We came to McLaren Vale to do some wine tasting, but there was a wine tasting event at the visitor…read moreinformation centre and we never even made it to the town! Apparently there are tasting events here all the time. The cafe has a beautiful terrace with a huge garden, so it would be completely reasonable to get some food here and just sit outside for the afternoon. There's a half-price coupon for coffee in the free tourist magazine, you can pick it up at the counter and use it at the coffee shop right away. In the next room is an art gallery showing paintings and sculptures from local artists. We spent most of the afternoon here and then it was already time to go home!

It's very beautiful, you can sit down for some coffee or lunch, take your kids out to play, pick up…read moreflyers for attractions and buy souvenirs.

If you're planning to tour Coorong National Park or Murray River, be sure to book a cruise with the…read moreSpirit Australia Cruises. Run by father and son team, Jock and Michael Veenstra has cleverly tailor made an eco friendly cruise with their very own lightweight vessel Spirit of the Coorong I, which enables them to navigate through hidden gems of the Coorong National Park. The Spirit of the Coorong cruise which runs for 4 1/2 to 6 hours conducts daily nature tours, which includes nature guided walks, lunch, expert commentary and expect to take in the spectacular views of the National Park. If you're looking to venture along Australia's legendary Murray River, opt for the Murray River Run cruise where you will experience the wonders of the Australian bushland. Nature, wildlife and Australian outback - it can't get any better than this!

Had see a boat zoom past us on a walk around Granite Island...... came home, investigated...... The…read moreBig Duck Boat Tour it was!! After a gap, on a nice day we decided on a whim to give it a go. They offer 2 tours.... one 30 minute and one 75 minutes. We gave the 30min tour ago first at a reasonable $30 PP. We booked through the website for the same day and it worked very well with no probs. The website is well done and explains all you need to know about tours, prices, hiring etc. So we turn up to the ramp about 20mtrs up the Causeway to Granite Island, where the boat picks up and drops of. The boat seats 10...looks fun!!! We were greeted by owner/operator Dan, who was friendly, efficient, he explained the safety rules and handed our life jackets (spray jackets were available for splashing but thats all the fun!!!). On boarding we left the Causeway slowly and headed to Granite Island....once far enough out Dan hit the gas and we enjoy an exciting, speedy trip, bouncing of waves and skimming the water. We head to Seal Island.....a small granite island where we see several seals including cubs frolicking on the rocks.....we were given plenty of time to photograph and watch them. Next we headed in the same speedy fashion to the shore of Encounter Bay, where Dan had said dolphins had been seen recently. He obviously knew his stuff as within minutes of arriving at least 2 pods of dolphins played around the boat for ages. Unfortunately being the 30minute tour our time was up and we heading back attacking waves and being sprayed by seawater splashes.......very refreshing on a warm day. Dan was a great guide, and while the trip was taking place constantly spoke to us about the places and there history as well as knowlegde of wildlife in the area. Next time i go back i am certainly doing the longer tour..... I can't wait......it was awesome!!

Great experience! we loved every moment and were lucky enough to see some great whale breaches as…read morewell as dolphins, seals and many different birds. The crew and guide were all excellent and professional, we felt very safe and looked after at all times. The weather was quite bad the day we did our trip but the supplied plastic/rubber 'ponchos' kept use very warm and dry.

Had a lovely 90 minute cruise this morning on the Murray River on the Spirit of the Coorong. A very…read morenice hostess checked us in, and the captain maneuvered the boat with expertise (fellow captain/boat owner here). We enjoyed looking the waters and shorelines over...a very nice time indeed!

An absolutely brilliant way to explore all McLaren Vale has to offer. If you are after a…read morefriendly, fun and informative tour run by locals who love the region this is the tour for you. Pick up from Adelaide was effortless. Only 45 minutes later we were sampling some great Shiraz at Angoves. All of the wineries were great. Just let Cook or Kerry (Mrs Chook) know what you like and they will take care of the rest. We had lunch at the Barn restaurant in the McLaren Vale township. It was included and the steak was great! I loved having a local gossip with the wine makers at Kangarilla estate too. It really felt like I was a world away from the hussle of Melbourne. Tasting wine from the barrel at Danshi was a lovely way to wrap up the day. I cannot recommend this tour highly enough or the wonderful hosts. Thanks. I will be back.

Awesome... BOOK NOW!!…read more Booking an organised tour is always a bit of a worry. If you get the wrong tour guide, you've blown your money. Ive , unfortunately had a few tours like this in the past. You could have just got a cab and/or drive yourself around. Then you don't have to deal with the wanky guide who only has his/her best "picks" (kick backs) on the books. Chook and Mrs chook are the real deal. They love the area, they won't you to love it as much as they do. And you will. Apart from adapting the tours to your preferences, they'll ensure you get the max from each cellar door. If it's a bit busy at the time, they'll head 2 min down the road to the next, then head back. The tour, Chook and Mrs Chook, and the wonderful staff at the wineries will ensure you experience the area to the fullest. I cannot recommend enough.

We stayed here one year when I was a kid, we were back in Adelaide on holiday but someone was…read morerenting out our house, so instead of staying with friends or family we rented a cabin at the caravan park. It was only a short walk from were we'd be staying if we were at home, and it has the perfect spot on the beachfront. Recently my sister and her kids stayed here for a week, so I got the chance to experience it all over again. I think it says a lot when I get informed that they've started referring to it as the 'no-fun park'. Not a good indicator of a family holiday spot. It's mostly down to the fact that kids can't ride their bikes or really do much of anything around the cabins. I'm sure it's to keep noise down, but surely during the day a few kids having fun isn't going to be too harmful. The cabins are by no means luxurious, but they have everything you need. The park also has plenty of other facilities including a playground or tennis court if you do want to try and have some fun. The playground is mainly designed for younger children, but it's a blessing because the Moana Beach playground next door has to be one of the weirdest ones around. My favourite part would have to be checking out the awesome RVs that take up spots around the caravan park, who knew they could get that big! It's a fantastic location for enjoying Moana Beach during the Summer, maybe they just need to lighten up a little.

Perfectly placed peaceful, relaxed, unwind. Great little cabins for a family with busy kids. A…read morestones throw walk to the beach and publis park. Minutes drive to shopping centre's. You can be as busy or chilled as you like. The staff were very friendly and helpful and would happily recommend to any family looking for a great getaway. We will be back.

Recently booked a holiday to the Cook Islands with Paris @ Victor Harbor. Absolutely delightful…read moreyoung lady, nothing was too much trouble. Paris was more than happy to answer our many and varied questions. Highly recommend.

We loved our McLaren Vale wine tasting tour. The group was really small, four of us and our…read morewonderful guide Innez. My only requirement, when I was booking the tour is to visit d'Arenberg and that was easily accommodated. The best part is that was the first winery we ended up at, which I'm extremely grateful about as I'm a big fan and later in the day the experience would have been confusing. On the way out of the winery group of happy kangaroos hoped in front of our van and disappeared in the vines, with a curious one posing for pictures, so expect a day full of different surprises. We visited also Fox Creek, Serafino, Wira Wira and Paxton. The experience everywhere was outstanding. The lunch in Serafino was extremely delicious (we had the lamb with green tomatoes). Of course we tasted a lot of wine resulting in very happy times returning back to Adelaide. Strongly recommended tour if you plan to visit McLaren Vale.