How to enjoy Adelaide sights for free

The historic and booming South Australian capital is a destination that rewards leisurely exploration - and it can be done for free. 

Whether you are walking along the banks of the River Torrens or strolling around one of Adelaide’s many parks and squares, the city has a lot to offer.

There’s a beguiling mix of old, new and green, easily traversed because of the city’s grid system. Getting around is easy thanks to the city’s compact layout. Most of the main attractions in the CBD are within easy walking distance.

And if you don’t feel like walking there is an excellent public transport system including trains, trams and buses. The free Adelaide City Connector bus travels to many popular destinations and attractions.

Among them: Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Adelaide Festival Plaza, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Zoo, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the National Wine Centre, Rundle Mall and the temptations of Adelaide Central Market.

Trams run all the way to Glenelg Beach, while you can catch a bus to Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills.

Adelaide is full of wine bars and restaurants: Africola, Arkhe, Soi 38 and Madame Hanoi are all reliably good.

For nightlife, Peel Street and Leigh Street are home to plenty of bars and pubs.

My recent stay was at slick and modern Eos by SkyCity – part of the casino complex.

There are 120 well-appointed 120 rooms suites here; very comfortable. As a collab with Adelaide's art and design community, the complex has 900 commissioned artworks on display.

BODHI Spa at Eos, a heated outdoor swimming pool, spa pool and expansive leisure deck are all on site, and the breakfasts at ITL are excellent.

Wine lovers can check out Penfolds’ historic Magill Estate in the suburbs, or head to the Adelaide Hills, with several wineries and cellar doors within a few kilometres. 

Hahndorf, originally settled by Lutheran migrants from Prussia in 1839, is Australia's oldest German settlement.

The main street of Hahndorf is lined with elm and plane trees and many original brick and timber cottages remain intact. The town is dotted with restaurants, cafes and providores.

For those who have wined and dined enough, the National Motor Museum is at Birdwood, while Mount Lofty is home to the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens and the Mount Lofty Summit, which offers stunning views to Adelaide and beyond.

Check out www.skycityadelaide.com.au and www.cityofadelaide.com.au

Like the sound of a weekend of oysters and gin?

 

Like the sound of artisan gins paired with freshly shucked oysters? 

Never Never Distillery's OysterPalooza is coming up. 

From Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2, Never Never's McLaren Vale Distillery Door will host OysterPalooza, billed as "a flavour-filled celebration of South Australia's world-class oyster season".

It's the weekend before World Oyster Day on Wednesday, August 5.

Expect freshly shucked local oysters, a special OysterPalooza drinks menu, and the return of cult-favourite Shellies, frozen Oyster Shell Gin served in an actual oyster shell.

Friday night will feature a Boom Shuck-alaka party, while the days will showcase laidback Weekend Deck Sessions. 

Tickets include oysters, drinks, tastings and entertainment. 

The organisers promise live music, exclusive bottle offers and great vibes all weekend. 

Check out https://neverneverdistilling.com.au/ to book.

Airlines angered by European airport chaos

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European airlines are among those to have issued a letter to European Union Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, warning that the rollout of the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is causing major operational disruption and threatening the smooth functioning of summer air travel.

While the aviation sector continues to support the objectives of the biometric border control system, industry leaders say its implementation is creating severe bottlenecks at external Schengen borders, resulting in excessive waiting times, flight disruptions and growing pressure on airports, airlines and border authorities.

According to the open letter, passengers are already experiencing waits of up to five hours at border control since the full implementation of the EES in April, news portal Travel Mole reports.

The delays are affecting millions of travellers, inconveniencing families, elderly passengers and those with reduced mobility, while airlines are reporting missed connections, delayed departures and mounting operational challenges for frontline staff.

The industry argues that these problems persist despite member states making use of temporary measures allowing border authorities to postpone biometric data collection until early September. 

Although intended to ease the transition, the flexibility has failed to eliminate long queues or prevent operational disruption.

With July and August expected to bring around 40 million more passengers through European airports than the previous two months, aviation organisations warn that the situation is likely to deteriorate rapidly unless additional action is taken.

The concerns extend beyond Europe’s largest hubs. Airports serving popular leisure destinations are also struggling to process arriving passengers efficiently, with travellers reportedly queuing outside terminal buildings while airlines face departures with passengers still waiting at immigration checkpoints.

Industry leaders also caution that prolonged border delays could damage Europe’s reputation as an attractive travel destination. 

They argue that reports of lengthy immigration queues are already discouraging some international visitors, potentially affecting tourism, air connectivity and the wider European economy.

The letter also challenges recent comments from the European Commission suggesting that long waiting times are primarily the result of airline scheduling and concentrated flight arrivals. 

Aviation stakeholders reject that explanation, noting that airline schedules are planned well in advance and that passenger demand patterns have long been predictable. They argue the EES rollout should have been designed to accommodate known traffic peaks rather than disrupt airport operations.

Amsterdam tells tourists: Pay up, or on your bike

Amsterdam is a small city with narrow thoroughfares and limited resources. 

