Adelaide Free WiFi: A guide to free wireless internet in Adelaide
As the fifth most populous city in Australia, Adelaide has free human connections readily available. But free WiFi connections have traditionally been harder to come by! The good news is that the Adelaide free WiFi landscape is changing for the better.
It’s not hard to find free WiFi in Adelaide, largely thanks to work by the Adelaide City Council and the State Government. With our help, you’ll know all the spots where you can email with a morning meal, or watch cat videos with your coffee.
Free WiFi from Adelaide City Council
Adelaide sometimes really takes the lead on public policy, and setting up Adelaide free WiFi is a good example of that . In 2014 the Adelaide City Council and the State Government partnered with local internet service provider Internode to set up a free WiFi network across Adelaide City, the surrounding parklands, and parts of North Adelaide.
The network doesn’t cover the whole city, but this coverage map from 2014 shows a pretty decent footprint. The network was upgraded in 2017, so the coverage has increased in the years since.
To connect to this network from within the coverage area, just look for the AdelaideFree WiFi network on your phone, tablet, or laptop. Once you’re connected, your phone will automatically connect whenever it’s in range, so you’ll have free WiFi across most of your Adelaide travels.
Below are some of the specific locations with a hotspot for the AdelaideFree network – a full list can be found here.
| Location | Address | City |
| Adelaide Aquatic Centre | Jeffcott Street | North Adelaide |
| Adelaide City Council Library | North Terrace | Adelaide |
| Colonel Light Centre | 15 Pirie Street | Adelaide |
| Gouger Street Carpark | 76 Gouger Street | Adelaide |
| Hutt St Intersection | Cnr Hutt Street & Gilles Street | Adelaide |
| Hutt St Intersection | Cnr Hutt Street & Halifax Street | Adelaide |
| Hutt St Intersection | Cnr Hutt Street & Angas Street | Adelaide |
| Hutt St Intersection | Cnr Hutt Street & Wakefield Street | Adelaide |
| Hutt St Intersection | Cnr Hutt Street & Carrington Street | Adelaide |
| Internode House | 150 Grenfell Street | Adelaide |
| Jack Ruby | 91 King William Street | Adelaide |
| National Wine Centre | Botanic Road | Adelaide |
| North Adelaide Library | 176 Tynte Street | North Adelaide |
| O’Connell St Intersection | Corner O’Connell Street & Barton Terrace | North Adelaide |
| O’Connell St Intersection | Corner O’Connell Street & Tynte Street | North Adelaide |
| O’Connell St Intersection | Corner O’Connell Street & Archer Street | North Adelaide |
| O’Connell St Intersection | Corner O’Connell Street & Ward Street | North Adelaide |
| Parliament of South Australia | North Terrace and King William Street | Adelaide |
| Queen’s Theatre | Playhouse Lane | Adelaide |
| Royal Institution of Australia | Exchange Place | Adelaide |
| Rundle Mall | Near Gawler Place | Adelaide |
| Rundle Mall | Near the Silver Balls | Adelaide |
| Rundle Mall | Near the Myer Centre | Adelaide |
| Topham Mall | Waymouth Street | Adelaide |
| Whyatt Street U-Park | Whyatt Street | Adelaide |
| Women’s and Children’s Hospital | King William Road | North Adelaide |
Free WiFi in Cafes and Restaurants
With more Australians working while they’re on the go, and many more tourists working on holiday, many inner-city cafes look more like co-working spaces than coffee shops, especially those with free WiFi. It’s a win-win really. Cafes attract more customers, who tend to buy something at least every hour, while travelers and freelancers get wireless internet as a free bonus to their flat whites.
Here are some of the restaurants, bars, and cafes with free WiFi in Adelaide.
