While Byron Bay is often someway people stay for a weekend, it’s still totally worth going if you only have one day. I visited Byron from Brisbane for 1 day and it was worth the 3 hour bus each way! This guide has all you need to know to have the best day in Byron Bay.
How to get to Byron Bay?
Byron Bay is on the border with Queensland (although its in New South Wales) so is totally doable as a day trip if you live on the Gold Coast/Brisbane area. There is a Greyhound bus service from Brisbane which is the quickest/cheapest way to get there (unless there’s a few of you and you give a car). The bus station is only a 20 minute walk from the beach which is perfect (no need to jump on another bus like in Noosa).
Start the day in Byron Bay with an Aussie breakfast
As well as a coffee culture, Australia is also known for its brunch culture so definitely worth starting the day with breakfast/brunch. Although I got the earliest bus from Brisbane, because of the time difference between Queensland and New South Wales I didn’t arrive until 11.30am. Most cafes in Australia open at 6am and close at 2pm so I marched over to Top Shop Byron from the bus station for an iced chai latte and their breakfast burger. This place has lots of great reviews and when I arrived the place was packed. They also sell t-shirts which for me stands out as somewhere that must have a good reputation is people are willing to buy merchandise. The breakfast burger has egg, bacon, hash brown, cheese, avocado and was absolutely delicious.
Coastal Walk
I walked from Top Shop to the main beach, walking along up to The Pass which was full of surfers. With only a day to spend at Byron I didn’t surf myself but walking up the steps to the lookout and watching the surfers was amazing- I could have easily watched for hours. Plus as Cape Byron is a marine park you might get lucky and spot dolphins here.
I walked back down and onto the road to follow the Cape Byron Walking Track to Waters Beach. This is a smaller beach, almost a cove, again popular with surfers. Here I had a little swim, water was cold but so blue and clear! I then relaxed, read my book and wrote in my journal for around an hour. I then packed up my stuff ready for the next part of the day.
Cape Byron Lighthouse
Normally you can walk from Wategos along the Walking Track to Byron via most Easterly point of Australia however on the day I went it was closed. Buy taking the Lighthouse Road route I walked past the Koala Zone which was cool (well, not really as I didn’t see any koalas).
Walking up to the lighthouse you get stunning panoramic views of Tallow Beach which is unsupervised, quieter and more ruggedly beautiful. It looked like the landscape in Hawaii or Costa Rica! Although Byron Bay is more of a middle class family scene now, I could totally see what attracted backpackers a few decades ago to this place.
The lighthouse itself was busy but still well worth going to.
Finishing the day
With only 2 hours left until my bus I walked back down to the main beach for one final swim and a few more chapters of my book. If I was in Byron for longer I would book a surf lesson, kayak with dolphins or snorkel with turtles/manta rays tour. But as a day trip there’s plenty to see in Byron.
Did Byron Bay meet my expectations?
I was apprehensive as Byron Bay is known for attracting the worst type of backpackers (see Inbetweeners 2 movie for exhibit A) and I thought it might be a bit over-rated. I was really pleasantly surprised at how naturally beautiful this place is. Yes the mansions and expensive shops and restaurants have probably diminished the surf town/backpack culture that there used to be but as a day trip I really enjoyed it and would go back for a weekend in a heartbeat.