Active Pursuits

Many accommodations in Byron Bay offer free surfboards for guests. If yours doesn't, head to the Byron Surf Shop, Lawson Street at the corner of Fletcher Street (tel. 02/6685 7536), which rents boards. The shop can also arrange surf lessons for around A$25 (US$23/£11) per hour. The Byron Bay Surf School, 127 Jonson St. (tel. 1800 707 274), offers surfing classes from A$60 (US$54/£27).

Wategos Beach and an area off the tip of Cape Byron called "The Pass" are two particularly good surf spots; and since each of the beaches faces a different direction, you are bound to find the surf is up on at least one. Main Beach, which stretches along the front of the town (it's actually some 50km/31 miles long), is good for swimming. West of Main Beach is Belongil Beach, the unofficial nudist beach (when authorities aren't cracking down on covering up). Clarke's Beach curves away to the east of Main Beach toward Cape Byron.

The Cape Byron Lighthouse on Cape Byron is one of Australia's most powerful. It's eerie to come up here at night to watch the stars and see the light reach some 40km (25 miles) out to sea. A nice walk just south of town goes through the rainforest of the Broken Heads Nature Reserve.

The best place to dive around Byron Bay is at Julian Rocks, about 3km (2 miles) offshore. Cold currents from the south meet warmer ones from the north here, which makes it a good spot to find a large variety of marine sea life. Byron Bay Dive Centre, 111 Jonson St. (tel. 02/6685 7149; www.byronbaydivecentre.com.au), offers a range of diving and snorkeling tours and runs dive courses, too.

Exploring the Hills & Rainforests

Behind Byron you'll find hills that could make the Irish weep, as well as rainforests, waterfalls, and small farms burgeoning with tropical fruits. A good operator taking trips inland is Forgotten Country Ecotours (tel. 02/6687 7843).

Byron Bay to Bush Tours (tel. 02/6685 6889 or 0418/662 684; bush@mullum.com.au) operates day trips to the hippie hangout of Nimbin -- where, during my last visit, I was approached four times in 10 minutes by people selling marijuana -- and up into the rainforest, where you visit a macadamia-nut farm and have a barbecue on the company's organic farm. The trip leaves at 11am Monday through Saturday and costs A$35 (US$31/£16). This company also operates trips to the Sunday market at Channon the second Sunday of each month and to the market at Bangalow on the fourth Sunday.

The Nimbin Shuttle (tel. 02/6680 9189) operates a shuttle bus service to Nimbin from Byron Bay Monday to Saturday for A$12 (US$11/£5.50) one-way. The Nimbin Market is on every third Sunday of the month. If you like that sort of thing, you could also visit the Hemp Embassy (tel. 02/6689 1842; www.hempembassy.net) for all things marijuana-related. There are a couple of interesting art galleries in Nimbin, too.