Wynde

I will be in Byron Bay w/ family over the Christmas holiday. I would like your recommendations on
1) good restaurants - inexpensive and the very best
2) good places to hear live music
3) day trips for hiking and bicycling (moderate level of difficulty, I'm in good condition)? Can't spend all my time at the beach.

Anything to avoid? I know it will be crowded. This is my first time to Australia!

Thanks in advance, Wynde

aussie bloke

http://www.byron-bay.com/

dugongs

we love byron and it really is a special place

theres a cafe on the right hand side of the main street near the beach behind the beach hotel. it has tables outside facing the street. called something like fresh but not only is the food all natural and tasty but it is totally disorganised in a wonderfully byron sort of way. you can sit there and enjoy great food and watch all these dishes be carried by you as all the young
waiter(resse)s never seem to be able to locate the right table for the right dish.

the beach hotel (i.e pub) is vast and has live entertainment every night. drinks and food are very reasonable given its location and you can watch the sunset. it has a very upmarket motel attached to it but the pub is very diverse in its clientele from surfers to familys to business types. great way to end the day.

walk to the light house is the obvious walk but there are loads of trails in the hinterlands to the west. one other thing we enjoyed was travel to a beach called tallow about 3 miles from central byron. all the locals go there to walk their dogs in the morning and its wonderfully normal if you want to get away from the tourist, hippy or surfy crowds.

hope you have a great holiday.

agwa

I'll be there too over Christmas. Been quite a few times.

You don't need to know anything really. It's very small and you'll suss it out in a day.

Just head away from the main streach of the beach if you don't want to be surrounded by backpackers.