Now the Dutch city is cracking down further on overtourism. 

Amsterdam authorities are planning to introduce new tourism measures which will make the city one of the toughest in Europe in managing tourism amid a growing hostility towards tourists, news hub Travel Mole reports.

 

Among the changes is a gradual increase in its tourist tax to 20% by the end of the decade, as city leaders seek to curb overtourism and improve the quality of life for residents.

The Dutch citg already charges one of the highest visitor taxes in Europe. Overnight visitors currently pay a tourist tax equivalent to 12% of their accommodation cost, while day visitors arriving by cruise ship pay a separate fee fixed at €15 per day.

Under proposals unveiled by the city’s new coalition government, the overnight tourist tax would rise to 16% next year before increasing by one percentage point annually until it reaches 20% in 2030.

City officials say the higher levy is designed to ensure visitors contribute more fairly to the costs associated with maintaining one of Europe’s most-visited destinations.

Amsterdam welcomed 9.5 millions guests last year. That makes tourism one of the city’s most important economic drivers but local authorities say the growing number of visitors has also placed mounting pressure on public spaces, municipal services, neighborhoods, and infrastructure.

According to the coalition agreement, tourism remains vital to the city’s economy, but the associated costs of managing large visitor numbers have become increasingly significant.

The proposed tax increase forms part of a much broader tourism management strategy designed to create what city leaders describe as a more balanced visitor economy.

Another proposal would see increases to Amsterdam’s entertainment levy, which currently applies to activities such as canal boat tours, canoe rentals, and other recreational services operating on the city’s famous waterways.

Tasmanian tourism project goes up in smoke

Things can move glacially in Tasmania - and sometimes they just don’t move at all.

Take a multi-millon dollar tourism project designed to boost visitation to the Huon Valley in the far south of the state following major bushfires in February 2019.

Seven years after those fires, with not one brick laid, proponent DarkLab announced that it will cease further work on the Transformer project at Ida Bay with activities to be wound up by the end of July.

Despite receiving approvals from Huon Valley Council and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife in 2023 and 2024, an increase in projected costs, particularly in relation to visitor service structures, has rendered the project untenable.

DarkLab CEO and creative director Leigh Carmichael said: “It is with a heavy heart that we make this announcement today. We have given the project every opportunity to succeed, but after seven years’ work we have made the decision not to proceed.

“We would like to thank the far south community for their support, and we are disappointed that we have been unable to finish what we began. It’s difficult to walk away from the unrealised potential.

“We would like to thank the Huon Valley Council, the State Government, and the Federal Government who have worked patiently with us throughout this process, along with the artist and many people who have worked on the project since its inception.

“Unfortunately, the environmental and economic landscape is very different from when we were first asked to look at this project back in 2019. The long approval process, Covid and rising construction costs have all worked against us this time.

“While we still believe a catalyst project is urgently needed to spark further tourism visitation and investment in the Huon Valley, the timing for this project is no longer right.

“We will now focus on working with the Office for the Arts to acquit the Federal Government grant and ensure the funds are returned in full. 

"DarkLab, with [Mona owner] David Walsh, will cover the costs incurred in attempting to realise the project.”

Transformer was to be a site-specific commission by American artist Doug Aitken, a pavilion with a reflective interior, creating a lens consisting of angles and facets, a kaleidoscope that interacted with the landscape over the changing seasons.
 

Virgin Australia offers flyers more flexibility

Don't you hate it when you arrive at their airport early and your carrier has two earlier flights to your destination. 

You either pay up to catch an earlier flight, or sit around for an hour or two until your scheduled flight departs. 

No more waiting if you are booked on an eligible fare with Australian carrier Virgin Australia. 

Virgin is the only Australian airline to offer eligible guests travelling on a domestic economy flex fare the ability to access Fly Ahead, enabling them to switch to an available earlier same-day flight through the Virgin Australia app, with no change fee or fare difference.

The new app feature offers a significant shift from traditional flexible fares, which typically require travellers to pay a change fee and fare difference when changing flights. 

Virgin Australia Fly Ahead can offer savings for frequent travellers, particularly those flying for business.

The value of that added flexibility is already clear, with data showing more than 44,000 Virgin Australia guests moved to earlier flights over the past 12 months, saving a combined 143,000 hours in airport dwell time. 

Expanding the Fly Ahead app feature, launched for high-tier Velocity Frequent Flyer members in May 2026, to domestic economy flex fare guests means more travellers can get on their way sooner. 

Virgin Australia group executive Libby Minogue says the expansion of Fly Ahead reflects the airline's commitment to listening to guests and delivering meaningful flexibility.

"At Virgin Australia, we listen closely to our guests, and one thing we hear consistently, particularly from our business travellers, is that they want more flexibility and control when plans change," Minogue says. 

"That's why we're proud to be the only Australian airline offering superior flexibility to our flex ticket holders, allowing them to switch to an available earlier same-day flight via the Virgin Australia app, without incurring a change fee or fare difference. 

"The change will help our guests get home sooner, make an earlier meeting or maximise their time."

For more info visit here.