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Cruise PortGuide
Ocean port guide

Adelaide

Australia

Make the most of your call at Adelaide, a cruise port in Australia. Find practical arrival guidance, local transport pointers and ideas for exploring confidently ashore.

Approximate port locationAdelaide · Australia
At a glancePort call snapshot
DestinationAustralia
Port typeOcean cruise port
Location-34.7774, 138.4822
CurrencyAustralian dollar
Check before you travel

Berths, fares and opening times change. Confirm live details with your cruise line and local operators.

Your port guide

Making the most of Adelaide

Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.

01

Arriving at the port

Cruise ships dock at the Outer Harbor wharf. The upgraded Port Adelaide Passenger Terminal includes a new road/traffic system into the terminal precinct, a direct walkway from the terminal to the nearby Outer Harbor railway station.

From Outer Harbor to central Port Adelaide is 10 suburban train stations away, about 40 min's, or by taxi about 15 min's. Trains run every 30 minutes. The Port has some of the finest colonial buildings in Australia. Take a walk along the docks and through the old Port to experience the ambiance. Self-guided and guided tours are offered. Dolphin watching is possible in the Port River. All-day transit tickets are about $10 pp and can be used on trains and buses.

The Maritime Museum, Railway Museum and Aviation Museum are located on Lipson Street and open daily…check out the Spitfire, climb the old ketch and ride the steam train. If you’re here on a Sunday, the Fisherman’s Wharf Market ( 9am-5pm Sun) has antiques, bric-a-brac, and crappy collectibles.

In general shuttles, if provided, drop you off and pick you up from the Rundle Mall, which is right in the heart of the City. The shuttle takes around 30 to 40 minutes to the Mall from the cruise terminal.

A taxi from the Port to the City will run about 30 Australian Dollar after morning rush hour. Taxis are metered, and nearly all accept credit cards (surcharge).

Public transportation (bus route 150) is also available to the city center.

Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely-settled British province in Australia.

The city center features Rundle Mall as its main shopping focus, and North Terrace as its main cultural focus (Art Gallery, Museum, State Library, Universities). The Casino is also located on North Tce, over the top of the central railway station. The Adelaide Festival of Arts (March) has many venues, including the Festival Center, very close to the railway station. There is a new bridge to the rebuilt Adelaide Oval (cricket, Australian Rules (AFL) football).

Adelaide, capital city of South Australia, is situated on the River Torrens between Gulf St Vincent to the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges to the east. The city is named after Queen Adelaide, consort of William IV. The city layout was planned by Surveyor-General, Colonel William Light, in 1836 as a square-mile grid of wide boulevards surrounded by parks and gardens. Once known, somewhat condescendingly, as "the City of Churches", Adelaide in the past 30 years has become celebrated for its arts festival, its alfresco lifestyle, and its manageable size and pace, all enhanced by a climate in which hot summers and warm autumns are separated by…

The city itself is studded with elegant colonial buildings and preserved facades. Along the north side of North Terrace you will find some interesting and some fine architecture - Old Parliament House (now the Constitutional Museum), the Parliament House, the Adelaide Railway Station, Government House, the South Australian Museum, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Mortlock Library, and Adelaide University's Elder and Bonython Halls. Elsewhere in the city, the Festival Center on the Torrens, the Bicentennial Conservatory at the Botanical Gardens, St Peter's Cathedral in North Adelaide, Ayers House at the eastern end of North Terrace and…

02

Getting around

Adelaide's city center is easy to explore on foot. Most of Adelaide’s big-ticket sights are within walking distance of the city center, with many along North Tce. The core Rundle Mall shopping district is entirely pedestrianised.

You can circle around the main Adelaide sights on the free city buses. Look for 99C bus. It has clockwise and anticlockwise routes each with about 30 stops taking in all the major cultural and commercial centres in the City, beginning at Victoria Square and including Adelaide Railway Station. The buses feature ground-level access ramps.

03

Nearby places

Glenelg, or ‘the Bay’ Located only 10km from the heart of Adelaide City, Glenelg is a charming seaside resort set on the long sandy white shores of Holdfast Bay. Glenelg is the site of South Australia's original mainland settlement in 1836. A short 25 minute trip by tram departing from the center of Glenelg - Moseley Square, takes you into Adelaide City and most importantly - Rundle Mall.

Cleland Wildlife Park Cleland Wildlife Park is only 20 minutes from the Adelaide city center Nestled within the natural bush setting of Cleland Conservation Park, and adjacent to Mount Lofty Summit, the park provides 35 hectares of open bushland habitat where visitors can interact with Australian wildlife such as kangaroos, koalas, and emus.

04

Food and shopping

A few paces west of Victoria Square, on the south side of Grote Street, is the Central Market, which since the second half of the 19th C. has supplied the city with fresh fruit, vegetables and culinary delicacies. This colorful market was founded in 1870.

Rundle Mall: The city's main shopping area features local and national department stores, boutiques, specialty shops, cafes, and pubs. Watch for street entertainers, including mimes and musicians, and enjoy the people-watching on this pedestrian mall.

05

Money

Australian Dollar

06

Staying connected

The passenger terminal has telephones, as well as free Wi-Fi.

07

Opening Hours and

Shops and services are generally open Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm and until lunchtime on Saturday. In Adelaide’s suburbs, many shops stay open late on Thursday and in the city center on Friday evening - usually until 9pm - and all day on Saturday. Shopping malls are often open on Sundays as well.

In remote country areas, roadhouses provide all the essential services for the traveler and, on the major highways, are generally open 24 hours a day. In tourist areas, even ones well off the beaten track, tourist offices are often open every day or at least through the week plus weekend mornings; urban information centers are more likely to conform to normal shopping hours.

Tourist attractions such as museums, galleries and attended historic monuments, are often open daily, though those in rural communities may have erratic opening hours

Find your bearings

Adelaide port location

The guide coordinates place the port at 34.7774° S, 138.4822° E. Always use the berth details supplied for your sailing as your final arrival reference.

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Good to know

This guide is for trip planning and may not reflect short-notice operational changes. Your cruise line's instructions and local official information should take priority.