Travel through McLaren Vale, one of Australia’s oldest winegrowing region, taste delicious wines and organic olives, and lunch at a celebrated winery restaurant. Blessed by a Mediterranean coastal climate – with spectacular beaches just 15 minutes from vineyards and olive groves – McLaren Vale offers not just great wine, but some of Adelaide’s most satisfying sightseeing. After spending a couple delightful hours taking in the terrain by panoramic coach, you’ll visit The Farm Willunga to sample sustainably grown olives and olive oil, learn about how they’re produced, and browse the pure soaps and body care products also made here. You’ll tour a pair of boutique wineries to taste and compare some of the Shiraz and other varietal wines that have made the Vale so internationally famous. At one of the cellars, you’ll relax over a sumptuous lunch showcasing fresh and local ingredients – accompanied, of course, by wine. Stunning coastal scenery is on the menu for the return drive as you visit stunning Maslin Beach – captured on the big screen in numerous films – and pass through Glenelg and tony shoreside suburbs en route back to Adelaide. If you’re looking for an excursion offering exceptionally diverse scenery, flavors, and experiences – you’ve found it.

Spend a delightful day in the Barossa Valley. Savor lunch in what many consider Australia's premier wine-producing region. You’ll drive from the coast inland to survey the famous rolling Barossa landscape by panoramic coach. Stop to enjoy the mesmerizing valley-wide views from Mengler Hill Lookout. There, are over 150 wineries in the region. You'll not only taste their sumptuous wine but acquire knowledge about local history, grape varieties grown here and the fine art of wine comparing. At one topnotch winery, you‘ll settle in for a sumptuous two-course lunch served in their highly regarded restaurant. At another point during this relaxed afternoon, you'll have an encounter with the unique natural acoustics of the curving Whispering Wall that retains Barossa Reservoir; An engineering feat completed in 1903. The reservoir earned its nickname when people discovered that anything whispered on one end could be heard on the other, over 300 feet away. With your tastes well satisfied, and perhaps a few secrets shared sotto voce -you’ll return to the port.

Travel south to the Fleurieu Peninsula for a river cruise that brings you past spectacular dunes, beaches and birdlife in Coorong National Park. Wild scenery, casual lunch on board, entertaining and informative commentary, and a guided walk to the Great Southern Ocean all serve to make this experience much more than just another boat trip. The day starts with a scenic two-hour coach journey from Adelaide, traversing renowned winegrowing regions. Reaching the historic river port of Goolwa – which means “elbow” in the local Aboriginal dialect – you’ll begin your cruise and head for the spot where the Murray River reaches the sea. Entering the Coorong River, you’ll explore its protected waters as your captain provides background on the pristine terrain you’re passing, along with the flora and bird life that thrives there. At Godfrey’s Landing, disembark for an easy walk along the Younghusband Peninsula sand dune boardwalk – and be rewarded with majestic beach views when you reach the Great Southern Ocean. Once back on board, cruise a bit further into the Coorong to see the dam and locks at Lake Alexandrina, then sip afternoon tea en route back to whence this delightful eco-adventure began.

Be introduced to Adelaide’s foremost sights by coach and on foot, with visits to a cultural museum, a historic botanic garden, and an interactive winemaking showplace. Affluent, committed to the arts and enormously proud, Adelaide offers much to be seen and admired. On an orientation drive through town, you’ll take in iconic landmarks like St Peters Cathedral, Festival Centre, Parliament House, and the Central Market. A walk from the National War Memorial along tree-lined North Terrace Boulevard brings you past other must-sees like the Art Gallery of South Australia and the State Library. Next door is the South Australian Museum, where you’ll step inside and discover a 3,000-piece collection in the Aboriginal Cultures Gallery and an entire opalized Plesiosaur skeleton in the Opal Fossils Gallery. Arriving at Adelaide Botanic Garden, you’ll wander into the midst of a world-class flora collection with an exquisite glass-and-steel Palm House conservatory from 1878 as its centerpiece. After a while spent admiring leaves, fronds and flowers, you’ll shift your focus to grapes at the National Wine Centre, an interactive exhibition celebrating the history and current state of Australia’s world-renowned wine industry. Enjoy a brief tour and tutorial on wine tasting, then… taste some.

Experience the multiple pleasures of a sightseeing jaunt through Adelaide city and its overlooking hills, combined with a tasting visit to an award-winning vineyard. You don’t need to be a wine aficionado to appreciate an itinerary this well-balanced – but if you are, so be it. You’ll depart the pier for a brief narrated drive through metropolitan Adelaide, passing some of its most noted landmarks as you make your way to the highest of all the Adelaide Hills, Mount Lofty. The panoramic views from the lookout terrace at the summit are out of this world; on a clear day you can see all the way back across the city skyline to the coastal beaches. Once you’ve caught your breath – and filled your digicam to capacity with snapshots – your drive continues through these storied hills to that previously-promised winery visit. The chosen venue varies based on availability, but this rich winemaking region is loaded with deserving contenders – each in its own gorgeous setting. Once there, you’ll discover more about the wide variety of grapes grown in South Australia’s Mediterranean-like climate and get to sample their exquisite flavors first-hand during a curated tasting. More sights accompany the drive back to port.