Per-passenger fares
These are the 2026 SeaLink published rates. Always confirm at booking, but the gap year-to-year is usually a few dollars either way.
- Adult: around $54 one-way, $108 return.
- Child (3 to 14): around $27 one-way, $54 return.
- Infant (under 3): free as a foot passenger.
- SA Senior or pensioner concession: around $48 one-way, with ID at boarding.
Vehicle fares
Vehicle pricing depends on length and season. Shoulder runs lower, peak higher. A standard hatch or sedan sits in the cheapest bracket; once you are over 5 m, the per-metre charge starts to bite.
- Car under 5 m: from $99 each way (shoulder), up to $115 each way (peak).
- Car 5 to 6 m or with a roof box: from $115 each way, $135 at peak.
- Motorhome 6 to 7 m: from $190 each way, more at peak.
- Motorhome 7 m+: priced per linear metre, expect $250 to $400+ each way.
- Motorbike: from $42 each way.
- Pushbike: from $14 each way.
- Trailer or caravan: priced as a second vehicle, similar bands by length.
Sample real-world totals
The fares only make sense when you see them stacked into a real trip. Here are three honest examples for a peak-season return.
- Solo traveller, foot passenger, return: around $108.
- Couple, small car, return: around $308 ($108 each passenger plus $230 for the car return at peak).
- Family of four with one medium car, return: around $440 ($216 in adult fares, $108 in child fares, $230 in vehicle fares, all return at peak).
- Two retirees with a 7 m motorhome, return: around $660 ($216 in passenger fares plus $440+ in vehicle fares).
Shoulder season knocks roughly 10 to 15 per cent off the vehicle component, less off passenger fares. Winter midweek is the cheapest you will see.
The hidden cost: fuel on the island
Fill up with fuel before you head across. Fuel on KI runs roughly $0.40 per litre more than the Adelaide mainland. On a tank-and-a-half over a 3-day trip, that is an easy $40 to $60 you would not have spent on the mainland. The last servo before the ferry is at Cape Jervis. Use it.
Penneshaw and Kingscote have working petrol stations and they are not gouging, they are paying the same freight uplift as everything else on the island. It is just an extra line in the budget no one warns you about.
Cheaper alternatives
If the totals above sting, the alternatives are worth running.
- Rex flights from $169 one-way, often the cheapest move for solo travellers and weekend couples.
- Day tours from Adelaide sometimes bundle the ferry at a wholesale rate, so the all-in number for one day on the island can beat building the trip yourself.
- Shoulder-season midweek travel. If your dates are flexible, shifting from a Saturday to a Tuesday and from January to April will save real money.
Is it worth the money?
Honest answer: yes if you are bringing a car for two nights or more. The ferry fare amortises over multiple days on the island, where every meal, beach, wildlife stop and walk is free or near-free. The cost only feels stupid if you are doing a single rushed day with the car. For a single day, take a tour or fly. For everything else, take the ferry and stop looking at the receipt.
Ready to book? You can lock in dates and vehicle slots on the official site.