Byron Bay

The beach is why people come. The town faces north across a wide bay, so within walking distance there is a run of very different sand. Main Beach and Clarkes are close to the centre, The Pass is a sheltered point break under the cape, Wategos is a small north-facing cove that catches the morning sun, and Tallow and Belongil stretch away in long empty arcs. The sea reaches about 25°C in late summer and rarely drops below 19°C in winter, so locals swim all year.

Much of the coast is open surf beach, though, and rips are strong. Swim between the flags where lifeguards patrol, mainly at Main Beach and Clarkes. Days follow the tide and the swell: a dawn swim, a surf at The Pass, then back to the sand at sunset.

Eating here means cafés and produce rather than a local cuisine. Mornings run on good coffee, long brunches and smoothie bowls. The surrounding hinterland grows macadamias, avocados, tropical fruit and coffee and raises grass-fed beef, and weekly farmers' markets and the menus around town show it off. Seafood comes off the coast, and plant-based and health-focused cooking is everywhere.

There are a few ambitious restaurants in town and on hinterland farms, and the village of Bangalow adds more. Range and depth are still those of a small town: little street food, no late dining culture to speak of, and prices that match a resort.

The historic sights come down to one: the white lighthouse on Cape Byron, the most easterly point of mainland Australia, which has a small maritime display. The town is low-rise and casual, with no museums or historic quarter of note. The Arakwal Bumberlin people's connection to the cape and coast is the deepest heritage here, though a visitor meets it mostly through guided walks rather than sites.

Evenings centre on a few big pubs and beer gardens near Main Beach, some cocktail bars and a couple of late venues that fill with backpackers and young travellers, particularly in summer and on weekends. Sunset drinks are a fixture and the mood is relaxed and barefoot rather than polished. It is lively for a town this size, but choice is limited, and most nights are over not long after midnight. Families and couples will find the centre noisy late on weekends rather than wild.

The Cape Byron walking track loops through rainforest and over clifftops to the lighthouse. Dolphins are often seen in the bay below, and humpback whales pass close to shore from about June to November. A short boat ride offshore, the Julian Rocks marine reserve is one of the best dive and snorkel sites on this coast, with turtles, rays and grey nurse sharks, and the beaches are known for longboard surfing and sea kayaking.

Inland, the old volcanic caldera of the hinterland is subtropical rainforest country. Minyon Falls, Nightcap National Park and the Border Ranges are within about an hour's drive and have waterfall walks and old-growth forest. Summers are humid and wet, and the dry, sunny winter is the best walking season.

The best outings are to small hinterland towns. Bangalow has a heritage main street and weekend markets, Mullumbimby is an easygoing farming town, and Nimbin keeps its counterculture identity from the 1970s. Lennox Head and Ballina lie down the coast, and Murwillumbah, about forty minutes north, has a good regional art gallery. The Gold Coast is about an hour away for theme parks and high-rise beach life, and Brisbane is roughly two hours by road. Everything needs a car or a tour, and nothing on the list compares with the coast itself.

Families do well here on beach days. The patrolled beaches near town, the gentler water around The Pass and Wategos, rock pools and the easy lighthouse walk fill several days, and spotting whales and dolphins is a reliable treat. The town is small, safe and informal, and vacation houses and caravan parks suit families better than hotels.

There are few attractions built for children in town. For theme parks and wildlife parks, families drive about an hour to the Gold Coast. Surf rips call for close supervision. In peak summer and school vacations the town is crowded, and the backpacker crowd around the centre makes some streets loud at night.

The town centre is small and flat. Main Beach, Clarkes and Belongil are an easy walk away, and bicycles suit the coastal paths. The lighthouse is a steep climb on foot, and parking near the beaches is tight in summer. Beyond the town, regional buses are infrequent and there is no train, so the hinterland, waterfalls and neighbouring villages really need a car. Most visitors fly into Ballina or Gold Coast airport and pick up a hire car or a shuttle.

Byron has a recognisable style, loose linen, surfwear and bohemian resort fashion, and the few blocks of the centre are lined with local labels, swimwear, homewares and crystal and wellness shops. A few minutes out, the Arts and Industry Estate houses makers, designers and studios, and the regular community and artisan markets are good for handmade goods. Bangalow adds a few interiors and gift shops. There is no luxury shopping and no department store, and the whole round takes an afternoon.

Byron Bay is an expensive place to stay. Accommodation costs more than in almost any other Australian beach town, and it climbs further in summer, over school vacations and on festival weekends, when long minimum stays are common. Cafés and restaurants charge resort prices, and hiring a car adds to the bill. The beaches, the cape walk and the hinterland waterfalls are free, and hostels and campsites keep backpackers on a budget, but a comfortable stay is costly.

Live music here means bands in the pubs and beer gardens near the beach, often original local songwriters and touring folk, roots and surf-rock acts, with buskers on the main streets in the warmer months. The community centre has a small theatre that puts on touring comedy, music and local productions, and the long-running writers' festival brings talks and readings to town each year.

The offer stays small and informal. There is no opera, no classical season and no professional theatre company. For a ballet, an orchestra or a big touring musical, visitors have to go to Brisbane or the Gold Coast.

Wellness is part of how Byron sees itself. Yoga studios teach several classes a day, and there are day spas, massage, sound healing, breathwork and plenty of alternative therapies, besides residential retreats in the green hills of the hinterland. The pace is unhurried: days start early with a swim or a session and wind down at sunset.

There is no bathing culture behind it, though, no hot springs or bathhouses, and the best retreats are expensive. In peak season and on busy weekends the centre is crowded and loses some of its calm. The quiet winter months are the most restful time to come.