The Best School Holiday Activites in Adelaide This Autumn

And just like that, the school holidays are upon us once more, with the first break of the year kicking off from April 12th. Fortunately, this break falls over Easter, so there is plenty of choccy-fuelled fun to be had. Beyond the easter egg hunts and finding the best hot cross buns for breakky, Adelaide is filled with activities, events and activations the whole family will love.

So, whether you’ve got little ones, big kids, teens or one of each to keep entertained while school is out, put a smile on their face—and tire them out—with the best school holiday activities in Adelaide. You’re welcome!

Pottering Around Extended School Holiday Hours

Hosting ceramics and pottery wheel classes for all ages, Pottering Around have extended their trading hours for the holidays! Book the kids (and yourself) in for some ceramic painting and let the creative side flow as you get to work and decorate pre-made blank ceramics. It’s the fun of ceramics without having the stress of a wonky bowl or misshapen mug, and the kids will love the beautiful colours of the underglaze paints.

If you’re up for the pottery challenge, that is available here too, along with creative classes and parties for kids.

43 First Avenue, Semaphore Park

Unplugged at Woodhouse Adventure Park

Hosting day camps during the school holidays for kids aged 5-12, Woodhouse Adventure Park promises a fun-filled day of exploring, friends, and, you guessed it, adventure. Choose the day program best suited to your child’s interests, with activities ranging from laser tag and go karts to outdoor challenges, adrenaline-inducing games and magical expeditions. Less than 30 minutes from the CBD in a nature-filled Adelaide Hills location, the kids will likely ask to go more than once, with everyone getting a turn on the outdoor obstacle course and the epic tube slide.

Find out more here.

37 Spring Gully Road, Piccadilly

School Holidays at Adelaide Central Market

Little foodies and their families will love this! The Adelaide Central Market is serving two weeks of fun, low-cost school holiday activities, plus extended trading hours over Easter. From free craft workshops to hands-on cooking classes, there’s something to entertain every little chef. Take the popular Market Trail scavenger hunt together for Easter surprises, yummy pit stops—including at Dough from their scrumptious hot cross buns and Haigh’s for choccy treats—and face painting, or let their creativity shine at craft stations.

Bookings recommended for holiday activities, find out more here.

44-60 Gouger Street, Adelaide

Fruit Picking

Autumn is one of the best times of the year to take the family fruit picking before the season comes to an end, plucking fresh berries and apples from trees and bushes in the picturesque Adelaide Hills. There’s nothing quite as wholesome as bundling the kids in the car and heading out to an orchard to find the ripest, crunchiest apples at Lenswood PYO Apples, or finding juicy strawberries at Beerenberg Farm – an SA institution in Hahndorf. Just be sure to check out the website before heading out to ensure the patch hasn’t been picked clean!

Enjoy a Sweet Treat at Melba’s

Melba’s is inviting anyone and everyone to their OG Woodside Factory and brand new Barossa Valley Dessert Bar to celebrate the Easter long weekend. Eat lunch on the lawn and enjoy a sweet treat afterwards, with milkshakes, coffee, hot chocolates and ice cream available, and pick up a Chocolate Bilby to help support the Zoos SA Greater Bilby Conservation. There are activities for the kids, including face painting and balloon twisters, making it the perfect day out for the whole family. More details to come!

18th to 20th April

9:00am to 4:30pm

22 Henry Street, Woodside & 29 Valley Road, Angaston

Adelaide Botanic Gardens

If you want to get the kids outdoors, explore the beauty in our backyard at Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Stroll through the endless stretches of manicured gardens and admire the historic buildings, including Palm House, the Santos Museum of Economic Botany, the Goodman Building and the State Herbarium. Bring a picnic blanket and set up on a stretch of grass to enjoy lunch as a family.

Don’t miss the enchanting Chihuly in the Botanic Garden! Open to the public up to the 29th of April 2025, immerse yourself in a dazzling outdoor exhibition showcasing the breathtaking glass artworks of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Stick around until dark for ‘Chihuly Nights’ from Thursday to Sunday for a magical evening under the stars, where the sculptures glow with stunning illumination.

North Terrace, Adelaide

Meadows Easter Fair

An Easter staple for over 25 years, the Meadows Easter Fair has delighted families in the Adelaide Hills since 1997. Taking home awards as a top community event, the fair is open over the entire Easter long weekend, with more than 100 stalls set up in the Meadows Hall and carpark. With market stalls from a range of suppliers, each stand brings a new collection of treasures to discover, while kids will love the petting zoo and laser tag. With delicious food and live entertainment throughout the day, you’ll want to set aside a few hours to enjoy the country vibes and charming Adelaide Hills hospitality. Did we mention it’s pet-friendly?

