Adelaide to Canberra road trip: Distance, driving time & stops
The Adelaide to Canberra drive, mostly tedious and along the Sturt Highway, is 1,159km long. That’s an Adelaide to Canberra driving time of just over 12 hours, so turn it into a road trip. Things to do between Adelaide and Canberra include Yanga National Park.
It’s reasonable to assume that most overseas tourists won’t really be considering going directly from Adelaide to Canberra. In all likelihood, they’re going to drive from Adelaide to Melbourne first, taking in the Great Ocean Road on the way.
Then, if they do drive from Melbourne to Canberra, it’s likely to be in order to break the Melbourne to Sydney journey.
But let’s just imagine someone, for some perverse reason that’s not business or politics, really insists on driving from Adelaide to Canberra. How long will the Adelaide to Canberra road trip take, and is there anything worth seeing on the way?
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.
Canberra offers wine and distillery tours, plus guided visits to the National Museum of Australia. To investigate Canberra tour and experience options, head here. To find the best Canberra hotel deals, book here.
Quickest route for Adelaide to Canberra drive
Well, let’s just say this isn’t a classic road trip route for a reason.
The Adelaide to Canberra drive via the quickest route is 1,159km long. The Adelaide to Canberra driving time is 12 hours and 12 minutes according to Google Maps.
Pick your perfect Adelaide day trips
- Barossa Valley tours: 1. Wine-tasting with lunch 🍷. 2. Food and wine tour. 3. Small group wine tour with exclusive VIP tastings.
- Kangaroo Island in a day – including sea lions 🦭, koalas 🐨and national parks.
- Adelaide Hills tours: 1. Sights plus Murray River lunch cruise combo. 2. Small group cheese, chocolate & wine tour with Hahndorf German village.
- McLaren Vale tours: 1. Small group wine tour with lunch. 2. Hop-on hop-off wineries tour 🍷. 3. Food and wine indulgence tour, including the gloriously weird d’Arenberg Cube.
- Victor Harbor and southern highlights tour – including the Granite Island horse-drawn tram.
It’s not an enjoyable driving route either. It starts off relatively pleasantly from the home of Haigh’s chocolates, coming through the weirdly German town of Hahndorf and the Adelaide Hills wine region. You can fill the boot with tasty wines from the likes of the Howard Vineyard and Lane Vineyard should you wish.
Hahndorf accommodation options include the stylish Manna by Haus and solid Hahndorf Motel.
15 fabulous Adelaide experiences to supercharge your visit
- DOLPHINS 🐬: Swim with wild dolphins, kayak with the resident bottlenose pod or watch them on a dolphin cruise.
- FOOD AND WINE 🍷: Indulge on Adelaide food tour including Adelaide Central Market. Or try a wine discovery tour with tastings at the National Wine Centre. Or the ultimate Penfolds Magill Estate experience with full estate tour & Grange tasting.
- WILDLIFE 🐨: Spot koalas on a guided Morialta nature hike. Or walk from Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty with entrance to Cleland Wildlife Park.
- CRUISES ⛵: Watch the sun set on a twilight coastal cruise, get to know the city on a Torrens River cruise or take a high tea cruise aboard the Popeye.
- SPORT 🏏: Dare to take on the Adelaide Oval Roofclimb or enter the fabled scoreboard on the behind-the-scenes stadium tour.
- ACTION 🚵♂️: Descend Mount Lofty on a downhill mountain bike tour or kayak along the Torrens River.
Next section: Over the Victorian border.