Best Dog Friendly Day Trips From Melbourne – Planning to take your dogs on a trip from Melbourne to Adelaide? Here we discuss the best places for dogs on the road!
What if I told you to never leave your beloved dog behind when you go on a road trip? If you want to explore dog friendly tours in Australia, you are in the right place. We recently embarked on a 10-hour road trip from Melbourne, Victoria to Aldinga Beach, South Australia with our two cawdlies. Along the way, we found some dog-friendly spots that made our trip memorable.
Best Dog Friendly Day Trips From Melbourne
In this blog post, we’ll share our experiences finding dog-friendly spots, our top 5 dog-friendly spots, and all the amazing restaurants and cafes we ate at during our trip, so you and your furry friends can plan your southern getaway. adventure Australian schools.
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View this post on Instagram post shared by Oliver and Winky Woof Cawoodly | Kavapu (@)
The average travel time from Melbourne to South Australia is 8 hours non-stop. Since we traveled with our two adorable poodles, Ollie and Winx, the trip took about 10 hours. When traveling with dogs, it is necessary to stop at short intervals every two hours. We went this way over the 2023 Easter weekend, which was only four days. Hence, this route is ideal for those who are planning a short trip to Adelaide and its surrounding areas.
You must reserve pet-friendly accommodation in advance as space is limited. It was also a busy holiday season and the dogs couldn’t find a suitable place. So we expanded our search to places where dogs are not welcome (ie properties with fenced in secure yards). We contact the host by sending a polite message describing our dogs: hypoallergenic, non-shedding, well-behaved (follow us on Instagram all the time!).
The lovely Iluka of Aldinga Beach agreed to let Oli and Winky stay with us on our trip. This Airbnb is clean and airy and equipped with everything you need for a short stay. Located on the Fleurieu Peninsula, it is surrounded by beautiful beaches, the beautiful McLaren Vale wine region and many restaurants and cafes. Ollie and Winky love the yard and we can walk to nearby Aldinga beach anytime. Simmonds Reserve is an excellent dog park five minutes from the resort. The owners loved Ollie and Winx so much that this property is now available for pets upon request! You can also book this property if you are planning a trip to the Fleurieu Peninsula with your dog.
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Things to know – Dogs are off-limits at all times except during the summer holidays from 10am to 8pm
South Australia’s Fleury Peninsula has some of Australia’s most dog-friendly beaches. From the sandy beaches of Aldinga Beach (where we stayed) to the rugged coastline of Cape Jervis, there are plenty of opportunities for you and your pooch to enjoy a refreshing swim or a long walk on the beach. I was surprised to find that most of these beaches are rope-free! Ollie and Winx really enjoyed running on the beaches with amazing view and clear water.
While we were there we visited Normanville Beach, Carricklinga Beach and Port Willunga Beach. All these beaches are always rope-free. Our favorite is Port Willunga Beach with its high cliffs, beautiful caves and old shipwrecks along the coast. We took some nice pictures of the sunrise there. But if you want to picture the sunset on the horizon, visit at sunset!
Things to know – Dogs on leashes Some stores will allow them inside if your dog is fine. While you’re there, be sure to visit Beerenberg Farm, a 5-minute drive away. Dogs are not allowed inside.
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Located in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Hahndorf is a cute little German town that’s also dog friendly. With so many dog-friendly restaurants and cafes, it’s easy to bring your furry companion to enjoy a great meal. My partner loves visiting the Hahndorf Inn and eating German food whenever we are there. There is plenty of open space for dogs. Most shops on the high street are dog friendly, allowing you to explore shops with well-behaved pups.
Well, it’s good for us humans. We wanted to visit the Barossa Valley, known for its world famous wineries and beautiful scenery. We were pleasantly surprised at how dog friendly the place was. Many wineries are dog-friendly, allowing you to stroll through the vineyards and enjoy wine tasting with your furry companion by your side. In addition to wineries, there are many dog-friendly restaurants and cafes where you can enjoy a meal or snack with your dog. We visited on Easter Sunday and almost every place was very busy. Therefore, we recommend booking in advance if you are visiting during a busy holiday season.
Time to visit – We visited during the Easter holidays so it was very busy. But the wineries are beautiful in the fall, a good time to visit, and perhaps avoid the rush hour.
McLaren Vale is located in the heart of the Fleurieu Peninsula, second only to the wineries of the Barossa Valley! Staying in the area is great as all the wonderful beaches mentioned earlier like Port Willunga Beach are easy to find and the wines are fantastic for the Barossa Valley and unique outdoor friendly areas.
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Our favorite winery is Down the Rabbit Hole Wines. Beautiful vineyard and even more beautiful space outside. The old double bus in the courtyard is not only a beautiful scene for photography but also makes the wine tasting a unique experience. All the outdoor seating, rugs and more, warm the bohemian aesthetic, and there’s always music playing. You can have a cuppa and enjoy the good vibes with your pup.
Time to visit – This can be a bit confusing as the color of the lake depends on many factors. We visited in April (autumn) and it was not rosy. Others had better luck in the spring.
Things to know – The lake may not always be rosy, so check the latest reviews on Google or the latest photos on social media. Dogs must be on a leash. As this is a popular holiday spot, there is unfortunately a lot of pollution, which meant broken glass on the ground when we went. So please be careful when walking your dogs and please don’t litter.
If you’re traveling from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Western Freeway, you’ll be halfway to Pink Lake. It is located in a popular vacation spot just off the highway. It’s a great place for your dogs and you to relax and take some Insta-worthy photos. However, we are not making a special visit to Pink Lake. It makes a logical stop if you’re on the road.
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South Australia has some of Australia’s best restaurants. As our visit fell during the busy Easter period, many restaurants and cafes were closed or fully booked. We were able to check out some great restaurants and cafes during our visit.
Side Hustle Pizza – We got home late at night and very few places were open on Easter Friday. We found this little hidden gem about a 20 minute drive from our house. They serve great pizza out of their garage. You can pre-order. They have limited seating so book or order in advance. The beautiful Karicalinga Beach is nearby so you can eat pizza and watch the sunset with the dogs on the beach!
We also love the wines from Down the Rabbit Hole (read above). We checked out Kick Back Brewing for a pub crawl with friends. There was plenty of space (including outdoor seating), a good drinks list and average restaurant food. We’d love to check out Little Rickshaw next time we’re there as we’ve heard great things.
Being from Melbourne, we love our coffee. So in the morning we had coffee at Goodness Coffee Co, which had lots of coffee, limited but tasty food (waiting time for service, but worth it) and most importantly, a very nice outdoor area to eat with the dogs. . During our visit to Normanville Beach we tried all 31 jetties; The coffee was good. Very good markets are held on weekends. We enjoyed the pet friendly Willungaquarry Market.
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We had a very short stay in the Adelaide Hills. But if you’re up for a German meal (see above), we also managed to check out the Hahndorf Inn, which we recommend for the Spanish restaurant El Estanco in the Barossa Valley. El Estanco was one of the dishes available to us at that time.
