Five reasons why you should visit Adelaide now!

Are you not sure if Adelaide should be on your dream vacation list? Let me convince you!

A lot of people underestimate what there is to do in Adelaide – when I asked an English backpacker in a hostel in Adelaide what to do, he replied with “I’ve heard Coles supermarket is pretty fun”. While I was there for a weekend away I found many great things to do and beautiful areas.

1. There are great hostels and even better hostel parties

There seems to be less of an overpowering flat share culture in the city and backpackers often struggle to find permanent accommodation. As a result, most of them stay in CBD hostels for months at a time. They often have cheap long term deals; the place I stayed at advertised $120 for a week. I spent three days at a hostel in the CBD and the parties never stopped!

2. Public transport is really cheap and easy to find

There are loads of information centers in the CBD that have maps, transport routes and timetables. There are two main areas where the bus stops are located and this makes it really straightforward. I got the bus to the airport for $5 (compare this with Sydney or Melbourne which is around $19)

Authentic German lunch

3. German Hahndorf village

This is the last remaining German settlement town only 20minutes from the CBD. I spent about four hours there and could have stayed the whole day. You can take the bus there for $1.50 one way.

There is a main road that encapsulates German culture with the architecture, churches, delicacy shops and restaurants. An information center gives out free maps and they detail every shop on the street and the free samples they give out. I managed to walk my way from one end to the other sampling all sorts of German sausages, cheese, beer, wine and cakes. There are also many German specialty restaurants where you can splurge on lunch, usually entailing a stein of beer and a collection of homemade bratwurst sausages.

German bakery in Hahndorf

Hahndorf main street

4. The city is full of backpackers 

Every hostel is overflowing with international travellers. Why? Because they’ve all finished their working holiday visa and in order for them to get their second visa they need to do three months regional work. As Adelaide is classified as ‘regional’, they all flock there.

5. There are amazing beaches

Jump on the tram from King William Street in the CBD and 20minutes later you will get to the beautiful Glenelg beach. Here you shop, eat party and even swim with dolphins.

Glenelg beach

So what are you waiting for- embrace Adelaide!

For more information, I would recommend buying the Adelaide chapter in the Lonely Planet’s Australia guide by clicking below.