To Do Things: The best things to do in Adelaide with kids
Free activities abound in Adelaide. Playgrounds, National Parks, beaches, and art galleries are available. Some activities last an hour, while others last all day.
Free Adelaide activities go beyond saving money. These events feature many Adelaide landmarks and attractions. Others are hidden gems. This article proves that life's best things are free!
Make a plan to move with kids to do the best activity in Adelaide.
1) Visit Adelaide Zoo.
Would you like to spend a day in a fur-and-scale mental hospital? The Adelaide Zoo, with over 2500 animals and 250 species of exotic and native birds, reptiles, mammals, and fish, has been a city favorite for years.
Take a free walking tour to learn about the zoo's famous residents. Tours depart from the zoo's main entrance every hour from 10 am to 3 pm.
Nature's Playground, a new natural play area designed to spark curiosity, is for more active kids. Family zoo passes cost $98.50.
2) Tour Haigh's factory.
Even if you've never been to Adelaide, you've probably heard of HAIGH'S, the nation's oldest family-owned chocolate maker (hint: kids always want to go in).
The brand's Visitor Center and Factory, where confectioners hand-finish their delicious chocolates and offer special tastings, is conveniently located on the edge of Adelaide's Parklands, just south of the city center.
Self-guided tours are still available for families. There will be plenty of Haigh's frogs, truffles, fudges, and chocolate seconds.
3) Adelaide Tree climbing
Since the kids act like monkeys all week, why not let them climb? Treeclimb, the nation's first inner-city aerial adventure park, has zip lines and over 70 obstacles on eight treetop courses, three of which are kid-friendly.
Kurangga/Blue Gum Park has BMX tracks, playgrounds, sports fields, and courts, as well as a safety briefing and harnessing 15 minutes before your reservation.
Children must be 100 centimeters to take the $29 80-minute kids' courses. The Grand Course, a collection of five challenging courses, requires 135 centimeters of height (adults pay $39; children pay $35).
4) Enroll your kids in an Adelaide Central Market cooking class.
A dietitian created the free Market Minis programme at Adelaide Central Market to help two- to five-year-olds make healthy food choices and cook snacks.
The weekly-changing recipes emphasize fresh, in-season produce, and market patrons receive 20-minute lessons every Tuesday during the academic year. Best? The "drop-in" format lets you take a break and drink coffee during the class.
5) See a fringe show.
From 18 February to 20 March 2022, travel to a world where comedy, circus, music, cabaret, and theatre rule and anything is possible. The Adelaide Fringe Festival transforms Adelaide and South Australia annually with over 6000 artists in 300+ venues and 1200 shows.
Even though many are for adults, the programme will include many award-winning children's shows, events, and workshops from free to expensive.
6) Try Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.
Is a city so great that local bottlenose dolphins can't resist visiting? It's rude not to say hello at Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.
The marine park, 20 minutes from Adelaide's downtown, houses 30 dolphins and 400 friends who occasionally party there.
Picnic and barbeque facilities are available. You can kayak, paddleboard, or watch the dolphins, seals, and sea lions. The park is free.
7) Visit MOD Museum
MOD., a futuristic discovery museum at the University of South Australia, is definitely for 15-year-olds. Despite this, young children can enjoy science and technology with a bit of guidance. MOD. is free and has seven gallery areas on two floors with interactive touchscreens.
MOD is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm at the UniSA Cancer Research Institute in Adelaide. The café serves sweet and savory treats.
8) South Australian Museum
Welcome to five floors of educational opportunities on Indigenous history, Pacific culture, fossils, global minerals, and South Australian land and marine life.
The museum, free and open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, has excellent natural history, cultural collections, and family favorites like the Young Explorers programme and the Discovery Center (closed at the time of writing; check ahead). Visit the museum café for a slice of cake between exhibits.
9) Unicorn Eats serves rainbow pancake stacks.
Unicorn Eats in the CBD promises sugar overload. Gaytime waffles, milkshakes with marshmallows and sprinkles, a cold, complex alcoholic beverage (parents only), or something more conservative are all available here.
Leave room for the Rainbow Pancake Stack, a tower of six rainbow pancakes, white chocolate, mascarpone, and rainbow ice cream (including a smaller kid-sized version). Monday–Wednesday. Prepare for the photo shoot.
10) Dine at Peter Rabbits
This isn't a Peter Rabbit store, but a hip café in Adelaide's CBD with good food, a kid-friendly area, and Ginger and Rosti, the resident rabbits who rule the courtyard out back.
After a day of exploring, parents can relax with a coffee and a rabbit-free menu, while kids can play in the games box, fruit trees, fountain and pond. Babycinos for tired kids? Yes.
