Adelaide - worth a holiday?

Hi,

Thinking of going on a holiday soon, and have already done the eastern coast of Australia from Port Douglas to Warnambool. So the idea wife and I came up with: What about Adelaide or Tasmania?

Tassie I've ruled out, because it's bloody cold enough in NSW at the moment.

My question is... is there really much to do in Adelaide that's holiday worthy? Or is it worth looking at elsewhere in SA?

Zoo's I can see anywhere, Botanical gardens = meh, wineries (I don't drink wine).

We will be bringing our Labrador along for the holiday, and staying pet friendly all the way.

So.. IF Adelaide is worth a look.. sell me on it people

 

Perth.......

 

bahahha.

enjoy the long flights there. might as well go international.

holiday adelaide? ummm. good question.

what do you want out of a holiday?

tbh, according to my own interests, the only sort of good thing is the close proximity of hills and conservation parks near cbd. this is why cycling is popular here, and short hiking/trails are also good. but there's even more outside of adelaide.

as for winter things to do, i hear people go on winery tours.

shopping is all the same usual crap dept. stores.

plenty of wanky restaurants/hipster cafes. prices are definitely lower than elsewhere.

i'd prefer tasmania personally, more nature ive heard. cant see myself doing anything else in winter, plus some fishing or something.

you can take your dog on the beach in the morning. so walks along the beach are another daily thing you can do.

free bikes for the linear trail. some maintenance works going on though.

paddle boats on torrens river, as well as popeye.

i suppose mad march is when theres lots to do in adelaide. arsty fartsy fringe and similar shows.

elsewhere in SA, victor harbour for a weekend or day trip driving.

snowtown for bodies in barrels.

more hiking on the heysen trail?

get nekkid at maslin beach. bit nippy for that now though.

so im not sure you'll find much more warmth here either, but not as bad though.

 

If you do go, don't shower when you wake you, that way you will have something to do after the sun goes down.

 

Get yourself some proper boots, down jackets, and hats with earflaps and head for Tassie. Best place ever. I went when it was snowing/cold but you can still do everything AND everything is on winter discounts. The food was fantastic and when it's cold, you really feel like stuffing your face.

Tassie, Tassie, Tassie.

If you did SA, I think you'd need to travel about, go to the ports, go to the winery district (you don't have to drink to like the Barossa Valley, it's lovely scenery), up in the hills, all about. Adelaide's nice, but it isn't a bustling metropolis.

 

ROFL...........unless you like rubber necking Churches......

Soooooooo true Tassie in Summer is the best and so much Wilderness and nature.

 

Thanks everyone.

Me and cold do not agree. If we were jumping on a plane it'd be to Fiji or Pacific Islands so that I can thaw out and escape winter!

If we weren't taking pooch I'd probably consider Port Douglas again and spend more time in Cairns/Townsville on the way there/back, and more time in Daintree.

But Adelaide came up as a potential destination, and I thought "maybe".

 

What's Adelaide's rainfall like?

How about the other side of north? Broome? Darwin? OR, somewhere like coober pedy or alice springs or something?

 

i live here so i cant say if it is a good or bad place to come for a holiday, but it is pretty cheap so you don't have much to lose by seeing for yourself

 

So, we want a driving holiday with a pooch, somewhere not on the coast from Pt Douglas to Warrnambool, that isn't too cold ?

The first question for me would be, where is the starting point? I can't see any reference in the thread as to where you are, unless I've missed something?

Unless you are willing to travel to the top end somewhere, you aren't going to escape the cold. Otherwise, pick a major regional city and have a look online at things within reach of there that might interest you. You've done the coast, the inland is completely different, that's what I usually look for in a holiday, something new.

Things that come to mind, again depending on where you are starting from, are Alice Springs/Ayers Rock , Cooper Pedy, Broken Hill, Central QLD (Charleville). Closer to home, in Vic you could check out the goldfields, or head up to an amazing little village called Walhalla, or even just to the spas at Daylesford. If you are in Sydney, you have so much you can see within a days drive...

 

I'm in Sydney. Family holidays used to be to Qld or VIC via regional NSW.

We haven't been to WA, TAS, SA.

Lake Eyre, Coober Pedy, Mt Gambier, and the Wine country is what comes to mind in SA.

NT - Been to Alice, though not Darwin/Kakadu (it's on the list one day).
QLD - Done "everything" on the coast, and also inland a bit as well (Toowoomba / Mt Tamborine).
VIC - Done Melbourne a few times, Bendigo, Ballarat, eastern areas on coast as well as Otways and Great Ocean Rd.
NSW - Been as far west as Cobar, but never to Broken Hill. Done Wagga/Griffith plenty of times (have family in those areas). My father loved a drive as well, so between me with them, and personally on holidays I've crossed the border North via:
- M1
- New England
- Newell Hwy (both via Warialda / Bruxner Hwy and via Moree to Boggabilla)
- Summerland Way (via Casino and Kyogle)
- Castlereagh Hwy (via Walgett and Lightning Ridge)
- Mitchell Hwy (via Bourke)

Haven't checked out inland from mid north coast though so might investigate that on way to/from Qld (as we have a timeshare up there), and friends on Sunshine Coast.

This is not to say we may revisit some of the places we've been before.

 

Have you been to Nowra? I went there once, it was quite nice around there.

 

I prefer Adelaide over Perth personally, but both are great.

 

driest state, so rain isnt that bad even in winter. weather is fairly predictable, not like rainy melbourne mimmicking london weather.

i think weather wise adl has it best, probably alongside perth.

i would second going to tassie in winter if you can harden the fck up a little.

everyone has a different idea of 'cold'. 10-15 is not really 'cold'. subzero temperatures is cold, but with fresh snow and sunshine its amazing aka europe, canada etc.

 

ah ok. I was thinking to say that a windy rainy place can seem colder than a cold place with snow but no wind. When I think of my trip to Tassie, I don't think of it being cold, it felt colder in Melbourne because it was all windy and rainy. The temperature was low in Tassie and there was snow out in the sticks where I went, but it was sort of sunny and nice, not all blowy and chilly and yuck. I just remember that I needed a hat, but once I bought one, I was fine with the weather.

 

If you like wine and craft beer, we have lots of both. Gin too. Did I mention wine?

 

Irony - go to Dan Murphy's have far more options for SA products at far more aggresive pricing.............

 

Unfortunately, OP doesn't. Wipes out the attraction of all of the wineries. (although I still like going to them, even though I don't really drink, they are usually nice scenery)

 

I personally hate wine but I've had a pretty good time going on a wine tour and checking out the wineries around Adelaide and learning more about the history of wine in SA

 

Yes, I'd still enjoy such a tour. A lot of the wineries have nice restaurants, so you can "do lunch" in good scenery.