Five amazing things to do in Byron Bay

Byron Bay was one of my (many) favourite places on the east coast. The natural beauty here is stunning and the whole town has a delightfully laid back vibe that just puts a smile on your face. To me it felt like being at a music festival, just without the crowds and smelly toilets! We spent a week here and it was so lush. It’s impossible not to be happy in Byron! But here are five ideas to make sure you definitely enjoy your time here:

1. Surf

If you’re heading to Byron you probably already know it’s full of surfers, so this probably seems obvious, but make sure you do it! We had a half day lesson with Stoked Surf School and it was so, so much fun. Before then, I’d tried surfing a few times, after having a very iffy lesson in Kuta, Bali, in which I managed to stand up zero times! But the guys at Stoked really know their stuff and are really good at teaching and encouraging you. I was on my feet and loving life on my second attempt with them, which was super exciting haha!

Stoked are also one of the few schools who are allowed to surf on most of the beaches around Byron so they will check all surf reports and take you to the best place that day for catching the waves. So it’s also a great way of seeing a bit more of the Byron area! Our morning with Stoked was one of our favourites on the whole east coast, I can’t recommend them enough!

2. Dive Julian Rocks

After learning to scuba dive in Indonesia, diving has quickly become one of our absolute favourite things to do and we’ve tried to do it where possible along the East Coast. So when we heard you could see sharkies out at Julian Rocks we were keen to get out there! It was an amazing dive with Wobbegong and Grey Nurse sharks, as well as massive Bull Rays. Read my post on the dive for more! 🙂

3. Cycle/ hike to the lighthouse

You can see the Byron lighthouse from the main beach but don’t miss the chance to go see it up close. To be fair, although it’s pretty, the lighthouse itself isn’t what you’re really going for – the scenery is gorgeous along the way! We hired bikes from our hostel (Byron Beach Resort) as it was free for two hours, which was just enough time. We could get most of the way cycling and just had to walk for the last bit.

The views (main pic!) are just stunning and the perfect way to appreciate the beauty of beaches around Byron. And it means you also get to walk to Australia’s most eastern point, yay! 🙂

4. Take a trip to Nimbin

Nimbin is an interesting place and worth a visit, but I wouldn’t suggest spending much more than an afternoon there. It’s a quirky little town where cannabis isn’t legal, but everyone behaves like it is. It’s a funny little place with stoner shops and cafes all around. But the town is basically just one street so don’t set aside too much time to spend there! The best and most cost effective way to get there is just to get the public bus.

5. Visit Bexhill Quarry

If you’ve got access to a car, or, like us, lucky enough to have a friend who does – get up to Bexhill Quarry! This disused Quarry is full up with brilliant blue water and it’s a pretty spot! It’s a cool, quiet place to chill out for a few hours. there’s also a rope on the Quarry wall that you can climb off if you fancy jumping in from height!

BUT! And this is a big ‘but’…

This is not actually a safe place to swim. The water is very acidic with a high metal content so it is not healthy stuff. Admittedly, we did have a quick splash about, and I haven’t heard of anyone suffering health problems after swimming there… but it’s not a good idea. So there’s my disclaimer – the decision is yours!