Planning a Trip

Getting There

If you're driving up the north coast, leave the Pacific Highway at Ballina and take the scenic coast road via Lennox Head. It's around 10 hours by car from Sydney, and 2 hours from Brisbane.

Regional Express (tel. 13 17 13 in Australia; www.regionalexpress.com.au) flies from Sydney to Ballina, south of Byron Bay. The round-trip fare is around A$280 (US$252/£125). Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com.au) also flies to Ballina. Byron Bus Transfers (tel. 02/6681 3354) meets all flights and transfers to Byron Bay for A$20 (US$18/£9) single and A$35 (US$31/£15) round-trip. Coolangatta Airport is 1 hour north of Byron Bay (112km/69 miles). Countrylink (tel. 13 22 32 in Australia) runs daily trains from Sydney to Byron Bay; the one-way fare is around A$98 (US$88/£44) for adults and A$47 (US$42/£21) for children, and the trip takes 13 hours. Greyhound Australia (tel. 13 14 99 in Australia, or 07/4690 9950; www.greyhound.com.au) buses from Sydney take 14 hours; the one-way coach fare is A$69 (US$62/£31).

Organized Tours From Sydney

An unusual way to get to Byron is on a 5-day surf safari from Sydney with Surfaris (tel. 1800/634 941 in Australia; www.surfaris.com). You can learn to surf along the way, as you stop off at several beaches, camping overnight. Trips leave Sydney on Monday morning and Byron Bay on Sunday morning. The safari is an all-inclusive A$549 (US$494/£248) -- though you need to bring a sleeping bag.

Another great trip is with Ando's Outback Tours (tel. 1800/228 828 in Australia; www.outbacktours.com.au), which operates from Sydney every Sunday. It heads inland deep into the Outback on a 5-day trip and returns to Byron Bay. Among the highlights are visits to Lightning Ridge and the wild Glengarry opal fields. The trip costs A$435 (US$391/£195). A return trip to Sydney from Byron Bay costs A$35 (US$31/£16).

Visitor Information

The Byron Visitors Centre, 80 Jonson St., Byron Bay, NSW 2481 (tel. 02/6680 9271; www.visitbyronbay.com), is open daily from 9am to 5pm. A half-hour farther south is the Ballina Tourist Information Centre, on the corner of Las Balsas Plaza and River Street, Ballina (tel. 02/6686 3484), open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Special Events

Byron really goes to town during 4 days over the Easter weekend with the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival (www.bluesfest.com.au). Up to 30,000 people camp out to listen to up to 80 acts, including the likes of Ben Harper, Midnight Oil, and Joan Armatrading. Book tickets on the Web. On the first Sunday of every month, the extraordinary local crafts market brings hippies and funky performers out from the hinterland. Byron Bay is very popular over the Christmas period, so book well in advance.