Things to do in the Barossa Valley, South Australia
The best things to do in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, include wine tours, cheese and chocolate tasting, the Whispering Wall and the Angaston Heritage Walk.
The Barossa Valley in South Australia is arguably the most famous Australian wine region. It is renowned worldwide for its big, bold reds. The likes of Penfolds, Jacob’s Creek, Henschke Hill and Yalumba are all based in the Barossa.
For those who have tasted Barossa Valley wines at home, a trip to Australia offers the perfect chance to try them at source. And, perhaps, discover some new favourites. Hentley Farm, Bethany Wines, Langmeil, Rockford Wines and Chateau Yaldara are among the excellent wineries that aren’t perhaps as well known. Also worth a look are Chateau Tanunda, Whistler Wines, Charles Melton Wine, Turkey Flat and Two Hands Wines.
8 unusual Barossa Valley experiences to book in advance
- Half day Mustang convertible tour.
- Two hour kayaking experience.
- Half day trike tour with commentary via headsets.
- Wine-tasting tour in a bright red London cab.
- Winery hopping by e-bike.
- Gin-making workshop with lunch.
- Behind the scenes VIP tour at Seppeltsfield.
- Learn about barrel-making at the Yalumba Cooperage.
The Barossa Valley is less than an hour outside of Adelaide, and can easily be covered as a day trip from the South Australian capital. However, if you want to explore more of the region, you’re better off basing yourself in Tanunda, Angaston or Nuriootpa.
Barossa Valley wine tours
Very obviously, no list of things to do in the Barossa Valley would be complete without a wine tour. There are dozens of Barossa Valley wine tour operators, and you should pick yours based on budget and preferences. Taste the Barossa offers private wine tours, but also offers a $149 small group day trip from Adelaide. This includes several tastings at the likes of Wolf Blass and Lambert Estate Wines, plus lunch at the Peter Lehmann Winery.
Barossa Taste Sensations, meanwhile, runs private tours tailor-made to guests’ preferences. If you are dead set on visiting Kalleske Wines, or Rusden Wines, then they’ll attempt to incorporate your favourite in the itinerary.
It steers guests towards specialist wineries – the rieslings of Rieslingfreak, the rosé grenache of Cirillo Estate or shiraz at the Standish Wine Company. But Barossa Taste Sensations is also happy to include the big guns. A private full day tour for up to six people costs from $400.
Things to do in the Barossa Valley: Food and drink
It’s not just wine you can taste in the Barossa Valley. There are also several craft breweries. If you prefer grain to grape, try Greenock Brewers in Greenock, Rehn Bier or Barossa Valley Brewing in Tanunda, plus Stein’s Taphouse and Western Ridge Brewing in Nuriootpa.
Fancy the harder stuff, then there are also a few Barossa distilleries. These include the Barossa Distilling Co in Nuriootpa, Seppeltsfield Road Distillers in Seppeltsfield and the Barossa Gin School at Durand Distillers.
There are also specialist food producers in the region. You can indulge at the Barossa Valley Cheese Company in Angaston or Barossa Valley Chocolate Company in Tanunda.
Meanwhile, in Nuriootpa, Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop sells all manner of pantry-stackers. You can browse through verjuice, sugo, chutney and quince paste, or simply eat in the attached restaurant.
Things to do in the Barossa Valley: Conservation Parks
Things to do in the Barossa Valley outside of food and drink include a few fairly mediocre conservation parks. The Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park has a couple of walking trails, big granite outcrops and reasonably reliable kangaroo sightings. The Sandy Creek Conservation Park has impressive wildflowers in spring, and a solid array of birdlife.
Things to do in the Barossa Valley: Cultural attractions
On a cultural level, there’s the Barossa Sculpture Park in Bethany. It’s by no means amazing, but it’s next to the Mengler’s Hill Lookout, which offers splendid views over the wineries and fields.
The Barossa Regional Gallery in Tanunda is browsable, too, while the nearby Barossa Museum attempts to tell the history of the area. The Barossa Museum is inside the former post office and telegraph building, and taps into the region’s Germanic influence.
Angaston is the most visually appealing town in the Barossa Valley, however. The downloadable Angaston Heritage Walk takes in most of the handsome old buildings, but you can go inside the Angaston Blacksmith Shop and Museum. This looks at the hot and grimy world of blacksmithery.
More things to do in the Barossa Valley
Two less conventional attractions in the Barossa Valley are the Whispering Wall and Lyndoch Lavender Farm. The Whispering Wall is the retaining wall of the Barossa Reservoir in Williamstown. It has a strange acoustic effect, meaning that something whispered at one end of the wall can be heard 100 metres away at the other end.
The Lyndoch Lavender Farm sells lavender-based smellies, and runs tours showing how lavender is grown. And Barossa Bowland offers ten pin bowling and dinosaur-themed mini golf.
Other things to do in the Barossa Valley, which show the region in a different light, include hot air balloon flights with Barossa Valley Ballooning. You can also cycle along the Barossa Trail, which mostly follows a former railway line, after hiring a bike from the Barossa Cycle Hub in Tanunda.