Car

Driving to Byron is fairly easy; you just take the Pacific Highway (National Route 1) which runs along the Australian east coast, just west of Byron Bay. From there take the turn-offs into town. Driving down from the Gold Coast should take around an hour, from Brisbane two hours, and driving north from Sydney, around nine hours.

As this is the only way to approach Byron Bay by road, it gets pretty hectic during Summer time and school holiday periods. Getting in and out of town by car with the mass influx of people driving down from Queensland provides traffic jams up and down the Pacific Hwy, so add some extra driving time if travelling in these periods.

If you don't have a car, you can hop on a tour which will do all the driving and organising for you! Consider the Byron Bay Day Trip from the Gold Coast, which will bus you down and back for a day with a local guide and a stop at Tropical Fruit World for $92 per person. Or for an extended stay, the 5-Day Sydney to Byron Bay Surfing Adventure which includes surfing tuition, accommodation meals and transport from $499.

Plane

The nearest airport is Ballina/Byron Airport, a 30 minute drive south of Byron in the town of Ballina. It receives flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Otherwise, the Gold Coast Airport is around one hour north near Coolangatta, and has both domestic flights and international flights from New Zealand, Malaysia and Japan. It often has cheaper flights and cheaper car hire than Ballina, making it a good option.

If you don’t want to hire a car, you can catch the local bus run by Blanch's Bus Company, which will take you from the Ballina/Byron Airport to Byron Bay for around $9.50.

Otherwise, there are regular door-to-door shuttle services from both airports, as well as Brisbane Airport. They cost around $25 and eliminate a bit of the fuss. Consider Brisbane2Byron which provides pick-ups and drop-offs from the Brisbane Airport on their run between Byron Bay, Brisbane and Surfers Paradise, or Xcede Airport Transfers which offers a shuttle from both the Ballina and Gold Coast Airports direct to your door.

Bus and Train

Buses and trains are good budget way of getting to Byron Bay. Greyhound buses have services from most Australian locations, and if travelling from within the state use the NSW Transport Info Journey Planner.

The nearest train station to Byron Bay is in the inland town of Casino. From there you can catch a bus to Byron, but it’s simpler to simply catch a bus directly, unless you’re up for an inland country train trip! See NSW Country Link for more information.