- Cibo Espresso locations – there are 17 across Adelaide
- Hungry Jacks locations – 3 in the city, many more in the suburbs
- Cafe Brunelli on Rundle Street
- Cafe Komodo in Prospect
More Adelaide cafes are offering free WiFi everyday. We can’t list them all, but this is a place to start. Ask at the counter before you order and odds are they’ll give you the password. If they don’t have free WiFi, there are always more cafes.
An important note for overseas visitors, North Americans in particular. You won’t find a Starbucks in Adelaide. Australia has a very different coffee culture to the rest of the world, and independent coffee shops are king. While you might miss the familiarity of the Starbucks brand, you’ll be drinking better coffee as a result – enjoy it!
Popular tourist sites
If you’re traveling through Adelaide, tourist spots are great areas to find free WiFi – they’re the experiences you want to share online after all!
Places such as museums, cultural centers, and historical sites are prime locations for free Wi-Fi. Here are some to start with:
Rundle Mall
FreeAdelaide covers Rundle Mall very well, and you’ll get great reception here.
Adelaide Central Market
One of Australia’s best indoor markets, Adelaide Central Market also hosts their own free WiFi hotspot.
Adelaide Zoo
You should already be visiting Adelaide Zoo to say g’day to Giant Pandas Wang Wang and Funi. But while you’re there, enjoy the free WiFi network they provide and get those panda-pics to Instagram!
Botanic Gardens (Kiosk)
Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens are a gorgeous place for a stroll, found in the north eastern corner of the CBD. Technically the gardens don’t have free WiFi, but you’ll find a free hotspot at the Kiosk just north of Main Lake/Kainka Wirra – it’s hard to miss.
Art Gallery of South Australia
The art gallery is one of a string of public buildings you’ll find lining North Terrace, many of which have free WiFi. The gallery is a worthy stop for art lovers, as well as anyone keen to enjoy a little break from a busy day of sightseeing.
Adelaide Airport Free Wifi
Adelaide Airport is of course another provider of free WiFi providers. With so many travelers using the internet to access boarding passes and itineraries, free WiFi in airports is a must these days.
If you’re outside of Adelaide, the same rules apply as above regarding resaurants and cafes. Ask around and you’ll likely find wireless internet you can connect to with a coffee purchase. The German town of Harndorf for example, a must visit when you’re traveling through the Adelaide Hills, hosts lots of businesses with free WiFi available.
If you’re a Telstra customer – either with broadband internet or mobile phone, you should install the Telstra Air app to use their not-really-free WiFi hotspots. The SA Tourism Commission have partnered with Telstra to provide hotspots at 60 odd tourism destinations across South Australia using the Telstra Air WiFi product. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help you at all if you’re not a Telstra customer, so we don’t think it counts as bona fide free WiFi.
Transport hubs
Adelaide’s public transit system isn’t quite as good as other Australian capital cities, but it’s not hard to get around. It’s also not hard to get online at the same time! Most major public transport stations have free WiFi networks, including Adelaide Railway Station.
You’ll also find free WiFi on Adelaide trams. The city only has the one tram line, but if you’re traveling between Glenelg and the CBD you’ll be very happy. honestly, you should travel to Glenelg anyway – it’s an awesome beachside precinct.
There was a government issued tender in mid-2017 the would have offered free WiFi in around 900 buses and 140 train carriages as well. However, there’s been no update at the time of writing, and with a change in government shortly after the announcement the project’s future isn’t so certain.
Adelaide – keeping you connected
As one of the smaller capital cities in Australia, Adelaide gets stuck with a lot of unfair stereotypes as being sleepy or uninteresting. These couldn’t be further from the truth, with locals working hard to make Adelaide a great city to visit or to live.
If you’re keen to stay connected while you’re in Adelaide, whether you’re a local or a visitor, remember that GoGet cars can be found across the city. Our members can use cars in the Adelaide CBD, at the airport, or the vans at Adelaide IKEA by the hour or by the day – that makes it much more convenient than car rental, and cheaper than owning a car most of the time!
If you need to get around Adelaide, GoGet might just be for you.
