Wheelchair Accessible Tours in Adelaide: What Each Tour and Sight Allows
The short answer. Adelaide's city centre is the easy part. The Ultimate Adelaide Walking Tour, both Central Market food walks and the F Factor food tour all list wheelchair access, and the Art Gallery and the Central Market lend wheelchairs free. Every Adelaide Metro tram, train and bus has a boarding ramp. Most coach days and boats do not list access, so call before booking the Popeye, a wine day or Kangaroo Island.
If you use a wheelchair, a walker or a scooter, Adelaide splits in two. The flat city grid works well on wheels, and the Adelaide Australia guided tours that stay inside it are the ones sold as accessible. Here is what each tour and sight allows, and who to call first.
Wheelchair access in Adelaide at a glance
| Option | Access | Length | From | Before you go |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ultimate Adelaide Walking Tour | Wheelchair, surfaces and transport accessible | 2 to 3 hours | $53 | Book outright |
| 2. Central Market Discovery Tour | Wheelchair and surfaces accessible | 1 hour 30 minutes | $71 | Adults 18+, market days only |
| 3. A Taste of the Central Market | Wheelchair, surfaces and transport accessible | 50 minutes | $42 | Book outright |
| 4. The F Factor food tour | Wheelchair, surfaces and transport accessible | 2 hours | $71 | From age 5 |
| 5. The market on your own | Stalls accessible, one free wheelchair | Your pace | — | Closed Sunday and Monday |
| 6. Art Gallery, museum, library | Lifts; free wheelchair loans | Your pace | Gallery entry free | Reserve a chair by phone |
| 7. Adelaide Botanic Garden | Every gate but Hackney; chairs for hire | Your pace | Free entry | Pre-book the chair |
| 8. Popeye on the Torrens | Six steps with handrails | 40 to 50 minutes | $21 | The skipper helps |
| 9. Ships Graveyard kayak | Ticked, but moderate fitness asked | 3 hours | $56 | Ask before you book |
| 10. Kangaroo Island in a day | Folding chair with a helper | 16 hours | $291 | Bring a companion |
The accessible tours are all on foot in the city centre, where the Adelaide walking tours run. Anything by coach or boat needs a phone call.
1. Ultimate Adelaide Walking Tour
The Ultimate Adelaide Walking Tour is wheelchair accessible, with accessible surfaces and accessible transport. It runs 2 to 3 hours from 25 Pirie Street, twelve walkers at most, from $53. The route takes in Victoria Square, Rundle Mall, the Art Gallery, the Torrens at Elder Park and Parliament House, and ends at a bar near the market with a snack and a drink. Cancel up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
Start with the city walk
Accessible surfaces, twelve walkers at most, and a drink at the end.
2. Adelaide Central Market Discovery Tour
This 90-minute market walk is wheelchair accessible with accessible surfaces. It takes eight guests at most and meets at 9:30 at SiSea, stall 76, in the north-west corner of the market, from $71. Tastings and a coffee or tea are included. It is for adults 18 and over; the age limits on Adelaide tours show which days take children.
3. A Taste of Adelaide Central Markets Food Tour
The shortest option, at 50 minutes. It is wheelchair accessible, with accessible surfaces and transport, takes ten guests at most and meets at the main entrance at 45 Grote Street, from $42.
4. The F Factor food tour
A two-hour food walk with lunch, wheelchair accessible with accessible surfaces and transport. It meets in the Adelaide Arcade by Haigh's Chocolates, takes ten guests at most from age 5, and costs from $71.
Book a market walk
Adelaide Central Market Discovery Tour
Ninety minutes of tastings and a coffee inside the market, eight guests at most, adults 18 and over.
From $71 per person
Check Availability
A Taste of Adelaide Central Markets Food Tour
Fifty minutes and a market lunch from the Grote Street entrance, ten guests at most.
From $42 per person
Check Availability
The F Factor: Adelaide food tour
Two hours of food and lunch from the Adelaide Arcade, with accessible surfaces, ten guests at most, from age 5.
From $71 per person
Check Availability5. Adelaide Central Market on your own
The Adelaide Central Market works without a guide too:
- Stalls: every aisle is reachable by wheelchair.
- A free wheelchair: the market keeps one, booked through the Market Stall on 08 8203 7494.
- Toilets: the accessible facility, with automatic doors, a shower and a hygiene support station, is on the Western Roadway in the Gouger Street dining area.
- Parking: lifts run from the UPark car park, level 2 on the Gouger Street side and level 1 on the Grote Street side.
- Days: Tuesday to Saturday. It is closed on Sunday and Monday.
