The must-do highlights of Byron Bay in three days

The Farm is home to several micro-businesses, including the Three Blue Ducks restaurant.Credit: Destination NSW

Tick off Byron Bay’s top attractions and explore its lesser-known neighbours and hinterland gems in a long weekend with this action-packed itinerary.

DAY ONE

Morning

Set your alarm early and lace up your joggers for the Cape Byron Lighthouse Walk, which begins at Clarkes Beach and takes you along the coast and through the rainforest to Australia’s most easterly point and back again on a 3.7-kilometre loop. Keep an eye out for koalas snoozing in the gum trees at The Pass, where you can grab a coffee and a bite to eat from The Pass Cafe, before continuing on to Wategos Beach and tackling the steep climb to the lighthouse. During winter you may spy migrating humpback whales breaching on the horizon, while dolphins are a common sight year-round. But don’t worry if you miss them – next up, you’re heading on a two-hour tour with award-winning eco operator Go Sea Kayak Byron Bay, which sees you paddle out past the surfers and around the headland to a spot known as Wajung Jagun (place of dolphins) in the Bundjalung Indigenous language. With around 400 resident dolphins in the bay, it’s fair to say your chances of seeing them are pretty good. Green sea turtles and loggerhead turtles also frequently pop their head out of the water to take a look around.

Wajung Jagun (place of dolphins) has around 400 resident dolphins.Credit: Tourism Australia

Afternoon

After all the morning’s exercise, you’re sure to have worked up an appetite. Join the locals on the lawn at Top Shop Byron Bay – a 1950s-inspired milk bar in a cute weatherboard cottage on the corner just up the hill from Clarkes Beach. Known for its hearty prawn rolls, featuring locally caught Ballina prawns with slaw, it also offers hearty burgers, grilled sandwiches, tropical smoothies and milkshakes. After you’ve refuelled, return to The Pass for a cultural tour with Delta Kay from Explore Byron Bay. The Bundjalung woman, whose mum and aunties began the native title claim for areas of land and sea around Byron in the 1990s, begins the tour with a welcome to country before sharing stories about the area’s Indigenous history, pointing out plants used as traditional medicine and inviting you to try bush tucker, such as finger limes, dianella and karkalla.

Evening

There are so many tempting restaurants in these parts that fitting them all into three days is impossible, but for the quintessential Byron Bay experience it’s hard to beat Raes Dining Room, within the whitewashed walls of boutique hotel Raes on Wategos. Watch the sunset over the beach as you indulge in executive chef Jason Saxby’s aesthetically pleasing native-inspired dishes and sustainably sourced seafood. If you prefer a more casual option, book a table in the beer garden at the iconic Beach Hotel, which was owned by Paul Hogan’s manager John Strop in the 1990s. If you’re up for a dance after, head to The Rails Hotel to catch whatever folk, rock or blues band happens to be playing that night, or sing along to your favourite tunes at the high energy Duelling Pianos at The Northern Hotel, where local and visiting pianists battle it out.

Mediterranean vibes at Raes Dining Room.

DAY TWO

Morning

Begin the day with an al fresco brekky at the buzzing Bayleaf Cafe, which serves everything from poached eggs to Japanese savoury pancakes, before hitting the shops. Byron Bay’s alternative and surf culture has led to an eclectic array of stores, from high-street surf shops to boho boutiques Spell, Kivari, Rowie the Label, and Arnhem Clothing. Pick up crystals, candles, pendulums, salt lamps and sun catchers at Soulife Byron Bay, tie-dye apparel from The Rainbow Shop and, of course, cookies from The Byron Bay Cookie Company, which started its life as a stall at the local markets in 1990 (the white choc macadamia nut, and tropical mango and passionfruit are still favourites).

