A local answer,
not a listicle

Straight across from the houses in town, patrolled, and the calmest swim you will find that close to the centre. Cafes behind the sand if the morning turns into lunch.

World-class surf at the Pass, calm water at Clarkes, and the two of them a ten-minute walk apart. Longboarders take the point, families take the corner.

A crescent cove under the lighthouse, sheltered by the cliffs behind it. The quiet swim, and the one where you will see dolphins from the sand most mornings.

Quieter water and a lot more sand. Long walks, a surf away from the crowd, and almost nobody on it on a weekday.

Hidden behind the cape and much wilder. Surfers and long walks rather than a patrolled swim, so ask us which end is safe on the day.

A Byron institution and the most exclusive table on this coast. Panoramic ocean views, a menu built around the sea, and the room you book for something worth remembering.

Coastal Italy in the middle of Byron. Handmade pasta, burrata, and a room that encourages a long lunch and a second bottle.

Woodfire cooking and local produce. Slow-cooked meat, seafood and vegetables over an open flame. The one for a cold evening and a bottle of red.

An izakaya, done properly. Small plates, natural wine and a dark, quiet room. Sashimi and charred skewers, and the best date night in town.

Whitewashed walls and plates made for sharing. Halloumi, chargrilled seafood and cold rose. Loud in the good way, and best in the afternoon.

Intimate, dark and produce-driven, with the best cocktails of the six. Where we send people who want the refined version of a night out.

Downstairs from the houses in town. Good coffee, proper food and the best smoothies in the bay, with a Bali slant.

Also downstairs. Juices, smoothies, salads and wholefoods, all made that morning. The one you walk to before anybody else is up.

Plant-based food that converts people who did not plan on being converted, and cocktails worth staying for.

Asian fusion and a full bar in a room with a lot of energy. Thai through to vegetarian, and it runs late.

The cocktail bar for after the beach. Properly made drinks, upstairs, and the easiest first stop of an evening.

A private lesson with instructors who put beginners exactly where they should be. Booked around the tide rather than the timetable, and arranged before you land.

Snorkel or dive the marine reserve offshore. Turtles, rays and clear water, and it works for a first-timer as well as it does for a diver.

Home of Brookie’s Gin, in rainforest and macadamia country behind the bay. A guided tour, a tasting, and half a day that is worth the drive.

The coastline, the hinterland and the farmland from above, at first light. The early alarm is the only hard part.

A ride along the sand or through the forest behind it, on horses calm enough for somebody who has never sat on one.

Ballina is closer, the Gold Coast has more flights. Private transfers from either, and a local chauffeur for the rest of the stay if you want one.

Most of the collection is a walk from the centre, and the foreshore path covers the rest. For the hinterland you will want a car or a driver.

The villages behind the bay. Half an hour inland and a completely different day, and the one drive we tell everybody to make.

It is the one genuinely annoying thing about Byron. Every residence has its own off-street parking, and we will tell you where not to bother trying.