Surrounded by rolling hills and stunning coastline, Adelaide is a friendly and vibrant city with a laidback, unhurried lifestyle. From bohemian laneways and alleys bursting with cafes and galleries to 19th-century sandstone architecture, you’re bound to fall in love with Adelaide as soon as you arrive.

Foodies, in particular, will love Central Market, dating back to 1869 and home to over 80 food stalls. Wine connoisseurs can enjoy a glass of the good stuff on a tour of Australia’s premier wine region, the Barossa Valley. Whether you want to learn about Indigenous heritage at the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, meet the animals at Adelaide Zoo, or take your time exploring the historic city, there is something for everyone in Adelaide.

Things to see, do and experience on an Adelaide cruise
Adelaide is a city built for a good day ashore, with the Adelaide Hills, wine country and coastline all within easy reach of the terminal.

The Barossa Valley wine tour is one of the most popular Adelaide shore excursions, taking guests through rows of century-old vines to taste shiraz and cabernet at family-run cellar doors, often with a stop for lunch amid the region's rolling hills. Combine it with Hahndorf, Australia's oldest surviving German settlement, where half-timbered buildings house bakeries, galleries and small artisan stores along a single tree-lined main street. For wildlife lovers with a full day in port, a Kangaroo Island tour offers sea lions basking on granite boulders, koalas dozing in the gums, and some of the country's most untouched coastal scenery.

Closer to the terminal, Adelaide Zoo is home to Australia's only giant pandas alongside red pandas and native wildlife, and the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery at the South Australian Museum offers one of the world's largest collections of Aboriginal artefacts. History buffs can wander North Terrace and the sandstone facades of the old city or ride the tram down to Glenelg Beach for a swim and fish and chips by the jetty.

If you are cruising from Adelaide
If you're cruising from Adelaide, it's worth arriving a day or two early to settle in before you sail. The city centre sits about 20 minutes from Outer Harbour, close enough to fit in a morning at Central Market or a wander through the Adelaide Botanic Garden before you head to the terminal. Once checked in, most guests find embarkation straightforward thanks to the terminal's recent upgrade. Head up on deck as your ship eases away from Outer Harbour, with the Le Fevre Peninsula and the low hills of the Adelaide Hills receding behind you as you sail out into Gulf St Vincent.

If you are cruising to Adelaide
Arriving in Adelaide by cruise ship gives you a gentle, scenic introduction to South Australia. As your ship makes its way through Gulf St Vincent towards Outer Harbour, watch for the low profile of the coastline and the wide skies that give the region its open, easy character. Once ashore, the train or a short transfer has you in the Adelaide CBD in around 20 minutes, ready to explore Central Market, North Terrace or the laneways of the West End. If Adelaide marks the end of your cruise, staying an extra night or two leaves time for a day trip to the Barossa Valley or Kangaroo Island before you fly home.

Adelaide food and flavours to savour on your Adelaide cruise
An Adelaide cruise is also a chance to eat and drink your way through one of Australia's most under-rated food cities, backed by some of the country's best wine country right on its doorstep.

Central Market, trading on Gouger Street since 1869, is the obvious starting point, with more than 80 stallholders selling everything from paddock-to-plate meat and South Australian cheeses to fresh Coffin Bay oysters and King George whiting. Gouger Street itself runs alongside the market and into Chinatown, a strip of Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants that has fed Adelaide diners for decades. For something a little more polished, the West End laneways of Peel Street and Leigh Street are packed with wine bars and small restaurants that fill up quickly on a Friday night.

Out of the city, the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills supply much of what lands on Adelaide tables, from shiraz and sparkling red to farmhouse cheese and cool-climate produce, while Hahndorf's German bakeries are worth the detour for a pretzel or a slice of Black Forest cake. Carnival's onboard chefs draw on South Australian produce during Adelaide sailings, so the flavours of the region travel with you well past Outer Harbour.