McLaren Vale to Cape Jervis: a one-day drive
Vines, beaches and a Backstairs Passage finale
A line down the west coast
The western coast of the Fleurieu - from McLaren Vale south to Cape Jervis - is one of the great short drives in South Australia. The road follows the bones of an old farming track that runs more or less parallel to the Gulf St Vincent, dropping in and out of beach access roads as it goes. You can do the whole route in 90 minutes if you do not stop, or you can stretch it into a full day if you stop properly.
This itinerary is the full-day version. Six stops, all on or close to the main road, with enough variety to feel like a real day out.
When to go
Avoid weekends in summer when McLaren Vale is busy. Mid-week or shoulder season is the sweet spot - cellar doors are quieter, beaches are emptier, and the drive south of Sellicks gets very quiet on a Tuesday in May.
What to take
Full tank of fuel - service stations are sparse south of Yankalilla. Water, snacks, swimwear in summer, layers always. A wine cooler bag for any cellar door purchases.
Reverse it
This route also works in reverse - start at Cape Jervis with a fresh morning at the lighthouse, work back up the coast through the beaches, and finish with a long lunch at a McLaren Vale cellar door.
Day 1
6 stops-
1
d'Arenberg Cube
McLaren ValeStart with a 10am arrival at the d'Arenberg Cube. Tasting flight and a wander through the Alternate Realities Museum. Allow 90 minutes.
See place → -
2
Sellicks Beach
Aldinga & Port WillungaA 15-minute drive south brings you to Sellicks. Drive on the sand, take the photo, walk for 20 minutes. Coffee at the Sellicks Beach Hotel before you leave.
See place → -
3
Carrickalinga Beach
Normanville & YankalillaThe drive south through the Sellicks Hills opens up at Carrickalinga - 3km of safe, white-sand swimming beach. Lunch at Forktree Brewing on the ridge above is the obvious move.
See place → -
4
Second Valley Beach
Myponga & Second ValleyQuick stop for the iconic curved jetty and the cliffs. Cliff jumping in summer; a quiet 30-minute beach walk in winter.
See place → -
5
Leonards Mill
Myponga & Second ValleyA 5-minute drive inland from Second Valley brings you to Leonards Mill - the converted 1849 flour mill is now a heritage restaurant if you want a slower second-half stop.
See place → -
6
Cape Jervis Lighthouse
Cape JervisFinal stop. The 1871 stone lighthouse, the view across Backstairs Passage to Kangaroo Island, the SeaLink ferry coming or going. Stay for sunset.
See place →
On the map
More like this
Story
The lost jetties of the Fleurieu
Port Willunga, Second Valley, Yankalilla, Rapid Bay, Normanville — the Fleurieu coastline is dotted with the stumps, pylons and ruined decks of jetties that once loaded slate, grain, wine and passengers for Port Adelaide. Some are still half-standing. Some you can swim or dive through. Here is a photo-trail of what survives.
Story
McLaren Vale: a complete destination guide
McLaren Vale is the most-visited wine region in South Australia. There are 130+ cellar doors, dozens of restaurants, world-class architecture, beaches at the foot of the vineyards and a long list of things to do that have nothing to do with wine. Here is the complete guide.
Story
The lighthouse keepers of Cape Jervis
The original Cape Jervis lighthouse was built in 1871 on the windswept headland where the mainland runs out. For a hundred years it was kept by families whose lives ran to the rhythm of the Backstairs Passage weather. The keeper logs read like a soap opera.
Story
The wild south coast drive
The Main South Road between Yankalilla and Cape Jervis is one of South Australia's great scenic drives - windswept pastures, hidden coves, a 170-year-old flour mill, and the southernmost tip of the peninsula where the Heysen Trail begins.
Guide
The Fleurieu Coastal Drive
A two-day driving loop covering the full Fleurieu coastline - down the western Gulf St Vincent shore, around Cape Jervis, along the wild south coast to Goolwa, and back to Adelaide via Strathalbyn and the Mount Lofty hills.
Guide
Second Valley to Rapid Bay: the half-day nobody plans
A four to five hour loop between two of the most photogenic beaches on the Fleurieu coast - Second Valley and Rapid Bay - with the Leonards Mill ruin, a general store coffee stop and the kind of small-road scenery that never ends up in the brochures.