Afternoon

Less than 20 minutes’ drive north of Byron, the laidback coastal town of Brunswick Heads is an entirely pleasant place to while away the afternoon – once you’ve found a parking spot, that is. Grab a burger from Old Maids, some sushi or sashimi from Trouble San or fish and chips from Starfish Takeaway, and find a spot on the grass besides Simpsons Creek that runs off the Brunswick River. There’s a modern playground for kids to play, and you can hire a kayak, canoe, stand-up paddleboard or motorised boat from Brunswick Buccaneers to explore the emerald-green waterway. Wander over the bridge – where local kids can often be seen taking death-defying leaps – and go for a dip at Main Beach, or in the calm waters off Torakina Beach. Afterwards, pop into Hotel Brunswick to enjoy a cold beverage in the beer garden, or try a tropical treat from Wal from Natural Ice-Cream Australia, whose van is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

There are countless ways to explore the Brunswick River.Credit: Tourism Australia

Evening

On the way back to town, stop off at The Farm, which aims to educate young and old about where food comes from. Located on a 32-hectare property at Ewingsdale, around 10 minutes’ drive north of Byron Bay, The Farm is home to several micro-businesses. Watch the pigs rolling in the mud and crush some macadamia nuts in the orchard before sitting down for dinner on the verandah at the rustic, sustainably focused Three Blue Ducks restaurant. The menu changes with the seasons, but Thursday is generally mussel night, with such delights as mussels with yellow curry sauce, lemongrass and kaffir lime, while on Sundays you can indulge in a roast dinner with pepper-crusted slow-cooked beef brisket, mustard, horseradish, jus and Yorkshire pudding served alongside garlic and rosemary potatoes and vegetables dug fresh from a nearby patch.

DAY THREE

Morning

Today is all about exploring the hinterland, starting in the historic town of Bangalow, a scenic 20-minute drive south-west of Byron Bay. Enjoy breakfast in the courtyard at WOODS café, hidden away in the arts precinct, or at Bangalow Bread Co. or Butcher Baker in the main street, which is lined with art galleries, luxury boutiques and homewares stores. Stock up on such products as locally-grown olives, goat cheese and wild-caught smoked fish at the Bangalow Farmers’ Market, held every Saturday morning, or wander amidst the camphor laurel and fig trees at Bangalow Market in the nearby showground on the fourth Sunday of the month. History buffs can follow the self-guided Bangalow Heritage Walk, where plaques featuring old black and white photos reveal the past lives of the town’s Federation-style buildings, including a bootmaker shop once owned by the great-grandfather of cricketing legends Steve and Mark Waugh.

Sample Aussie gins at Cape Byron Distillery.

Afternoon

Continue your journey along the winding country roads before settling in for lunch at one of the many acclaimed eateries hidden in the hills beyond Byron Bay. For a classic Aussie pub, you can’t go past the beautifully restored Eltham Hotel, which was built in the former railway town in 1902. Alternatively, indulge a long lunch at Mediterranean restaurant The Hut, which is located in an old schoolhouse at Possum Creek, farm-to-table restaurant Frida’s Field at Nashua, or the Japanese-inspired Doma Cafe in the sleepy village of Federal. After lunch, make your way to Cape Byron Distillery at McLeod’s Shoot for its Brookie’s Rainforest and Gin Tasting tour to learn about how the rundown dairy farm was transformed into a sub-tropical paradise bursting with ingredients such as native raspberry, cinnamon myrtle and Davidson plum, which are used to help create the distillery’s award-winning tipples.

Venture into the hinterland for lunch at the restored 1902 Eltham Hotel.Credit: Matt Rabbidge / Destination NSW

Evening

While most hinterland restaurants shut up shop before the sun sets, Harvest Newrybar welcomes guests for dinner from Thursday to Saturday nights. A pioneer of the paddock-to-plate concept, the restaurant is located in a converted farmhouse, which has previously housed a post office and general store, in a quaint village around 15 minutes’ drive from Byron Bay. In summer, aim for a table on the verandah overlooking the garden, while in winter you can dine inside near the fireplace and watch the chefs preparing meals bursting with native and foraged ingredients in the open kitchen. If you happen to be there on the first Friday of the month from spring to autumn, pack your picnic rug to enjoy some live music on the village green for the popular family-friendly Fun Friday event, with wood-fired eats and garden bars.

Paddock-to-plate pioneer, Harvest in Newrybar.Credit: Elise Derwin