With flights going live for Adelaide to see the Rugby World Cup soon, I’m starting to put together my 7 day itinerary! This has been an amazing opportunity to get my friends together for a group trip to Adelaide. I’d been saving places to a spreadsheet for ages and I’m so excited to finally share what I’ve found with all of you.
Whether you’re building your own things-to-do-in-Adelaide list around the Rugby World Cup 2027 or just want a general Adelaide itinerary, hopefully this saves you some of the research we’ve already done. If you’ve been to Adelaide and have opinions on anything below, tell us in the comments, I’m always looking for more things to do and more excuses to extend my trips.
Contents
The Basics: Adelaide Itinerary Dates, Flights, and Budget
I’ve built this itinerary and budget around a 7 day, 6 night trip. Flight prices tend to jump once a destination is hosting something like the Rugby World Cup, so I’ve been watching release dates closely, SA-bound flights for October 2027 open up in November 2026.
Here’s the rough budget I’m working with:
Flights: $400
Accommodation: $1,837.96 ($306 pp /6 ppl)
Wine tasting (Barossa Valley): $150
Car hire: $80
Food: $1000 (leaves plenty of space in the budget for coffees at cute cafes, eating out, and homemade meals)
That’s around $1930 in named line items, with a bit of buffer built in for the inevitable extra coffees, parking, and “we’ll figure it out when we get there” moments — we’re aiming to keep the whole trip under $2.5k between everything, flights included.
Adelaide is one of seven host cities for the Rugby World Cup 2027, and six pool matches are being played at Adelaide Oval across three consecutive weekends in October. If you’re planning your own Adelaide Rugby World Cup trip, here’s the full match schedule for reference:
- Wales v Zimbabwe — Saturday 2 October, 12:15pm
- South Africa v Italy — Sunday 3 October, 2:15pm
- England v Zimbabwe — Friday 8 October, 8:15pm
- Fiji v Canada — Sunday 10 October, 12:15pm
- Japan v USA — Friday 15 October, 8:00pm
- Argentina v Fiji — Saturday 16 October, 1:15pm
Because our trip overlaps with these matches, it’s important to lock in accommodation and car hire early because the Rugby World Cup is drawing crowds in from ten nations across the tournament. Thus, short-stay availability in Adelaide is only going to get tighter as October 2027 gets closer.
Day 1: Touchdown in Adelaide
Day one is deliberately light. Flying, picking up a hire car, and finding your accommodation is enough admin for one day without trying to cram in sightseeing on top of it. I prefer to have a relaxing holiday over one with a packed itinerary where I don’t have time to eat breakfast or dinner which was a real experience I had one time! I want you guys to be able to eat too, so this itinerary is more relaxed, which fits the vibe of a coastal beach town perfectly.
The plan:
- Fly into Adelaide
- Pick up the hire car
- Check into your accomodation
- Dinner at a restaurant on the beach
- Watch the sunset
Adelaide’s coastal suburbs, think Glenelg, Henley Beach, Brighton, face west, which means proper sunset views without needing to go anywhere out of your way for them. Booking a beachfront dinner for our first night felt like the right way to ease into the trip.
Day 2: Gardens, Markets, and an Adelaide Oval Match Day
Day 2 is our first full day, and this is the day I’ve put the game on. You can swap out the afternoon activity on any day if you don’t want Day 2 to be game day. But for me, it’s a big culture day in the morning, and then rugby in the afternoon.
The plan:
- Adelaide Botanic Garden + Adelaide Central Market
- A wander through the CBD
- Adelaide Oval for the Rugby World Cup game
The Adelaide Botanic Garden sits right on the edge of the CBD, which makes it an easy morning add-on before anything else. It’s home to a striking Bicentennial Conservatory (a huge glasshouse recreating a Malaysian rainforest), plus formal European-style gardens, a Palm House, and one of the more photographed avenues in the city if the wisteria happens to be in bloom while we’re there.
From there, Adelaide Central Market in the CBD is one of the largest fresh produce markets in the southern hemisphere, and exactly the kind of place we like to build a morning around, stalls of local cheese, South Australian wine, fresh seafood, and enough small vendors that you can turn “just grabbing a coffee” into an hour of wandering without really meaning to.
Then, the main event: the Rugby World Cup Game at Adelaide Oval.
Adelaide Oval Match Day Guide
I’ve put together a mini Adelaide Oval match day guide while researching logistics:
- Getting there: Adelaide Oval sits just across the Riverbank footbridge from the CBD, an easy 10–15 minute walk from most city accommodation — no need for a car on match day.
- Timing: With an afternoon or night kickoff, plan to arrive by early afternoon to soak up the pre-match atmosphere around the ground rather than cutting it fine.
- Tickets: There’s one more chance to purchase Rugby World Cup 2027 tickets on the 1st October, otherwise you’ll have to be on the hunt for resale tickets.
- The setting: Adelaide Oval is one of the more scenic grounds in the country, with the city skyline and St Peter’s Cathedral visible from inside, worth the visit even if rugby isn’t usually your thing.
Day 3: A Slow Morning and the Glenelg to Seacliff Coastal Walk
After a full Day 2, Day 3 is built around recovery and a later start, followed by one of Adelaide’s best coastal walks.
The plan:
- Sleep in
- Walk from Glenelg to Seacliff along the coast
- Visit cafes along the way
The Glenelg to Seacliff Coastal Walk runs for roughly 6–7km along the Esplanade, tracing Adelaide’s most popular strip of seaside suburbs. It’s flat, fully accessible, and lined with Norfolk pines, historic mansions, public art, and enough cafes that “just one coffee stop” rarely happens. Glenelg itself is worth allowing extra time for, Jetty Road is the main shopping and dining strip, and Moseley Square, right on the foreshore, is where the original 1836 colonial fleet landed.
