Weekend Getaway: Byron Bay, Australia

We discovered Byron Bay during our first campervan journey up the east coast of Australia back in 2010. It rained every day during that visit, which kept us from spending time on Bryon’s beautiful beaches, but forced us inland to discover its ‘hinterland’ — a verdant countryside of rolling hills, secret swimming holes and charming towns. While Byron’s beaches and surf scene are its biggest draw, the fact that there are so many beautiful surrounding towns with their own events, markets, shops and restaurants — all within 20 minutes of Byron — gives this happening little town even more appeal. I remember driving along those winding country roads in our camper van in 2010, telling Michael that this would be my dream spot if I could live anywhere in the world.

We arrived to Byron a little over three months ago now, and not a day goes by that I don’t pinch myself, knowing just how lucky we are to be here. While we are awaiting a decision on our visa applications we are soaking up every magical moment in this most special place — discovering new gems each week. For a little town (population of just 9,000 — or 30,000 if you count all of Byron Shire), it is bursting with wonderful things to do, see, eat, shop, etc. Here are some of my favourites:

EAT

• The Top Shop: A Byron Bay institution, and rightfully so! The coffee and food is easy to like, and its location makes it the perfect place to stop before or after a surf.
• Harvest Café in Newrybar: One of the best restaurants in the area, Harvest is a great place for a special lunch or dinner. On weekend mornings they open up their gorgeous bakery and sell delicious treats from a big farmhouse table. The perfect way to kick off the weekend!
• The Roadhouse in Byron: Apparently this is the hipster hang out, but they have always welcomed our boisterous gang of beach rats with open arms. Great food and amazing coffee are on offer in a lovely patio space. Dinner is great too, but kids aren’t allowed in the evenings.
• Woods Café in Bangalow: Just a 5-minute walk from our house, this is our favourite local café. The staff is super friendly and the plant-based food is divine. There’s also a pretty courtyard where kids can run around while you wait for your food or enjoy a second coffee.
• The Farm: Located just outside of Byron Bay, this working farm/restaurant/café/shop/play-space is a wonderful, family friendly spot to hang out, meet friends, and enjoy a delicious meal. We love their donuts, breads and sandwiches from their take-away counter, and the food from the Three Blue Ducks restaurant is outstanding.
• The Treehouse: Best for the beachy atmosphere and drinks, we have enjoyed this relaxed place for a couple impromptu dinners with large groups. You can come straight from the beach as you won’t feel a bit out of place here with sandy feet or wet clothes.
• Miss Margarita: A small Mexican restaurant in the centre of town with a happening vibe and good food. Be prepared to queue though.
• Doma Café in Federal: This Japanese-Australian restaurant is one of our favourites for their delicious food and pretty outside dining area. Definitely worth the drive to Federal just for this gem of a restaurant!
• The Belle General in Lennox Head: We discovered this café/restaurant when we camped in Lennox Head before arriving to Byron Bay last year and loved it so much, we went back a few times over the course of the next month. They have really delicious food and coffee — definitely worth the drive out of town.
• Mullumbimby Farmers Market on Friday mornings: we love this market for the great organic food stalls, friendly people and laid-back vibe. There’s also a Farmers Market in Bangalow on Saturday mornings, and one in Byron on Thursday mornings.
• Punch & Daisy in Mullumbimby: Owned by sweet friends of ours, this charming little cafe serves delicious, healthy foods all made to order, and great coffee too. Perfect for lunch with the kids with plenty of casual seating both inside and out in their courtyard.
• Yami in Brunswick Heads: This little vegetarian restaurant serves delicious mediterranean food and has a nice outdoor seating area. We love to stop here for falafel before or after a swim in the Brunswick area.
• Basiloco: Good wood-fired pizzas and a relaxed, family friendly vibe can be found in this Sardinian owned Italian restaurant just minutes from The Pass.

