The Chef’s Guide to Byron Bay

In the last couple of decades Byron Bay has matured from a sleepy surf spot in Northern NSW into a sophisticated town. Just an hour’s drive south of the Gold Coast, the seaside town and its surrounding hinterland regions have become a hub for some of Australia’s best food, art, music and design. Everyone from celebrity chefs to Hollywood’s biggest actors have left behind the big cities for a peaceful seaside life. That’s what we did when we decided to take our successful Sydney cafe, the Three Blue Ducks, to this beautiful part of the world.

If you’re coming to Byron and want to see the best of it, bring your walking shoes and make sure you have a car, because while the centre of Byron swells with tourists year round, it’s the surrounding areas where the natural beauty is matched with creative offerings from some of the most talented operators in the region. Expedia’s Kiwi travellers spend 2-3 nights in Byron – here’s our guide to making the most of a few days in northern NSW’s bountiful Byron Bay.

Day One

The road sign on the way into town reads “Welcome to Byron Bay – Cheer up, Slow down, Chill out” and that’s exactly what you should do. Make sure you get in before sunset, drop your bags at Atlantic Byron Bay, where every room is like the perfect beach house, and head off to view one Byron’s most spectacular sites – the sunset. Get down to Wategos Beach and walk around the headland to Little Wategos where you can sit and watch the sun setting over the water and the Byron Hinterland… more often than not you’ll be joined by dolphins surfing some of Australia’s most famous waves in the last rays of sunlight.