With kids · Adelaide · Australia
Adelaide with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Nicole Kearney, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Adelaide is relaxed and manageable with children: flat streets, free museums, a beach at the end of the tram line and wildlife parks within 20 minutes. Top picks: South Australian Museum, Glenelg Beach and Jetty and Adelaide Zoo. Families usually base themselves in Glenelg.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Glenelg
- Rainy-day options
- 3
- Busiest months
- February–March
Best things to do with kids
Museum · North Terrace
1.South Australian Museum
The museum's Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery holds one of the world's largest collections of Aboriginal cultural material, and other galleries cover Pacific cultures, opalised fossils, minerals and Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson. A giant squid model hangs in the atrium.
Children enjoy the megafauna and fossil displays; allow extra time for the Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, which is the highlight.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Rainy day
- Kids
- History
Beach · Glenelg
2.Glenelg Beach and Jetty
A broad sandy beach on Gulf St Vincent at the end of the tram line, with a jetty, Moseley Square's Town Hall and the Bay Discovery Centre museum. On summer evenings families stay on the sand until sunset over the gulf.
Take the tram from Victoria Square, which takes about 30 minutes, and stay for sunset at the end of the jetty.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Couples
- Iconic
Zoo · North Adelaide
3.Adelaide Zoo
Opened in 1883, Australia's second-oldest zoo is a compact, walkable site beside the Botanic Park, with heritage buildings, an Australian native section, primates and big cats. It is run by the conservation charity Zoos SA.
Walk there through the Botanic Garden and Botanic Park, or arrive by the riverboat from Elder Park in warmer months.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Zoo · Adelaide Hills
4.Cleland Wildlife Park
Just below Mount Lofty, Cleland lets visitors walk among free-roaming kangaroos, wallabies and emus, and see koalas, wombats and other native species in a bushland setting about 20 minutes from the city.
Buy a bag of animal food at the entrance and visit early in the day, when the animals are most active.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Outdoors
Garden · East End
5.Adelaide Botanic Garden
Founded in 1855, the garden includes the 1877 Palm House, a German-made Victorian glasshouse, the Bicentennial Conservatory with tropical rainforest plants, and the Amazon Waterlily Pavilion. Lawns, a lake and the National Wine Centre sit on the eastern edge of the city.
Enter from North Terrace, walk through the Palm House and finish at the National Wine Centre for a tasting.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Nature
- Kids
- Couples
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Museum · Port Adelaide
6.South Australian Maritime Museum
Australia's oldest maritime museum occupies a stone bond store in Port Adelaide, with full-size ships to climb aboard, migrant stories and a lighthouse. The National Railway Museum and the Aviation Museum are a short walk away.
Combine it with a Port River dolphin cruise and lunch in the old pubs on Lipson Street.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- History
- Rainy day
Rainy-day ideas
- South Australian Museum — Children enjoy the megafauna and fossil displays; allow extra time for the Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, which is the highlight.
- South Australian Maritime Museum — Combine it with a Port River dolphin cruise and lunch in the old pubs on Lipson Street.
- Haigh's Chocolates Visitor Centre — Book a free factory tour in advance and try the frog-shaped chocolates, an Adelaide favourite.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for beach, families and first-timers
Glenelg
Glenelg is where South Australia's colonists landed in 1836, and it is now Adelaide's busiest beach suburb. Jetty Road runs from the tram stop to Moseley Square, the jetty and a long sandy beach, with hotels, apartments, ice-cream shops and restaurants along the way.
- Good
- Beach and city by tram; Lively in summer evenings; Good for families
- Watch out
- Busy at summer weekends; A 30-minute tram ride from the cultural sights
- Nearby
- Glenelg Jetty, Moseley Square, Holdfast Shores marina
Family travel tips
- The free city tram and Glenelg tram are a simple, fun way to get around with young children.
- Cleland Wildlife Park lets children walk among kangaroos and see koalas up close.
- Port Adelaide's three museums and dolphin cruises fill a day for families.
- Plan beach time for mornings or late afternoons in summer to avoid the strongest sun.
Day trips for families
- Hahndorf and the Adelaide Hills (About 30 minutes by car) — Hahndorf, founded by Prussian settlers in 1839, is Australia's oldest surviving German settlement, with a main street of stone buildings, bakeries and pubs.
- Victor Harbor and Granite Island (About 1 hour 15 minutes by car) — A seaside town on Encounter Bay with a causeway walk to Granite Island, whale-watching from about June to September and the South Australian Whale Centre.
- Kangaroo Island (About 1.5 hours to Cape Jervis plus a 45-minute ferry) — Australia's third-largest island has sea lions at Seal Bay, the wind-sculpted Remarkable Rocks and abundant kangaroos and koalas.
- Monarto Safari Park (About 1 hour by car) — An open-range zoo in the Murray Plains where buses carry visitors past African lions, giraffes, rhinos and zebras in large enclosures.
When to go with children
The best months overall are March–April and October–November. February–March are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Adelaide good for kids?
Adelaide is relaxed and manageable with children: flat streets, free museums, a beach at the end of the tram line and wildlife parks within 20 minutes.
+What can kids do in Adelaide?
South Australian Museum, Glenelg Beach and Jetty, Adelaide Zoo, Cleland Wildlife Park and Adelaide Botanic Garden.
+Where should families stay in Adelaide?
Glenelg: Beach suburb at the end of the tram line with a jetty and Jetty Road.