DO

• Surf at The Pass: The Pass is the perfect place for surfers of all abilities. The point break and gentle waves are ideal for every surfer in our family and it’s a gorgeous place to watch the sunset.
• Beach day at Wategos: Wategos Beach is just another of Byron’s gorgeous beaches – with good surf, lots of sand, and public BBQs for evening dinners with friends.
• Walk up to the lighthouse for stunning views up and down the coast (and dolphin spotting too, if you’re lucky!).
• Snorkel and swim with sea turtles at Julian Rocks: last year we booked a snorkel tour with the Byron Bay Dive Centre. The minimum age is 6, so Marlow was too young – but Michael took the three bigger kids and they loved it! They saw sea turtles, leopard sharks, and all sorts of fish and other sea life.
• Swim in the river at Brunswick Heads: Just a 15-minute drive from Byron, Brunswick Heads offers charming beaches as well as the river for swimming or paddle-boarding. (We’ve also seen dolphins swimming up and down the river!)
• The Crystal Castle: botanical gardens filled with extraordinary crystals, sub-tropical plant life and mystical statues. It’s hard to define the appeal of this place – something to see and experience for yourself.
• Killen Falls: There are several creeks and waterfalls in the gorgeous hinterland surrounding Byron Bay. We love swimming at the base of Killen Falls (though the large, jagged rocks make it slightly tricky to get into the water). We’ve even seen some baby turtles swimming next to us — a highlight for the kids.
• Tea Tree lakes: There are a few different tea tree lakes scattered around the Byron Bay region. The lakes are warm thanks to their dark colour, and are believed to have healing properties due to the tea-tree oil infused waters. This is a good option on a windy day as these lakes tend to be more protected from the wind.

SHOP

• Newrybar Merchants: This gorgeous shop is a collective of creative local artisans and shops and offers a variety of beautiful homewares, gifts, clothes and accessories.
• Our Corner Store in Bangalow: They have a beautiful selection of homewares and fashion, and they even have a small corner with a well-curated selection of children’s products. Great for gifts!
• Yoli & Otis in Byron Bay: this local children’s brand recently set up a gorgeous shop in the Byron industrial estate and everything about it is inspiring and beautiful. They have a collection of clothing for babies, children and women as well as a small but well curated collection of homewares and accessories.
• Tiny People in Byron Bay: a great children’s shop with lots of my favourite brands from all over the world.
• Mary Ryan’s Bookstore in Byron Bay: a charming bookstore with a good children’s section.
• The Bangalow Market: held on the 4th Sunday of every month, we love this big market full of gorgeous, locally-made products and crafts. A wonderful place to pick up unique gifts from the area.
• The Finders Club in Bangalow: a great shop for trendy menswear and accessories. I stopped in here to pick up Michael’s christmas presents this year and they did not disappoint.
• Channel Island: A notch above the rest when it comes to style and sophistication in surf products. Beautiful boards, stylish board bags and a great selection of clothes.
• Sunshine Trader in Brunswick Heads: this small but well-curated little boutique has a great selection of books, gifts and home accessories. They also have a small selection of mens and womenswear, stocking many of Byron’s best local designers.

STAY

• When we visited Byron Bay six years ago on our first campervan journey, wet weather kept us from doing the usual beachy things. Instead we drove inland and discovered the gorgeous little town of Bangalow. With cute shops, great cafes and a friendly community of residents, we knew we wanted to base ourselves there if ever we returned. Luckily, we discovered the Granuaille Residence on the Kid & Coe site last year when we started planning our trip, and we immediately booked it. The house is cosy, kid-friendly and stylish. It’s also perfectly located within a short walk of town. As fate would have it, we ended up becoming good friends with the owners, who returned from an extended trip to California in time to meet up while we were still in town. Poppy is a film director and Andy is a musician who will soon be releasing a rock album for kids.
• Aibnb is a really common way for locals to rent out their homes and make a bit of extra money. For this reason, there are loads of options for places to stay in the area.
• The Atlantic is a charming boutique hotel in the centre of Byron with stylish, individually decorated guest houses. Unfortunately, kids are not allowed here — so it’s one for an adults-only holiday.
• Elements of Byron: what this hotel lacks in charm and character, it makes up for in amenities and the location right on the beach in Belongil. We’ve had friends stay here who were very happy with the customer service.

Photos above are from our visit to Byron last April. (My camera has been at the repair shop for the past couple months, so I’ve not been able to photograph our time here as well as I would have liked. Hoping to make this a priority now that my camera is fixed!)

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