The Adelaide to Canberra drive, mostly tedious and along the Sturt Highway, is 1,159km long. That’s an Adelaide to Canberra driving time of just over 12 hours.
It’s reasonable to assume that most overseas tourists won’t really be considering going directly from Adelaide to Canberra. In all likelihood, they’re going to drive from Adelaide to Melbourne first, taking in the Great Ocean Road on the way.
Then, if they do drive from Melbourne to Canberra, it’s likely to be in order to break the Melbourne to Sydney journey.
But let’s just imagine someone, for some perverse reason that’s not business or politics, really insists on driving from Adelaide to Canberra. How long will it take, and is there anything worth seeing on the way?
Five great things to do while you’re in Adelaide
- Kayak with dolphins – at the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.
- Take wildlife-packed day tour to Kangaroo Island.
- Combine an Adelaide Hills tour with a lunch cruise on the Murray River.
- Enjoy a tasting tour of four Barossa Valley wineries – with a gourmet lunch.
- See incredible sunsets on a twilight cruise from Glenelg.
Quickest route for Adelaide to Canberra drive
Well, let’s just say this isn’t a classic road trip route for a reason. The Adelaide to Canberra drive via the quickest route is 1,159km long. The Adelaide to Canberra driving time is 12 hours and 12 minutes according to Google Maps.
It’s not an enjoyable driving route either. It starts off relatively pleasantly, coming through the weirdly German town of Hahndorf and the Adelaide Hills wine region. Then the South Eastern Freeway continues to the South Australian town of Murray Bridge, where the route first encounters the Murray River.
Cutting through some phenomenally tedious stretches of rural South Australia, the Adelaide to Canberra drive continues across the Victorian border. It skirts under the Murray Sunset National Park, goes through Ouyen and turns for the north at Tooleybuc. You’ll join the Sturt Highway just before Balranald in New South Wales.
Best stop on the drive from Adelaide to Canberra
Here, at last, is a genuinely worthwhile stop on the route. Yanga National Park stretches along the Murrumbidgee River. But it’s the heritage rather than the picturesque river scenery you come for. The Yanga Homestead and Yanga Woolshed are hugely evocative, preserved-in-time remnants of the once enormous wool industry that thrived here.
From here, you’ve got an awfully long time on the Sturt Highway, with mediumly pleasant Wagga Wagga the only sizable town en route through cork hat country. The Adelaide to Canberra drive continues along the same route as the Adelaide to Sydney drive until finally diverting south around Yass for the capital of Australia.
This is the sort of drive that is neither fun nor necessary. Take a domestic flight instead if you really want to go direct from Adelaide to Canberra.
What to do in Canberra
- A first-time visitor’s guide to the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra.
- All you need to know about going to Commonwealth Park in Canberra.
- Top tips for visiting the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra.
- All the important visitor information for the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
- Questacon guide – key information about Canberra’s science and technology museum.