6. The Art Gallery, the museum and the State Library
All three work on wheels. For the walk between them, read the cultural boulevard, stop by stop.
- Art Gallery of South Australia: free wheelchair loans; reserve on (08) 7085 1500, option 7. Accessible parking is on level 1 of the Wilson car park on North Terrace, 80 m away.
- South Australian Museum: fully wheelchair accessible, with a lift to every level. Ask security staff to book a wheelchair.
- State Library: the lift in the glass foyer reaches the Spence Wing first floor and the Mortlock Chamber. The Institute Building has a ramp at the Kintore Avenue entrance.
7. Adelaide Botanic Garden
Entry is free and the garden opens every day. The tram stop is about 100 m from the Main Gate.
- Every entrance gate is wheelchair accessible except Hackney Gate, which is too steep.
- Paths are mostly flat and paved, with some gravel; the paths to the Sunken Garden and the Threatened Seed Orchard are steep.
- The Museum of Economic Botany and the Bicentennial Conservatory's canopy boardwalk both take a wheelchair.
- All five toilet blocks have accessible toilets, and a Changing Places room is at map reference A4.
- Wheelchairs are for hire at the Goodman Building reception: book on 08 8222 9311, and before 3pm Friday for a weekend.
8. Popeye on the Torrens: possible, with six steps
The Popeye river cruise runs 40 to 50 minutes from Elder Park, from $21, with 48 seats and no reserved places. It is not conventionally wheelchair accessible.
9. The dolphin kayak: ask before you book
The Dolphin Sanctuary and Ships Graveyard kayak is ticked as wheelchair accessible with accessible surfaces, yet it asks for moderate fitness, is not for anyone with back problems or a heart condition, and starts at age 8. It runs 3 hours from Gillman, from $56. Tell the operator exactly what you need before you pay.
10. Kangaroo Island in a day, with a folding chair
The Kangaroo Island in a day tour leaves the Adelaide Central Bus Station and runs about 16 hours, from $291. It is not wheelchair accessible as sold, but a collapsible wheelchair with removable wheels travels if a companion helps you board and leave the coach and ferry. On the island:
- Seal Bay: a 900 m return boardwalk to the viewing platforms is wheelchair accessible. Beach access is paused for now, with a roaming guide on the boardwalk.
- Remarkable Rocks: an accessible boardwalk, with accessible toilets near the Flinders Chase car park.
- Admirals Arch: the boardwalk is steep, with steps at the end.
The other Kangaroo Island tours from Adelaide list no access. To set your own pace, see Kangaroo Island without a tour.
Tours that do not list wheelchair access
Call the operator before booking any of these:
- Wine days: none of the Adelaide wine tours lists wheelchair access, and the premium Barossa day does not take wheelchair users or electric wheelchairs.
- Hills days: the Cleland and Hahndorf day, though Cleland Wildlife Park itself has accessible paths and hires out wheelchairs.
- River and coast: the Port River dolphin cruise, the other kayak trip, the Victor Harbor day and the River Murray lunch cruise.
- Coach city days: Gems in a Day, among the Adelaide city tours.
Getting around by tram, train and bus
Every Adelaide Metro bus, train and tram has a boarding ramp. For a tram or train, wait by the blue and white access symbol on the platform: the first door opens there and the driver sets up the ramp. Drivers cannot move you or your chair, so bring a helper if you need one; a Companion Card may cover their fare. More practical detail is in visiting Adelaide.
Wheelchair accessible Adelaide: your questions
Is Adelaide wheelchair friendly?
Which Adelaide tours are wheelchair accessible?
Can you borrow a wheelchair at Adelaide attractions?
Are Adelaide trams wheelchair accessible?
Is the Popeye boat wheelchair accessible?
Can you visit Kangaroo Island in a wheelchair?
Accessible ways to see Adelaide
Ultimate Adelaide Walking Tour
Two to three hours on foot from Pirie Street across the city grid, with accessible surfaces and transport, twelve walkers at most.
From $53 per person
Check AvailabilityThe F Factor: Adelaide food tour
Two hours of food and lunch from the Adelaide Arcade, with accessible surfaces, ten guests at most, from age 5.
From $71 per person
Check Availability
Adelaide River Torrens Sightseeing Cruise
Forty to fifty minutes on the Torrens from Elder Park; boarding is six steps with handrails and the skipper's help.
From $21 per person
Check Availability
Kangaroo Island in a Day Tour from Adelaide
About 16 hours by coach and ferry to Seal Bay and the western tip; a folding chair travels with a helper.
From $291 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: start with the city walk, then phone ahead for the boat or the island. Every fare sits side by side on Adelaide Australia Tours.