The Best Of Karta Pintingga

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If you’re a nature lover, then you’re going to fall in love with Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Chances are you’ll spot a koala dozing up a tree, seals playing on the beach, dolphins swimming in the sea, and of course, kangaroos bouncing around.

At 155km in length, it’s Australia’s third largest island, though it feels far from populated. Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga in aboriginal language, is encompassed with soaring cliffs and rugged coastlines, dense national parks, towering sand dunes, and untouched beaches.

Most of the island is preserved and protected, giving you a chance to glimpse nature at its finest.

If you’re planning to visit this natural paradise just 13km off the coast of mainland, this 4 day Kangaroo Island road trip itinerary packs in the best of the best!

We visited Kangaroo Island on a road trip for four nights and ticked off a lot of the main attractions. I would have liked one extra night to experience the west coast in more depth, but four days was plenty to see the highlights.

The Ultimate Kangaroo Island Itinerary: How To Get There

In this Kangaroo Island itinerary, we’ll begin in Penneshaw and do a loop around the island. You can reach Kangaroo Island by catching the Sealink ferry from Cape Jervis on the mainland (about 2 hour’s drive from Adelaide) to Penneshaw, which is the route we took when we visited.

There are many routes you can take on the Sealink, but we recommend you catch the earliest ferry possible as the journey takes about 45 minutes and you’ll want as much time exploring Kangaroo Island as possible.

However, if you plan to fly to Kangaroo Island, you can still do this itinerary in the same order, as Kangaroo Island’s small airport in Kingscote is about a 30-minute drive from Penneshaw. You can get direct flights from Adelaide to Kingscote with Qantas, and pick up a hire car from the airport.

If you catch the ferry, we recommend you book your tickets in advance to avoid missing out, as the ferry often gets booked up. See timetables and prices for the Sealink ferry here.

SeaLink also have coach transfers if you are leaving from Adelaide, which we caught.

You can also hire cars from Penneshaw, where the ferry arrives….