Byron Bay is a delightful coastal town and a short drive South of The Gold Coast.

What’s quite interesting about the drive are two things: (1) you will drive Inter-State from Queensland into New South Wales, and, (2) you will drive across a time zone where Byron Bay is 1 hour ahead of The Gold Coast; all this within 57 miles (93 kms) of Pacific Highway.

In Byron Bay, you’re going to see that everyone seems a little more carefree and stress free. People will be fresh from the surf with sand in their hair and walking around barefooted.  It’s the chilled out hippie vibes and relaxed atmosphere of Byron Bay that also keeps festivals and retreats returning.

At its essence, Byron Bay is a small town with most of its businesses lined up along one road with a few shops and restaurants branching off to the side. The main street leads up to a beautiful beachfront where you can walk in either direction for the beautiful sandy beaches or heading towards the lighthouse. The crystal clear waters that surround the bay are ideal for scuba diving and snorkelling.

My time in Byron Bay was a day trip but from that trip I would say the town is more of a retreat than a sight-seeing trip, and certainly a couple of days will be enough.

Some Facts About Byron Bay

• Byron Bay stretches 16 miles (30kms) of beach – so finding what feels like a private beach is a breeze! I only had to drive about 5 minutes out of the town to discover a uninterrupted cove.
• During summer (December to March) the average temperature is 27 °C with sporadic showers at night to cool down with.
• Cape Byron located in Byron Bay is Australia’s most easterly point.

What Can Byron Bay Offer

BYRON LIGHTHOUSE

A favourite for both locals and visitors to the beautiful town, Byron Lighthouse stands at the most Eastern point of mainland Australia and the views from it are incredible.

The lighthouse walk offers spectacular scenes of the towns many beaches and its gorgeous hinterland. For best views en route, walk along Main Beach and climb up toward the lighthouse. It’s a moderate hike and takes about 30 minutes from the town centre.

BROWSE THE SHOPS

Whether you want to purchase a colourful garment at The Rainbow Shop or invest in the materials to make jewellery at Beads there’s plenty of beautiful items to purchase in Byron. The stores are a hippie shopaholics paradise and even if you’re strapped for cash just wandering around and window shopping is a great experience too.

HIT THE BEACH

Byron Bay is blessed with 16 miles (30kms) of beaches every bit of it beautifully undeveloped. With most of the beaches facing North you can watch the sunrise over the Cape Byron headland and the sunset over the hinterland.

At various spots along the beach the sea becomes a little more ‘rough’ attracting surfers. I found them pretty interesting to watch. The town is littered with surf shops offering gear and lessons.

CAPE BYRON

This 2 mile (3.5kms) loop is definitely worth doing. It takes you through rainforest, up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse and the Eastern-most point of Australia, and back down along the coast. Be sure to walk out to the rocks by Little Wategos Beach. Pretty cool!

Where To Stay In Byron Bay

Although personally I did not stay overnight I did do some research and if I were to stay these are the venues I would consider:

BYRON BEACH RESORT – A little more upmarket and in my opinion possibly a hidden gem as it’s a little bit out of town compared to the town centre resorts but it appears with a short walk along the beach will take you to the town centre. Prices are roughly AU$205/n (GB£105) for a standard room.

BAYHAVEN LODGE – This little venue was once the whalers cottage and is one of the oldest buildings in Byron Bay. The venue is also very centrally located for its price and is a short stroll to the shops of the town centre. Prices are roughly AU$169/n (GB£87) for a standard room.

Needless to say Byron bay is very much a hippie town where hostel accommodation is never is short supply. Sadly at my age that isn’t an option anymore “LOL”.

Getting To Byron Bay

Aforementioned at the start of this blog I hired a car and drove to Byron Bay from The Gold Coast that took around an hour and a half South.

FROM SYDNEY – catching a train from Sydney will take the best part of the day. Journey times from Sydney are in the region of 12-13 hours. Take a NSW Train from Sydney Central Station to Casino Station (apparently this around 22 stops) roughly 11 hours travel. From here you will need to walk to the Casino Bus Station then ride a bus to Byron Bay Bus Station that roughly takes an hour. Prices roughly cost AU$103 (GB£51).

FROM BRISBANE – The cheapest way to get to Byron Bay is to use Greyhound Australia. Journey times will roughly take four hours and costs around AU$55 (GB£28.30).

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