I had the best coffee in the airport yesterday!...Said no one ever…read more.. But thanks to Andrew P on Yelp and his recommendation for the coffee at Icons I have defied all travel conventions and actually found a delightful coffee shop in an airport. I always thought of Icons as the place to get that last minute true blue SA gift for a friend or family member landing in Adelaide or at the other end of your journey. What better way to convince others that Adelaide isn't that bad by bribing them with Haighs, Fruchocs, Maggie Beer sauces and SA wine packs right? They certainly make the most of monopoly here though and I've always spent a fair bit of money here on gifts that I've never really noticed the cafe and coffee here until now... It was one rainy day in Adelaide, I was heading to Brisbane and had this place on my list to try to compare with Cibo (which I have always thought was the best of all evils available if you are in need for a non-alcoholic pick-me up in the airport). So what does one do when excitedly waiting to try airport coffee? Get to the airport an extra hour early to give this place a try of course! Well it lived up to the hype and my $3.90 Campos coffee was strong, hot and and didn't taste like a MYO pod blend or a burnt mess in a cup. Bravo Icons for not just being a great gift shop but also for being the best coffee shop in the airport now too!

Icons is a refreshing change from your standard tourist trap retail offering at Airports…read more I may be biased because I love and am very passionate about SA produce, but I love that everything here is SA made. You can sample a few of the smaller boutique breweries beers here. All around $8 a bottle which isn't a ridiculous mark up. They also have a huge selection of SA wines, Udder Delights Cheeses and Scala Bread. A winning trio for a delayed flight. They also have Campos coffee, friands, muffins and banana bread( only $5, toasted and with butter, slightly sweet though)! And if you forgot a present from home or have a soft spot for Haighs, they got you covered there too! Stop in and drink and wait at Icons, it's worth it. (That's what I would say if I was their slogan)

Bet you didn't know that this bottelo has a great selection of craft beers? 400 in fact! Yup, kind…read moreof unusual for a Thirsty Camel. I was really surprised to find out. Word of mouth pointed me this way. Otherwise, I would have kept driving past. Why do they have so many awesome beers? Well, influence from the Highway Hotel. This is really awesome for this end of town as there is not another bottleo that offers this big of a range. Next stop for crafties would be closer to town. Correct me if I am wrong! Not a bad wine selection too. There were a few of the smaller boutique drops in here amongst the bigger names. Also well priced all round. For a big brand bottle shop, this one is very good. I guess times are changing with a new demand for something different.

The Thirsty Camel has been a part of the Highway Inn Hotel for a relatively short time, whereas the…read moreHighway is a long standing institution for over 100 years. All of these bottle shops are Australian owned and are connected to a pub so it's no like a freestanding Fassina, Dan Murphy's or a BWS. What I like about it besides being Aussie owned, is the name is so apt and the logo is very outback ocker displaying a camel and I think their prices are not too bad. They also run several competitions and offer a discount card where points can be earned towards a reduction on normal prices. Once you drive in there are lanes for express and browsing, as there's nothing worse than being stuck behind a dawdler especially when you're late for a party and all you want is a slab and get the hell out of there! Thirsty Camels have sprung up everywhere and there are many locations throughout South Australia, so have a look in the White Pages or go online to find where they are and support an Australian owned business. Did you know the Highway Inn had the 'world's' first drive through bottle shop! How's that for trivia. Adelaide really was forward in their thinking at the time anyway.

Raise your hand if you don't like alcohol. If you raised your hand..well then don't read any…read morefurther. BWS Liquor is the go to liquor store for me. I'm not the girl who wants to go to town and spend $50 on a few drinks, when I can go here and buy a bottle of something and save my money. I vote for drinking before going out! There's a wide range of liquor to be found at BWS. I have no doubt that you will find whatever you're looking for in this store. There's also different sales going on all the time. It's definitely a bargain coming here for your alcohol desires.