We’re planning to walk it from start to finish rather than doing an out-and-back, which should take around 90 minutes at a relaxed pace, plus however long the cafe stops add on top.
After a long day of walking and exploring, the night is a choose your own adventure based on your energy levels. Order takeout and watch the sunset on the beach, cook a nice dinner at your accommodation, or visit a nearby restaurant. Let me know in the comments what you picked!
Day 4: Kayaking Among the Shipwrecks at Garden Island
Day 4 is the day I’m most excited about! We’re going to be visiting a Ship Graveyard and a Dolphin Sanctuary!
The plan:
- Visit the Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard
- Dinner back at the accomodation
The Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard sits on the North Arm of the Port Adelaide River, about 25–30 minutes north of the city. Between 1909 and 1945, this stretch of water became the final resting place for vessels that had outlived their usefulness — instead of scuttling them at sea, the old Harbours Board simply beached and dismantled them here. Today there are 25 known wrecks slowly being swallowed by mangroves and tide, a mix of old steamers, barges, dredges, and sailing ships, with names like the Santiago, Dorothy H. Sterling, and Gem still visible on heritage plaques nearby.
It is possible to view the ships from land, but a kayak tour is a fun way to spend the day and get close to them. Tours start at $48! Check out Adventure Kayaking SA Dolphin Sanctuary Tours!
Day 5: A Day Among the Vines in Barossa Valley
Day 5 is our one full day trip out of Adelaide, and it’s dedicated entirely to the Barossa Valley.
The plan:
- Barossa Valley wine tasting
The Barossa Valley is roughly an hour’s drive northeast of Adelaide and is one of Australia’s most well-known wine regions, particularly for Shiraz. Rolling vineyard hills, century-old cellar doors, and the kind of laid-back tasting-room culture where nobody’s rushing you out the door, it’s exactly the change of pace we want in the middle of a fairly active itinerary.
One detail we jotted down and don’t want to lose: apparently the region is good for spotting small native birds, which, combined with the very real chance of a kangaroo wandering between vine rows, makes it feel less like a generic wine day and more like an actual South Australian countryside experience. We’re keeping $150 set aside for tastings across a couple of stops rather than trying to hit every winery in the valley.
Check out this wine guide by The Cheeky Vino: “Barossa Valley winery guide”.
Day 6: Waterfalls, Koalas, and Adelaide's Historic Churches
Day 6 is exploring waterfalls and churches. Adelaide has some beautiful historic churches that I would love to see.
The plan:
- Morialta Conservation Park
- Adelaide’s historic churches
- Dinner in the CBD
Morialta Conservation Park is only 20 minutes from the Adelaide CBD (40 from Glenelg), and it’s home to three waterfalls — First, Second and Third Falls — strung along Fourth Creek through a gum-lined gorge. We’re planning the easy 1.8km return walk to First Falls rather than the full Three Falls Grand Hike, mostly because Morialta is also one of the more reliable spots around Adelaide to see wild koalas, and we’d rather walk slowly and actually spot one than rush the full loop.
From there, we’re heading back into the CBD for Adelaide’s historic churches, St Peter’s Cathedral and St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral both sit within easy walking distance of each other, and neither takes more than twenty or thirty minutes to appreciate properly. A relaxing way to close out the day before one more dinner in the city.
Day 7: Last Views From Mount Osmond Before Flying Home
Day 7 is seeing the iconic view of Adelaide from Mount Osmond before heading home.
The plan:
- Checkout
- Drop off the hire car
- Visit Mount Osmond Lookout
- Fly home
Mount Osmond Lookout sits about 30 minutes from Glenelg in the Adelaide Hills, offering sweeping views back over the city, the coastline, and — on a clear day — out to the gulf. It’s a genuinely underrated spot for a last look at Adelaide before flying out, and being close to the airport, it works well as a final stop before the car drop-off deadline.
Adelaide’s Rugby World Cup hosting continues after I’m planning to have flown out, but you can stretch this itinerary over more days if you’re staying for more matches or spend a few days in the Barossa Valley.
Where to Stay Near Adelaide Oval in 2027
There’s many accomodation options to choose for the Rugby World Cup. Me and a few friends have chosen to split an AirBNB, however a hotel is also a good option if your budget is higher. Since accommodation near the ground is likely to be in high demand across the Rugby World Cup, here’s what we found while researching where to stay near Adelaide Oval for 2027:
North Adelaide.
This is the closest option, walkable to the Oval in around 10 minutes, with a quieter, more residential feel than the CBD.
Adelaide CBD / Riverbank precinct
This has the widest range of hotels and short-stay options, and still an easy 10–15 minute walk across the footbridge to the Oval.
Glenelg and the coastal suburbs
This is where I’ll be staying! I’m trading a slightly longer trip into the city (around 20–25 minutes by tram) for beach access and a quieter base for the rest of the trip.
Given six matches are being played at Adelaide Oval between the 2nd and 16th of October, we booked our BnB as soon as tickets were confirmed rather than waiting, accommodation this close to a Rugby World Cup host venue tends to move fast.
Conclusion - Follow Along
I’ll be back with a full recap once we’re home, with what worked, what changed, and what my favourite part of the trip was. If you’ve been to Adelaide, especially around Glenelg, the Barossa, or Garden Island, drop your recommendations in the comments. We’ve still got a year to tweak this Adelaide itinerary, and we’re taking all the local tips we can get. Also, I’ll be posting more travel tips about the Rugby World Cup that’s happening in Australia in 2027 so come back for more posts about that!
