Family Activities
For Kids & Parents
The best family activities in McLaren Vale
The horse-drawn tram at Victor Harbor, steam trains at Goolwa, calm bays for swimming, farm animal experiences and playgrounds - the Fleurieu is a family holiday legend.
Read our guide to family activities ↓Browse family activities by area
Adelaide's Top Food & Wine Tours
View →Personalised small-group food and wine tours showcasing McLaren Vale's signature producers - Adelaide pickup with a focus on long lunches and multiple cellar doors.
Down The Rabbit Hole Wines
View →Alice in Wonderland meets McLaren Vale
A whimsical, Alice in Wonderland-themed cellar door and restaurant on Binney Road, with vineyard gardens, long lunches and estate wines.
Fleurieu Cherries
View →A family cherry orchard in The Range hinterland offering pick-your-own cherries each summer (early December to January).
Fleurieu Food & Wine Cooking School
View →Hands-on cooking classes in working venues across the Fleurieu and Adelaide, including Cut Hill Wall Distillery, Bungala House, Lot 50 and Hastwell & Lightfoot in McLaren Vale.
FoodBuilder Bread Class
View →A hands-on bread masterclass of about four hours from FoodBuilder's Goolwa kitchen, with lunch, wine, a sourdough starter and a recipe booklet to take home.
Fork in the Road Wines
View →A relaxed bring-your-own-picnic-style cellar door on the heritage cricket oval site at Sand Road, McLaren Vale.
Helivista
View →Scenic helicopter flights over McLaren Vale - 30-minute scenic loops, wine flights to remote cellar doors and lunch flight packages.
McCarthy's Orchard Cellar Door
View →A family-friendly McLaren Flat cellar door where kids meet a pony, donkeys and free-range chickens while parents taste wine and cider in the orchard.
My McLaren Vale
View →Private guided wine tours run by McLaren Vale local Jon, visiting four to five wineries, breweries or distilleries per day with tailored itineraries.
Penny Red Beer Co
View →A vineyard-set craft brewery and dog-friendly taphouse in The Range, with 13 taps of beers brewed onsite and a wood-fired pizza kitchen.
Small Batch Wine Tours
View →Sommelier-led intimate wine tours into McLaren Vale, the Barossa and the Adelaide Hills - all-inclusive small groups led by Matthew Kurko.
The Menz FruChocs Shop
View →A shopfront dedicated to South Australia's beloved chocolate-coated apricot and peach lolly, with tastings, gift packs and the full Menz range.
The Vine Shed (Conte Estate)
View →An Italian-heritage family cellar door on Sand Road with regular live music, a kids play area and a big deck overlooking the vineyards.
TrailHopper Hop-on Hop-off Wine Bus
View →Adelaide's only hop-on hop-off wine bus, looping a North and South route across 15+ McLaren Vale cellar doors with flexible all-day boarding.
Woodstock Wildlife Sanctuary
View →A 3-hectare wildlife sanctuary on the Woodstock Wine Estate at McLaren Flat, with rescued kangaroos, wallabies and an emu, and a daily 11:30am feeding session.
About family activities in Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a brilliant place to travel with children, with a stack of things to do that work for all ages and most weather. The classic family day out is at Victor Harbor: ride the heritage horse-drawn tram across the causeway to Granite Island, then hop aboard the Cockle Train, a historic steam-and-heritage railway that runs along the coast to Goolwa.
There's plenty more to keep kids busy. Think mini golf and foreshore playgrounds, the trout farm at Tooperang where you can catch your own, wildlife parks, and gentle, swimmable beaches up and down the Gulf St Vincent coast. Markets, farm gates and pick-your-own orchards turn a simple drive into an adventure, and the region's many short, flat walks and rail trails are easy going for little legs and prams.
Rainy days are well covered too, with museums, galleries, indoor play and family-friendly cafés in the larger towns. Most attractions are close together and easy to string into a single outing, and lots of beaches, walks and parks are free. For the most popular activities and the Cockle Train, check seasonal timetables and book ahead during school holidays.
Family Activities in Fleurieu Peninsula - frequently asked questions
What is the Fleurieu Peninsula best known for as a family destination?
The signature family day out is at Victor Harbor, where a Clydesdale pulls the heritage tram across the 630-metre causeway to Granite Island. Its operator describes it as the only horse-drawn tramway in Australia. The other classic is the SteamRanger Cockle Train, a heritage rail service between Goolwa, Port Elliot and Victor Harbor on a line dating back to 1854, which the operator describes as Australia's oldest steel-railed railway.
Which beaches are best for families with young children?
Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot is a sheltered, crescent-shaped bay with calm water, a grassy foreshore and cafes right behind the sand, making it ideal for easy beach days. Carrickalinga and Normanville on the western coast also offer calm, shallow turquoise water and soft sand, with Carrickalinga's rock pools popular for little ones to explore safely.
Where can kids get up close to animals on the Fleurieu?
Urimbirra Wildlife Park, about five minutes from Victor Harbor in Hindmarsh Valley, is an open-range park home to kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, emus, wombats and dingoes. It is open daily, animal feed is available on site, and there are scheduled koala and snake-handling experiences, plus free barbecues and picnic areas for a family lunch.
Do you need to book the tram and the Cockle Train, and what days do they run?
The Victor Harbor horse-drawn tram runs every day except Christmas Day, with tickets bought at the causeway on the day. The Cockle Train runs every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday year-round, plus SA school holidays, long weekends and Easter week. Tickets are sold on the day only at Goolwa, Port Elliot and Victor Harbor stations, and services are cancelled on days of 35°C or more, so check the SteamRanger timetable before you go.
Is winter still a good time for a family trip to the Fleurieu?
Yes - winter is whale season, when southern right whales gather close to the Encounter Coast off Victor Harbor, generally from May to October with the best viewing from June through September. The South Australian Whale Centre in the heart of Victor Harbor has interactive exhibits for kids, and June's Winter Whale Fest brings family events along the coast, so the colder months are far from quiet.