We’ve just returned from two weeks of road tripping around South Australia and it was amazing! SA has some of the best coastlines I’ve seen in Australia with beaches to rival the Whitsundays.
If one positive has come out of the pandemic, it’s that Australians are becoming more aware of how incredible our home country is and doing more domestic travel. South Australia is gaining popularity as people realise just how beautiful the untouched coastlines are.
Over twelve days, we spent around 30hrs driving over 2,500km, well and truly falling in love with the state.
Here are the best stops on a coastal South Australia road trip.
Watch the full travel vlog here:
Cost Breakdown (AUD)
Flights: $330 + baggage ($110pp) – return from Sydney to Adelaide with Jetstar. We bagged cheap flights in a return for free sale
Motorhome Hire: $1,600 – 4 berth Jucy Condo from Jucy for 12 days
Fuel: $598 (diesel)
Campsites: $518 – 11 nights of powered sites for 3 adults
Swim with Seals Tour: $600 ($200pp)
National Park Entry: $24 (Coffin Bay National Park & Innes National Park)
*Food not included. We travelled during the first two weeks of February outside of school holidays and peak season.
Getting Around
Like most of Australia, the best spots can be a bit of a trek. Your best bet is either a car or motorhome. The benefit of a motorhome is that you have more flexibility with itinerary changes as you can book a caravan site last minute. While we were going off an itinerary, we stayed flexible and booked most sites less than a day in advance.
When we road tripped around Tasmania last year, there were five of us so we hired a big 6-berth Cruisin motorhome. This time, we went smaller with a Jucy Condo. With two double beds and five seatbelted seats, the Condo is made for four people but was perfect for three of us. It was quite small with limited storage, but the size made it easy to drive and park in bigger towns.
Overall, we were pretty happy with Jucy and would probably use them again, but we had a few issues. Unfortunately on the first night – four hours away from Adelaide – we realised that the external powerpoint didn’t work leaving us without power for the first two nights. Luckily, the incredible Alan at the Baird Bay seal tour fixed it for us (cheers Alan)! Jucy offered for us to swap the van but we had too much ground to cover to go back to Adelaide.
Jucy was good for the price, however, keep in mind when you go ‘budget’ that you may have minor issues.
Itinerary Overview
Day 1: Adelaide > Lake Bumbunga > Port Augusta
Day 2: Port Augusta > Baird Bay
Day 3: Baird Bay > Talia Caves > Greenly Beach > Coffin Bay
Day 4: Coffin Bay > Port Lincoln
Day 5: Port Lincoln > Whyalla Beach > Port Augusta
Day 6: Port Augusta > Lake Bumbunga > Moonta > Flaherty Beach > Marion Bay
Day 7: Marion Bay > Corny Point Lighthouse > Flaherty Beach > Marion Bay
Day 8: Marion Bay > Innes National Park > Yorketown
Day 9: Yorketown > Adelaide > Port Willunga
Day 10: Port Willunga > Rapid Bay > Second Valley
Day 11: Second Valley > Carrickalinga > Aldinga Beach > Glenelg > West Beach
Day 12: West Beach > Adelaide
View the map of our itinerary here
Lake Bumbunga, Clare Valley
Lake Bumbunga is a photographer’s dream. I’d originally planned to visit later, however, we drove past on the first day en route to Port Augusta and just had to stop. I was worried the pink wouldn’t be as vibrant as the photos you see on Instagram, but it truly was that beautiful! The first time we visited, the water level was low so you could walk along the white salt flats, right up to the giant Loch Ness Monster.
On the way back we stopped again and it was 100 times better. The water level was higher and the sun was directly overhead with vibrant pink stretching for miles. We launched the drone and captured some incredible shots.
Tip: during the summer months when there is less water, visitors can be disappointed when they don’t find much pink. The lake is more vibrant during the rainier seasons.
Eyre Peninsula
Port Augusta
Located halfway between Adelaide and Baird Bay, Port Augusta was an overnight stop to break up the 8hr drive. As we drove into Port Augusta, I did a location search and discovered the Matthew Flinders Red Cliff Lookout. As the gateway town to the Flinders Ranges, it should’ve come as no surprise to find sweeping views with red cliffs and desert shrubs here.
Also in this area is the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens, which we walked through briefly, spotting lots of kangaroos!
Tip: One thing I didn’t expect in South Australia was the insane amount of flies everywhere we went – be sure to bring bug spray to keep them away.
Staying in Port Augusta: On the first night, we stayed at Discovery Parks Port Augusta with an ensuite powered site (more expensive but ideal for Covid times) and had the most incredible sunset. On the way back we stayed at Shoreline Caravan Park which was a cheaper option.
