Every time I think I Bryon Bay I smile.
What a wonderful little place.
It’s like my Australian beach version of Bakewell.
Small enough to walk around in less than an hour but full of oddities and quaint discoveries.

Every day in Bryon can be the same or different.  If you’re unfamiliar with the place, a quick google search will tell you;

“Byron Bay is a coastal town in the southeastern Australian state of New South Wales. It’s a popular holiday destination, known for its beaches, surfing and scuba diving sites. Cape Byron State Conservation Park is on a headland with a lighthouse. Between June and November, humpback whales can be spotted from headland viewpoints such as the Captain Cook Lookout.”

But what people really come here for is “the vibe.”

Throws of backpackers, ageing hippies, health nuts and fire dancing wannabe’s will flock to this town over and over.  Some even wish to permanently relocate.  The town has grown extensively in the past several years alone according to locals and it’s not hard to see why.  Its laid-back vibe will make you feel extremely content with buying overpriced locally made trinkets and acai bowls and then spend the evening drinking and singing and the morning practising yoga (pretending your not still drunk.)
“No Helen, I’m not drunk, it’s an after yoga glow. You’d understand if you found your chi.”

I may sound sceptical and a little mean but I genuinely do love it here, it’s just that sometimes you have to ignore/avoid a few pretentious a-holes that drift this way.  Not that it takes anything away from the all the good stuff Bryon has.

Now a day there is not nearly enough but if that’s all you have there’s still plenty you can do.  We’ve been several times for a day at a time during our two years in Australia and each has been different.

The first time we visited we realised we needed to arrive early to get a parking spot on or even near the beach. We managed it and spent most of the day relaxing by the beach, swimming in the sea and watching people learn to surf.  We walked around the town sniffing out the best coffee, had a delectable lunch and went to the lighthouse.  In the evening we watched some street artists and buskers, had wine on a balcony bar and later stargazed for a while.  Perfectly romantic day.

The second time I went with some girlfriends from the farm, a group of five of us and it was perfect as it fell on the day of the market! Not the small weekly one, the big funky monthly one! It took us hours to get around, longer still because we window shopped every stall and went on a bit of a spree! We tried on kimono’s, danced to a pianist, ate burritos and churros and after the market, we spilt out to the streets to find more shops and try on dungarees! Perfectly fun day.

And since then every day has been its own mini adventure! You do what you like, so plan accordingly and make sure you have either a nice outfit, some work out gear, or /and your swimming costume!  There are changing rooms on the beach but you may be more comfortable arriving in your cozzie.   The toilets are those on a timer kind too, so the doors open to the public after a certain amount of time and if you’re caught mid change into some crazily complicated swim piece… too bad! You may end up being on show to the world.

Whatever you do bring sunscreen! Aside from the sun, be careful of the surf!
Don’t get caught up in riptides and pay attention to the lifeguards and beach signs. Also, don’t go in the water with sunglasses on unless it’s super calm and they are glued to your head.  Sean lost his within minutes.

There is plenty to do here if you take the time to do it and if you’re finished with Bryon Bay’s city there are plenty of really cool day trips you can do from there!

P.s   Or if it just isn’t liberal enough you can always take a day trip to Nimbin! Remember kids just say ‘no’ to drugs!