Australia's Most Eastern Point

Byron Bay is located right on Cape Byron, the most eastern point of the Australian mainland. It's a nice laid-back village with a good atmosphere. The setting is fine, but not as good as Coffs Harbour. The same counts for the beaches and the nightlife. There are some interesting places around, like the hippie town Nimbin, with a much nicer setting.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

As Byron is not so big, you can get around easily by walking. The walk to Cape Byron is nice, but it is quite far away from the city centre. Count on 12km there and back. To visit places like Nimbin, I recommend to go with a tour bus. It will bring you there and visit some other interesting places along the way.

I had a problem categorizing Nimbin for this entry. Is it an amusement park? Enough "amusement" here! Local market? Well, yeah you can buy your "stuff" here. Other family fun? Kind of illegal family fun. Great outdoors? Sure! Local celebration? Every day!

In case you are puzzled, this small town, 75km west of Byron Bay, is the hippie capital of Australia. There are nice colourful buildings with hippie paintings in the village's only street, some national parks in the area with nice rocks, forests, etc., but virtually the only reason people come here is weed, grass, pot, dope, and the like. Of course, there is the cannabis museum, but for the real merchandise, just walk around and the "locals" will find you.

It is the only place were these things are done so openly, without local or state authorities seeming to care. I guess they turn a blind eye to it to attract tourist money to the region. Those dirty hippiecrites!

From the city centre, where most hostels and hotels are located, the cape is 5km. It's a nice walk along the coast. The cape is rocky but not very special. Along the way you will pass a few nice viewpoints. On the way back, you can walk towards the other side of the cape and follow a few inland roads back to the centre. If you do this, count on a walking tour of around 12km.