Baird Bay
The furthest west we drove was Baird Bay to swim with sea lions and dolphins. If you’ve got more time, there are some awesome spots further west like Streaky Bay and Lake Macdonnell.
Baird Bay is a tiny town with no service, shops or amenities. There is a small campground with ten spots (first come first served) at $10/night with an honesty box. The campsite has a drop toilet and BBQ area with running water but no showers. It wasn’t quite what we expected, but ended up being a lovely relaxing night watching the sunset, reading books and cooking homemade burgers.
Our tour with Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience was incredible. For $200pp, we were given a wetsuit, snorkelling gear and taken out on a boat for a half-day tour swimming with dolphins and sea lions. Within ten minutes of the boat ride, we were in the middle of a pod of dolphins!
The tours style was fairly relaxed. Our skipper, Alan, had an impressive knowledge of the area and knew the best spots and conditions to jump out. He would drive around and when there was a good spot, he’d get us to quickly slide in – often right into a pod!
After swimming with the dolphins, we headed towards a conservation island where a colony of sea lions live. The water was quite shallow so we could sit in the water and watch them. There were lots of pups splashing around in the rock pools and a couple of bigger sea lions came over to swim around with us – so magical!
On the way back to Baird Bay, we passed the dolphins again and this time the water was a bit clearer for another swim. We highly recommend Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience – they were excellent.
Watch our Baird Bay vlog here:
Talia Caves
A quick stop on the way back toward Adelaide was Talia. Talia is famous for its caves, but what takes the cake is the incredible beach at the end of the road. With bright white sands and clear blue water, Talia Beach rivals beaches in the Whitsundays.
Free camping is permitted at Talia and if we’d had more time, I would’ve loved to stay here for longer – it was truly spectacular.
Greenly Beach
After Talia Caves, we headed to Greenly Beach in search of the Insta-famous rock pools. The area is really only 4WD accessible and we didn’t want to get stuck so unfortunately we didn’t make it to the rock pools. If you are up for some off-roading, this blog post details how to find them.
From what we did see, Greenly Beach offered beautiful sweeping views of the coastline and the option to free camp.
Coffin Bay
Another must-stop on your South Australia road trip is Coffin Bay National Park. Think rolling white sand dunes, crystal clear water and dolphins. Like Greenly Beach, it is best accessed by 4WD but the van did pretty well.
Our first stop was Almonta Beach which boasted bright white sand as far as you could see. Accessible via a short walk from the car park, the beach was untouched and felt secluded. We went for a quick swim but were cautious after seeing a 3m shark washed up on the beach!
We also drove around to Golden Island Lookout and saw a pod of dolphins circling the shallows. One swam right up to the shore to catch a fish. At first, we thought they were sharks and were surprised that people down on the beach were getting very close and even swimming up to them!
The furthest we could reach without a 4WD was the Yangie Bay campground where there was a basic campground on the water – a nice flat spot to swim at high tide. If you have a 4WD, there’s lots more of the National Park to explore including gems like Seven Mile Beach.
Port Lincoln
On the way back towards Adelaide we spent a night at Port Lincoln Caravan Park. This was a great little town to stock up on groceries and essentials. For breakfast, we visited L’anse French Patisserie for delicious coffees and freshly baked croissants.
Yorke Peninsula
By day six, we’d wrapped up our Eyre Peninsula adventures and were en route back towards the Yorke Peninsula. We spent three full days exploring the southern Yorke Peninsula, with highlights being Flaherty’s Beach and Innes National Park. First stop, Moonta!
Moonta
Moonta is a historic mining town at the top of the Yorke Peninsula. There is a scenic railway that takes you around all the old mines. The train runs on the hour and books out quickly – unfortunately, we just missed it.
Instead, we wandered around town and stopped for brunch at the aesthetic Nook & Nourish Cafe for some fresh juice and smashed avo.
Flaherty’s Beach
Flaherty’s Beach is one of the most famous beaches in South Australia. Located on the Yorke Peninsula, the sand is accessible by 4WD or walking. While the sand starts right at the car park, it’s a good 200m until you hit the water.
We visited Flaherty’s Beach twice. The first time was cloudy and late afternoon with a very low tide. The weather conditions certainly didn’t do it justice so we returned earlier the next day with the sun shining and were pleasantly surprised with just how beautiful it was. We spent a few hours floating around in our rings – so relaxing!
Tip: The water is quite shallow and the tides move quickly so keep an eye on your things – all our towels got soaked within five minutes.
Marion Bay
Marion Bay is at the bottom of Yorke Peninsula with the closest caravan park and facilities to Innes National Park. There is a small general store with fuel and essentials. They also make a mean coffee and delicious hash browns.
