunch can be arranged. However, if time permits, an overnight stay lets you see more of the island over two days and at a leisurely pace.

I booked a one-night/two-day tour of Kangaroo Island with Sealink, which included a hotel transfer to the ferry port, a ferry crossing to KI, and a two-day guided minivan tour with Bruce (well, he couldn't be called anything, really, could he!).

We enjoyed a one-night stay in a hotel in Kingscote, the biggest town on KI, a flight from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide on day two, and a transfer back to our hotel from the airport. Fabulous!

Observing seals baking on golden sands, climbing the Dali-esque rock formations and visiting fabulous small island businesses make Kangaroo Island one of the best places in Australia to visit.

Seeing a koala for the first time, an echidna (a hedgehog-type creature I had never heard of before), and wild kangaroos bouncing through the bush are memories that will last with us forever.

Day Four

Flight back to Adelaide

After a second day of exploring Kangaroo Island, we returned to Adelaide on a short 15-minute flight from KI. It was the shortest flight I have ever taken, and no sooner had it taken off than it was landing again! We were then taken back to our hotel from the airport.

Luckily for us, the apartment had a small kitchen area, so we stayed in and cooked, watched some tv and then drifted off to dream of kangaroos, koalas and our magical adventure on Kangaroo Island.

Learn more in my post: The Best Kangaroo Island Tour - a two-day ultimate wildlife trip.

Day Five

Goodbye Adelaide - Hello, Great Ocean Road

Waking for our last morning, we were excited about the next leg of our six-week Australia trip. I would drive from Adelaide to Melbourne via the Great Ocean with three overnight stops in Port Fairy, Apollo Bay and Lorne.

Before we embarked on the first part of this mammoth road trip, an eight-hour drive from Adelaide to Port Fairy (including two convenience breaks), we headed to The Original Pancake Kitchen for breakfast.

After breakfast, we picked up a rental car for our road trip. I went for a KIA Sportage, which proved to be a great vehicle, and I loved driving it so much that I bought one when I returned to the UK!

After that, I only needed to get onto the A1 motorway toward Melbourne for the next chapter of our Australian adventure to begin!

Learn more in my post: Adelaide to Melbourne 3-Night Self-Drive Itinerary for the Great Ocean Road.

If you intend to stay for a week or longer, you will have time to complete my 5-night Adelaide itinerary and fit in some other great experiences.

Recommended Adelaide Tours

Conclusion

What I liked most about Adelaide was that it wasn't overbearing like other Australian cities. There were many enjoyable experiences in Adelaide, but the city never seemed overly busy.

It was compact and walkable, and the tram system made getting from A to B (Adelaide to the beach) easy.

So, if you are wondering whether Adelaide is worth visiting for five days, I can tell you it is. After Brisbane, it became my second-favourite city in Australia, ahead of Sydney and Melbourne.

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