Beautiful, bald hills sweep down to sun-drenched beaches. Wineries, orchards and pastures are patch-worked between bushland; and quiet roads lead to alluring cellar doors where you can sit back and take it all in. And it's all less than 40 minutes from Adelaide. Within the hour you can be walking, surfing or fishing on a long sandy beach. Dive on the former warship HMAS Hobart at Yankallila Bay; or begin the 1500 kilometre Heysen Trail at Cape Jervis. Further around the coast you'll find Victor Harbor, with the historic Cockle steam train and whales playing just offshore in the winter months. Visit Granite Island on the famous horse-drawn tram and see its colony of little penguins. All over the peninsula you’ll find seriously good wine country plus enough great restaurants, produce outlets & markets to break even the strictest diet. McLaren Vale is undoubtedly the biggest and most famous wine region of the area, but there's also Southern Fleurieu, Currency Creek and Langhorne Creek.
When to Visit Mclaren Vale & The Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate with cool winters and warm dry summers. Coastal areas tend to have minimum winter temperatures that are several degrees warmer than the inland regions. In the summer months, the area between Port Elliot and Yankalilla is milder in temperature than the northern and eastern areas. The average daily temperature during summer is 24 degrees Celsius, dropping to 16 degrees Celsius during winter. The flats of the McLaren Vale also enjoys warm sunny days. Its proximity to the Mount Lofty Ranges sees the cool gully winds fall down from the hills in the late evening and early morning. Frost is rare, as is rain before vintage. 50% of the annual recorded rainfall occurs during the four winter months (April — July).
Getting Around Mclaren Vale & The Fleurieu Peninsula
By road the region is around 40 min south of Adelaide and is accessed via the Main South Road or the more scenic Clarendon Valley. If driving from Melbourne or the eastern states, enter the region by crossing the Murray River at Wellington. A number of buses and coaches depart Adelaide daily and operate regular services to towns in and around the Fleurieu Peninsula. Trains depart Adelaide Railway Station in North Terrace for Noarlunga Centre. Charters and tours operate within the area or for the more active the region has a number of great bike circuits.