Adelaide to Cairns road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The best stops on the inland Adelaide to Cairns road trip are Broken Hill, Bourke, Charleville, Barcaldine and Townsville. The distance from Adelaide to Cairns is 2,969km, with a driving time of around 32 hours.
An Adelaide to Cairns road trip is an epic adventure that more-or-less crosses a continent. There are two ways of doing it, however. The first is the long way around the coast, taking in big cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, plus a whole host of beach towns.
The more intrepid route is inland and considerably quicker, although it misses most of the obvious tourist highlights.
Adelaide brings food tours of the fabulous Central Market, Torrens River cruises, swimming with dolphins and the chance to walk across the roof of the Adelaide Oval. To book Adelaide accommodation, step this way. For a full range of Adelaide tours and experiences, explore here.
Cairns brings Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruises, World Heritage-listed rainforest adventures, glass bottom boat tours at Green Island and the Kuranda Scenic Railway into the mountains. To choose from a wide range of memorable Cairns tours and experiences, look here. To pick the Cairns accommodation best suited to you, book here.
This guide is for those going from Adelaide to Cairns inland, and should help you plan the best overnight stops for your road trip itinerary.
Adelaide to Cairns distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Adelaide to Cairns is 2,969km. This makes for a driving time of around 32 hours.
Trip-booster! 8 great day trips from Cairns to power-up your holiday
- Kuranda combo package – take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up and the Skyrail cable car down.
- Green Island tours with beach time, glass bottom boat and snorkelling. (Or pick a Fitzroy Island trip instead).
- Moore Reef day tour – with underwater observatory, snorkelling gear, glass bottom boat & semi-submersible cruises.
- Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruise – with snorkelling stops at two excellent spots on the Reef.
- Cape Tribulation rainforest day tour – with Mossman Gorge Aboriginal cultural experience and Daintree River crocodile-watching cruise.
- Atherton Tableland waterfalls and rainforest tour – including wildlife-spotting and a swim in a volcanic lake.
- Outback 4WD tour – visiting Chillagoe Caves, Aboriginal rock art and Granite Gorge.
Obviously, this road trip is going to require at least two overnight stops.
Good road trip stops on the quickest Adelaide to Cairns route include Broken Hill, Bourke, Charleville, Barcaldine and Townsville.
Adelaide to Cairns road trip: Wine regions and Burra
The first leg of this Adelaide to Cairns road trip is the 517km leg from Adelaide to Broken Hill. The route initially grinds through suburban Adelaide before joining the Barrier Highway at Gawler.
However, if you’re treating this as a holiday, rather than a mission from A to B, the Barossa Valley and Clare Valley wine regions are close by and incredibly tempting.
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.
Otherwise, your first good stop is Burra. Here you can learn about copper mining heritage at the Monster Mine or discover what happened to ancient giant wombats at the Red Banks Conservation Park.
Burra accommodation picks
The best Burra accommodation options are:
- For plenty of space and homeliness: Paxton Square Cottages.
- For heritage and charm: Burra Railway Station Bed and Breakfast.
- For decent rooms and relatively cheap rates: Burra Motor Inn.
Burra to Broken Hill
After Burra, the Barrier Highway enters the outback and crosses the border from South Australia to New South Wales. The Yunta Roadhouse is the only realistic fuel and refreshment stop before reaching the archetypal outback city of Broken Hill.
4 Broken Hill experiences to book in advance
- Tour to quirky outback town, Silverton – Mad Max country.
- Sunset tour of the Outback Sculpture Park – take photos in the best light.
- Day trip to the opal mines of White Cliffs.
- Head into the outback to see ancient Aboriginal rock art.
Top Broken Hill attractions include the Living Desert State Park, the Big Picture at the Silver City Mint and Art Centre and the underground mine tours in neighbouring Silverton.
Broken Hill accommodation picks
Australia specialist accommodation booking site Wotif offers stays in Broken Hill for from $105 a night. Check out the best deals page here.
To narrow it down a little, you should probably look at the following Broken Hill accommodation choices first.
- For families: Broken Hill Tourist Park.
- For good value on a budget: Lodge Outback Motel.
- For art deco glamour near the train station: Royal Exchange Hotel.
- For central location with a pool: Ibis Styles.
- For character: Astra Hotel.
Click through for the next section: Cobar and Broken Hill.