The 10 Best Wildlife Parks in Adelaide

1.Dolphin Sanctuary Eco Kayaking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 560 reviews · 3 hours · from $55Our pick

Set out from Port Adelaide’s Angas Inlet Boat Club for a three-hour guided kayak trip through Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary. Guides such as Alex, Paddy, Mark, and Kendall explain the mangroves, birds, dolphins, and old wrecks. No kayaking experience is needed, but you must be able to paddle. Dolphins and shipwrecks are not guaranteed.

“Fantastic experience - though we didn’t see dolphins we loved kayaking through the mangroves and seeing this unique ecosystem. I’m also happy the company don’t use bait or sounds to tempt the dolphins, as they should be free in their own habitats. Brayden was a great guide, friendly and informative.”

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2.Dolphin Sanctuary Kayak Tour Adelaide

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 355 reviews · from $56

Meet at Angas Inlet Boat Club on Garden Island for a three-hour guided paddle through Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary. Guides such as Alex, Paddy, Fiona, and Lewis provide safety help and nature information as you look for wild dolphins, birds, fish, mangroves, and shipwrecks. No kayaking experience is needed, but moderate fitness helps.

“Terrific kayaking experience! Paddy was a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable, yet knew when to allow quiet time to appreciate the dolphins and other wildlife/nature.”

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3.Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary and Ships Graveyard Kayak Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 275 reviews · from $55Top rated

Paddle for up to three hours with Adventure Kayaking SA through Adelaide’s Dolphin Sanctuary and Garden Island Ships Graveyard. Guides such as Luke, Phil, Pippa, and Tim teach beginners, point out birds and mangroves, and help you spot Port River dolphins. The sheltered water suits families, though sightings are never guaranteed.

“Guide was great and shared lots of knowledge about the area and the things we saw along the way. Thank you.”

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4.Dolphin Sanctuary and Ships Graveyard Kayak Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 143 reviews · 3 hours · from $55

Paddle sheltered mangrove creeks and the Port River with an English-speaking guide, watching for wild dolphins and exploring the Ships Graveyard’s wrecks. Guides such as Tom, Oliver, Aaron, and Kelahn are praised for clear instruction and local stories. The $55 tour suits beginners, but you need moderate fitness and your own transport to Garden Island.

“Tom the kayak guide was great. He is very knowledgeable and explained the history of the abandoned ships. He is a great nature guide and pointed out various wildlife to us. The tour is good value and I would definitely recommend. I was a little apprehensive about kayaking for 3 hours but it was fine as you go at your own pace and there’s no pressure to keep up.”

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5.Cleland Wildlife Park Experience – from Adelaide including Mt Lofty Summit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 85 reviews · from $88

Travel from Adelaide to Cleland Wildlife Park in an air-conditioned minivan with a group of no more than 13. Walk among kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and other Australian animals, feed selected species, and enjoy a koala close-up. A short stop at Mt Lofty Summit adds broad views over Adelaide and the coast.

“Great day out and thoroughly enjoyed being able to get so close to the animals and feed them. Unfortunately we were unable to hold the koalas as the weather had been so hot.”

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6.Adelaide Zoo: General Admission Tickets

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 80 reviews · 1 day · from $33

Spend a full day at Adelaide Zoo in the CBD, home to 2,500 animals across 250 species and Australasia’s only giant pandas. See Australian wildlife, Komodo dragons, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, and birds, then add keeper talks, the Free Flight Bird Show, cafes, and Variety Natures Playground.

“So many great animals. Nice layout. Great way to spend a morning or afternoon.”

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7.Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Mangroves Kayaking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 59 reviews · from $39

Spend 90 minutes kayaking through the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, a calm area of mangrove-lined creeks about 30 minutes from central Adelaide. Your guide provides the kayak, paddle, life vest, and safety briefing, then leads you through sheltered waterways where you can watch for dolphins, birds, and marine life. Guide Lydia is praised for managing groups well.

“It was a great lidia realy knew her stuff and handled the group well all round positive experience 👍🏼👍🏼”

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8.Dolphin Sanctuary Mangroves Kayak Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 54 reviews · 1h 30m · from $38

Meet Adventure Kayaking SA on Garden Island for a 90-minute, English-language kayak tour through Adelaide's Dolphin Sanctuary. After a safety lesson, paddle sheltered mangrove creeks in a single or double kayak, looking for Port River Dolphins, seals, sea lions, and birds. Guides such as Keenan, Darla, Keilan, and Will lead the outings.

“Will was very welcoming and friendly and gave us a really good understanding of the mangroves environment. unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins but that didn't really matter.”

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9.Dolphin Sanctuary Single or Double Kayak Rental

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 51 reviews · 2 hours · from $27Best value

Meet Adventure Kayaking SA at Garden Island Boat Ramp for a safety briefing, map, life vest, and two-hour kayak hire. Choose a single or double kayak, then paddle through mangrove creeks in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary. Dolphin sightings are possible but not guaranteed, and the ship graveyard is off-limits.

“good although i didn’t see any dolphins as there was only 13 in the whole lake”

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10.Cleland Wildlife Park Experience with Mount Lofty Summit

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 41 reviews · 5h 30m · from $87

Spend about five and a half hours visiting Mount Lofty Summit and Cleland Wildlife Park from Adelaide. Your small English-speaking group, limited to 13, gets return hotel transport, park entry, a map, animal food, and a koala close-up. Follow bush trails at your own pace, feed kangaroos, and see more than 130 native species.

“Only four on our 10:30 tour so very personal. Guide was somewhat soft spoken but very pleasant and informative. Offered to walk with us through Cleland (until his lunchtime) or leave us to explore alone. Took us to koala photo op line first, just in time before afternoon close. Saw big, active joey in, out and partially (just feet!) out of mama’s pouch. Definite highlight! We also loved watching pen full of hungry echidnas enthusiastically working over log slices searching for food. So so cute!! Nice view of entire city from Mt Lofty— could see green space around perimeter, Oval. Guide suggested walking across river to Oval after drop off…”

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