Byron Bay, Australia – May 2026

My second stop in Australia was Byron Bay. I have taken to booking 7 nights at a location to start with. I feel that this is a good amount of time to get a feel for a place, and then I can extend if I want to. In Byron Bay – I definitely wanted to! I ended up there for 2 weeks, but I thought hard about extending even longer to be honest. I even thought about returning there.

Honestly, I’m not sure what exactly it is about Byron Bay that I liked so much, but I had a great time there and it was super relaxing! I spent a lot of time there walking along the beach, watching the sunset, and I finally got to learn to surf!

Beaches & Sunsets

By far my favorite part of Byron Bay was the location. I would get up and after finding something to eat, would immediately head to the beach and just walk along the shore. Shoes were taken off and I would spend hours just walking in the sand. I found a rocky spot that was on the beach and would frequently go there to people watch, watch some surfers, and watch the sunset.

The sunsets in Byron Bay were by far some of my favorites. I managed to get a timelapse of one of them and during that time I just people watched and enjoyed listening to the waves. It was great to be in the moment and not worry as much about what was next. I’ll post that to Instagram so be sure to check it out!

I got some great pictures of the ocean and sunsets and I definitely plan on getting back there again in the future.

Lighthouse

One of the favorite locations of the area is the Byron Bay light house. I ended up deciding to make a bit of a day out of my visit there, and instead of going straight up to the lighthouse, I took a longer route on a historical trail. I didn’t read a lot of the information that would pop up along the way since it was mostly by QR code and I wanted to enjoy nature, not my phone – but the views were amazing.

The trail also ended up taking me to the furthest eastern-ly point of Australia – which I honestly didn’t know was in Byron Bay, so that was fun. The walk took me around the cape and there were many different staircases and beach access points. I loved just walking through nature – unfortunately I didn’t get to see any Koalas, but there were plenty of signs saying they were in the area!

The lighthouse itself wasn’t open for people to go up, but it was really cool to see from a distance and as I got closer I could make out the spotlight really easily at the top. I have heard from a lot of people that it’s a great place to watch the sunset from, but personally I think I prefer my little spot on the beach. The lighthouse definitely gives a good vantage point, but I loved having the ocean in my sunsets.

Surfing

I don’t often do a lot of paid activities in my travels. That’s partially because of wanting to save money, and partially because I don’t see the point when there are so many things to do and see for free. I made an exception for 2 surf lessons.

I’ve wanted to surf for years but could never find the time when I was in an area that I could learn. When I got to Byron Bay, I knew this was a place I could actually learn since it’s a huge surfing town! I was not disappointed. I had so much fun with the first lesson that I went back for a 2nd once I extended my trip.

It was a full body workout though, I was so sore after both lessons, especially the first since I had done a bodyweight workout two days before (I didn’t plan that well…). But at the end of the first lesson I had finally gotten into the groove of things and was standing pretty regularly! There was a point when the instructor went “good! You’re no longer taking headers into the ocean!” Because before that I would focus down too much and into the water I go. Just like with driving, your body follows your eyes. My problem? I would get to my knees (habit from kneeboarding as a kid) and then would glance down to set my feet and ta-da! Face meet ocean. But during my 2nd lesson I was able to jump right up and stand up almost immediately which let me focus more on longer rides and my balance (and not getting pushed off course by the current, which was strong and working against me).

I definitely want to go surfing again and hope that I’ll be able to rent a surfboard at some point to go out on the water. It was a really great way to spend a couple of hours.

I loved Byron Bay, I actually almost went back there after moving further north. I plan to get back there once I get back to Australia! It was definitely worth the trip and I felt a lot more centered there than I have in many places.