18th – 21st of April, open from 9:00am daily

7 Mawson Road, Meadows

Cooking Classes at Sprout

Have a mini MasterChef in your crew? Why not sign them up for a cooking class at Sprout, where they can experiment in the kitchen with guidance and under a watchful eye? The team are hosting two types of classes as part of a school holiday program—one for kids aged 5-11, the other for older kids aged 12-16. Younger kids will participate with a parent or guardian, while older kids can hang out with friends and make new ones along the way. Whatever their age, they’ll pick up some basic cooking and food prep skills, learn about healthy habits, and have plenty of fun while they’re at it!

89 Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Hilton

TreeClimb Adelaide

For an adventure that will get the heart pulsing, buckle up for a treetop TreeClimb. Easily one of our favourite picks for family fun (plus a great way to limit that pesky screen time), you’ll be harnessed in and given a safety briefing, then walking amongst the treetops, ziplining through the forest and completing course challenges in no time.

With three locations – one in the heart of Adelaide Parklands for convenience, in the Kuitpo Forest and a new spot in Salisbury – this activity will tire everyone out, and you’ll all leave with a little more knowledge of the environment and conservation. With Tarzan swings, zip-loops, giant nets and rock-climbing walls, you’ll be challenged as you jump, swing and climb through the trees.

Adelaide, Kuitpo & Salisbury

Hijinx Hotel

If the rain tries to ruin the fun, it’s always a good idea to have a contingency plan. Let the kids work together and run amok inside the Hijinx Hotel! The latest addition to Rundle Mall’s entertainment offering, this is not your regular hotel. Challenge rooms are filled with ball pits, giant floor pianos, neon lights and topsy-turvy walls, filled with tasks to earn team points and hit the top of the leaderboard.

Perfect for the older kids starting to outgrow the playground, they can solve puzzles, play memory games and burn through the inevitable sugar rush with reaction games. Once they’ve cracked the codes, you’re well placed for more fun with Strike Bowling and Archie Brothers arcade games, sharing the floor. 

Rundle Place, 77/91 Rundle Mall, Adelaide

Play a round of Mini Golf

Mini golf, putt-putt, putting, peewee golf – whatever you call it, there are no two ways about it – an afternoon of mini golf is one of the best things to do in Adelaide with kids and is fun for the ‘hole’ family. Not only does it kill quite a bit of time as your group makes its way around the course, but it also teaches the little ones a thing or two about patience and control, all while being in a fabulously fun environment.

Adelaide has a few standout places to play, so find the adventure that best suits you. Holey Moley is great for rainy days, with an entirely indoor course featuring a new theme and photo ops at each hole a little different to your standard mini golf windmills – think Monopoly boards, The Simpsons couch and Forrest Gump’s infamous park bench.

West Beach Adventure Mini Golf features 18 holes on a classic outdoor mini golf course near the beach making it perfect when the sun is shining, while Shanx gives the term ‘mini golf’ a whole new meaning. There are no amusement concepts here, just rolling green hills, sand banks and a course mimicking the real thing…just in miniature. Cute!

Holey Moley: 170 Pulteney Road, Adelaide

West Beach Mini Golf: 1 Hamra Avenue, West Beach

Shanx: Regency Park & Little Para

Meet the Animals of Adelaide

A good choice for kids of all ages – animals! The Adelaide Zoo is in a prime location on the outskirts of the CBD and home to animals from across the globe, including African lions, Giant pandas, giraffes and meerkats, plus all the Aussie natives – including the adorable quokka. There are animal encounters for the kids who are brave enough to get up close and have a go at feeding a giraffe or having a cheeky meerkat climb along their shoulders. Further east, the kids can cuddle a koala and hold reptiles in the privately owned animal sanctuary at Gorge Wildlife Park.

A day at Monarto Safari Park is one you won’t soon forget, with more than 50 species of exotic and native animals roaming the open-range park – the biggest Safari park outside of Africa. Climb aboard the Safari Land Cruiser, drive through the Wild Africa precinct and grab the binoculars to spot rhinos, hippos, cheetahs, giraffes and lemurs roaming about.

Now that you know the best school holiday activities in Adelaide, how about dreaming a little bigger, with a family-friendly holiday? From the Gold Coast to Busselton, our country is filled with exciting holiday destinations.