South Australia: The state that’s not worth visiting, according to Lonely Planet

DESPITE our many beautiful beaches, world-class wine regions and stunning scenery, SA doesn’t rate a mention in Lonely Planet’s new Best of Australia guide book.

2 min read

May 4, 2016 - 9:28AM

Byron Bay in NSW is one of Australia’s top 12 destinations listed by Lonely Planet.

SOUTH Australia? Where’s that?

The festival state doesn’t get a mention in Lonely Planet’s new Best of Australia guide book.

The new edition, released today, offers up the “Ultimate Australia itinerary” — and while every other state and territory earns an inclusion, not one of the book’s 324 pages is dedicated to South Australia.

SAVINGS: The Aussie luxury hotels that are cheaper than Asia

BEST OF SA: Where South Australians love to holiday

Despite a brief reference to Barossa Valley shiraz as one of Australia’s “world-beating” wines in its introduction, the guide book doesn’t actually recommend a visit to the region.

Did Lonely Planet get it right? Share your comment below.

Its suggested one-week itinerary covers Sydney to the Whitsundays, with a two-week holiday adding the NT.

Visits to Victoria, WA, Tasmania and the ACT are factored in as add-ons only for those staying longer than two weeks.

This comes after Lonely Planet named Adelaide one of the Top Cities of the World in 2014.

Uluru rates as one of Lonely Planet’s top 12 places to visit in Australia.

Tourists are advised to head to Fremantle and the Margaret River then “back to Perth for a flight east”. From Melbourne, the book highlights a road trip on the Great Ocean Road, but doesn’t suggest continuing towards South Australia.

The “Best of” series is a new take on Lonely Planet’s classic “blue-spine” country guide books, with Best of Australia featuring 12 destinations.

“Lonely Planet’s Best of guides are designed to be the only toolkits travellers will need for the perfect trip to each country,” the publisher says.

However, Lonely Planet’s Asia-Pacific spokesperson Chris Zeiher denied the omission was a snub for South Australia, saying the “Best of” guides were not intended to be comprehensive.

“For those travellers planning a longer visit to Australia, and requiring comprehensive additional information to a vast number of other destinations, the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s Australia Country Guide was only published in November last year,” he said.

“At 1112 pages, it obviously contains a greater volume of content – including 100 pages devoted to South Australia.

“In addition, our Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin guide devotes 97 pages to SA, while our Australia’s Best Trips guide (also published late last year) has a 52-page SA chapter showcasing how fantastic South Australia is as a driving destination.

“Our best-selling 2015 coffee-table book Wine Trails: 52 Perfect Weekends in Wine Country also showcased two SA wine regions (Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley), while the Lonely Planet website includes specific pages dedicated to South Australia and its recommended activities, sights and attractions.”