Mildura to Adelaide drive: Distance, time & road trip stops

The drive from Mildura to Adelaide in South Australia is 395km long if going direct. Expect a driving time of four hours and 20 minutes. If doing the Mildura to Adelaide drive as part of a Murray River road trip, however, the winding river route should take around eight hours.

The Murray River city of Mildura makes a fabulous base for exploring the nearby national parks, albeit the Mildura weather makes these day trips tough going in summer. The Murray Sunset National Park offers red kangaroos, pink lakes and Mallee scenery. The Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is great for lakes and wildlife. And the Mungo National Park is one of Australia’s most important historic sites.

Book the best value Mildura accommodation before setting off.

As part of a Murray River road trip, Mildura makes a logical base, along with Albury and Echuca further upstream. The question is where to go next.

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.

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.

Mildura to Adelaide drive on the A20

Despite being a Victorian city, Mildura is closer to South Australian state capital Adelaide than it is to Melbourne.

The 542km drive from Melbourne to Mildura takes around six hours, whereas the distance from Mildura to Adelaide by car is just 395km.

Your Mildura checklist

Find the best accommodation.
Book a half day visit to the Trentham Estate Winery and Mildura Wetlands…
… Or a nature-focused Hattah Lakes 4WD tour.

Go direct along the A20, sticking to speed limits and the Mildura to Adelaide driving time is around four hours and twenty minutes. You can stop for a four day walking holiday on the Murray River Walk en route if you wish. Most travellers won’t. A kayaking tour on Loch Luna near Berri might fit better in the time frame.

The change in landscape as you cross the South Australian border is striking. Suddenly, the heavily irrigated agricultural landscape gives way to dry, yellow fields. There’s not much to see until you hit the Barossa Valley wine region towards the end of the journey. The A20 passes through Barossa Valley hub town Nuriootpa. Before then, you can enjoy some large-scale silo art in Waikerie.

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.

Drive from Mildura to Adelaide along the Murray River

However, if your plan is to faithfully follow the Murray River to the Murray Mouth in the Coorong, the drive from Mildura to Adelaide takes a lot longer.

silo art in Karoonda, South Australia, on drive from Mildura to Adelaide — Silo art in Karoonda, South Australia, can be on the menu if you take the Murray River route from Mildura to Adelaide. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Going via the South Australian towns of Swan Reach, Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend and Goolwa, the route from Mildura to Adelaide is around 617km long.

Tailem Bend accommodation picks

The best Tailem Bend accommodation choices are:

For good quality at relatively cheap rates (and a riverside location): Motel River Bend.
For racetrack views: Rydges Pit Lane Hotel.
For families: Big4 The Bend Holiday Park.

Expect a driving time of around eight hours. This gives you a perfect excuse to stay overnight in Goolwa and explore the Coorong by kayak. From there, you can head to Adelaide via the shiraz-heavy McLaren Vale wine region. Highlights there include the d’Arenberg Cube, Inkwell Wines and Onkaparinga River National Park.

Things to do in Adelaide include walking tours honing in on on North Terrace, Victoria Square, the ghosts of Adelaide Gaol and North Adelaide’s mansions.

For more, try swimming with dolphins from Glenelg and climbing the roof of the Adelaide Oval.

**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.