Adelaide to Kalgoorlie road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time
The best stops on an Adelaide to Kalgoorlie road trip are Mount Remarkable National Park, Kimba, Head of Bight and Eucla. By car, the distance from Adelaide to Kalgoorlie is 2,160km, with a driving time of around 22h44m.
An Adelaide to Kalgoorlie road trip takes you from the South Australian capital to Western Australia’s historic gold mining capital. And it crosses the infamous Nullarbor Plain 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.
To look for the best Kalgoorlie accommodation, book here.
This guide should help you plan your perfect Adelaide to Kalgoorlie road trip itinerary.
Adelaide to Kalgoorlie distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Adelaide to Kalgoorlie is 2,160km. That makes for a driving time of roughly 22 hours and 44 minutes.
The best stops to add to an Adelaide to Kalgoorlie road trip itinerary include Mount Remarkable National Park, Kimba, Head of Bight and Eucla.
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.
Adelaide to Kalgoorlie road trip: Adelaide to Port Wakefield
Leaving Adelaide via the northern suburbs, the drive from Adelaide to Kalgoorlie heads north along the Princes Highway (also known as the Port Wakefield Highway in these parts) towards Port Wakefield.
There are plausible, but eminently missable, detours available to the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary and Thompson Beach along the way.
The mangrove swamp of the Clinton Conservation Park is the highlight of Port Wakefield.
Adelaide to Kalgoorlie drive: Port Wakefield to Mambray Creek
The Wakefield Highway then becomes the Augusta Highway, and the next stop worth considering is Lochiel. Here, you can get great views over Lake Bumbunga, which often turns pink due to the micro-organisms living in it.
The Adelaide to Port Augusta leg of the Adelaide to Kalgoorlie journey continues north towards Port Pirie. However, for a more scenic route, swinging through the Clare Valley wine region only adds half an hour onto the drive.
Underwhelmingly industrial Port Pirie is a place best skipped, and the Augusta Highway continues north. Telowie Beach and the Port Germein Jetty are slightly more appealing diversions
Mambray Creek is better, though, as it is the gateway to the rugged walking trails of Mount Remarkable National Park.
Click through to the next section: Port Augusta to Iron Knob.