We stayed at Marion Bay Caravan Park for two nights which was the perfect base to explore the Yorke Peninsula. There was also beach access from the park for a nice sunset spot.
Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park
Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park was another highlight of the trip. The roads are sealed making it easily accessible with any vehicle. There is a $12 entry fee and basic campsites available to camp.
The National Park is one way, taking about thirty minutes to drive from one side to the other. We slowly made our way through, stopping at all the highlights. We started at Stenhouse Bay before heading to Cape Spencer Lighthouse where we spotted some kangaroos.
Ethel Wreck Beach was incredible with the remains of a shipwreck on the beach and caves to explore. While we didn’t spot any, we heard it’s a good place for dolphin watching.
It had been rainy and cold all day, but by the time we made it to the iconic beaches at the end, the sun had come out for a swim!
We’d planned to go to Shell Beach to find the rockpools, but it was closed so instead we stopped at Dolphin Bay which was even better. The Bay boasted red rocks reminiscent of Tasmania’s Bay of Fires and stretches of white sand. We also walked around the headland for sweeping views of the bay and found a little cove to swim in. In true Australian fashion, we spotted an emu hanging out on the beach!
Yorketown
Located in the centre of the Yorke Peninsula, Yorketown is a small historic town. We spent the night here between Innes National Park and Adelaide.
The highlight of Yorketown is its salt lake trail. We stopped at a few of the highlights including Pink Lake which was more white than pink but had incredible reflections of the sky. Like Lake Bumbunga, the colours appear different depending on the season and salinity levels.
Fleurieu Peninsula
Port Willunga
The last few days of our trip were spent exploring the Fleurieu Peninsula, home to Adelaide and a myriad of gorgeous coastal towns. We spent a night in Port Willunga and fell in love with the beach. It quickly became our favourite beach of the trip and we returned three times!
Port Willunga is iconic with its towering cliffs set behind the beach. Old fisherman’s caves are carved into the rocks providing shelter from the sun. The caves have direct views of the remains of the old jetty. We spent hours soaking in the sun, swimming in the calm water and exploring the beach.
Sellicks Beach
We didn’t go down to the sand at Sellicks Beach but drove through the hills to admire the views. As someone who loves a good mountain view and the beach, the Fleurieu Peninsula provided the best of both worlds!
Aldinga Beach
When we drove past Aldinga Beach on a Saturday, the sand was packed with rows upon rows of cars. They were charging $8 to drive on the sand. Driving back up the coast the following Monday, it was a lot quieter and free. We’d seen a few motorhomes and some little Toyotas down there so thought the Jucy van would be fine. We spent a few hours swimming, reading and hanging out on the sand.
Tip: We wanted to spend so much longer at all the beaches we visited but there wasn’t much shade. A beach umbrella is essential for your South Australia road trip!
Second Valley
Towards the bottom of the Fleurieu Peninsula are some of South Australia’s best untouched beaches, including Second Valley and Rapid Bay.
Second Valley is beautiful but very busy on the weekend as there’s not much parking or space on the sand. Luckily we were staying at the Caravan Park so we dropped off the van and walked five minutes down to the beach.
Until we got to Second Valley, we’d been unsuccessful in finding rock pools to swim in. After snorkelling (hello cuttlefish) and swimming at the main beach, we walked around to the other side of the jetty to find huge rock formations. It was here that we discovered some little rock pools!
There weren’t many food options down here but slightly North of Second Valley we stopped at One Little Sister Cafe. They had an excellent breakfast menu.
Rapid Bay
Rapid Bay was another of my favourite beaches on the trip. Set in the hills, right at the bottom of South Australia, it’s truly an untouched beauty. We spent hours here swimming, exploring rock caves and relaxing on the sand.
Tip: Rapid Bay has a campground but it was full when we arrived – be sure to book early.
West Beach & Glenelg
On our final night, we stayed at Big 4 West Beach Parks, 20 minutes west of Adelaide. The caravan park was huge with lots to do – perfect for families. It also boasted private beach access with an incredible sunset spot.
We got an uber into Glenelg for dinner and ate at Moseley Bar & Kitchen – the Portuguese chicken bowl was a winner. This was followed by a trip to the famous St Louis House of Fine Ice-Cream for dessert. The food here was so good that we returned for a delicious breakfast the next morning.
After twelve days of eating, swimming and exploring, it was sadly time to head back to Adelaide and fly home. South Australia was so beautiful and if it’s not on your bucket list after reading this, you’re missing out!
That’s a wrap on my South Australia Road Trip Guide, I hope you enjoyed the post! If you haven’t already, check out my travel vlog from the trip:
You can check out my other travel guides for more inspiration and follow my adventures on Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube.
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