Surfing, Cabarita BeachCredit: Destination NSW
Surfers catching a morning wave at Cabarita Beach.
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A star-studded line up is gearing up to embrace the sun-soaked Northern Rivers region as part of New South Wales’ 17-night music festival, Great Southern Nights, which is back in 2024 from 8-24 March. Live music will provide the cherry on top of an ocean-sprayed minibreak, so why not make a long weekend of it and hit the road on the ultimate musical GSN coastal road trip.
Great Southern Nights Gigs
The Beach Hotel is one of Byron Bay’s must visit locations; catch electric hip hop duo Hermitude (9 Mar) and bop the night away or catch Xavier Rudd at The Green Room (9 Mar). Take your music appreciation tour northwards to the Tweed to rock out to Bliss N Eso at the waterfront Kingscliff Beach Hotel (23 Mar), then take a drive down south to Lismore where you'll see Jesswar (23 Mar) and Kate Miller-Heidke (13 Mar). You can also catch Ball Park Music (15 Mar), Gordi (8 Mar), JK-47 (23 Mar), and Jon Stevens (8 Mar).
Great Southern Nights 2024 - Bliss N Eso Credit: Morse Code
Great Southern Nights 2024 - Bliss N Eso
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Great Southern Nights 2024 - Bliss N Eso Credit: Morse Code
Great Southern Nights 2024 - Bliss N Eso
Great Southern Nights 2023 Taster Series Credit: Morse Code
Great Southern Nights 2023 Taster Series
#feelnsw
Great Southern Nights 2023 Taster Series Credit: Morse Code
Great Southern Nights 2023 Taster Series
Eat and Drink
Top Shop, Byron Bay
This former 1950s milk bar serves acai bowls, smoothies, burgers and more from its corner shop space. Perch yourself on the grassy knoll while you tuck into your mid-morning snack.
Light Years, Byron Bay
Originating in Byron Bay in 2017, the Light Years brand was born from a desire to bring a fun, modern Asian dining experience to the East Coast. Offering delicious share style food, unique cocktails, and friendly wait staff, Light Years Byron Bay very quickly became a beachside favourite.
Fins Restaurant and Bar, Kingscliff
Internationally renowned traveling celebrity chef Steven Snow is the owner/chef of Fins, Australia’s most awarded regional restaurant. His flagship fine diner Fins has been a ‘hatted’ restaurant for 22 years
Bang Bang, Byron Bay
Bringing charged-up flavours to the table, this corner eatery pulses with energy come sundown. From chow mein to Korean popcorn chicken and roti canai, the menu criss-crosses from East to Southeast Asia and back again, throwing down the most popular classics of the region alongside a cocktail list equally attuned to good times.
Paper Daisy, Cabarita Beach
This breezy diner in celebrated Halcyon House is within earshot of waves on Cabarita Beach. The menu is local, focused and finely executed. The bar is open to external guests from 3pm, so be sure to arrive with plenty of time to enjoy a pre-dinner primer.
Taverna, Kingscliff
Be transported to the picturesque Greek Islands at Taverna, and soak in the inviting ambiance of bright white walls and waterfront views overlooking Kingscliff Beach. Feast on contemporary takes of traditional dishes inspired by the co-owner and chef’s yiayia (grandmother), and feast on wholesome ingredients plucked fresh from Taverna’s very own kitchen garden.
Three Blue Ducks at The Farm, Byron Hinterland
The Byron outpost of Three Blue Ducks is set on a strollable 30-hectare farm where you can meet a farm animal or two (the pigs are always a hit) and watch your meal being prepared in the open kitchen. This spot is much-loved by families for the opportunity to let small ones loose but is just as adept at providing a refined but enjoyably low-key dining experience.
Top Shop, Byron Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Young people enjoying a coffee at the Top Shop Cafe in Byron Bay
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Top Shop, Byron Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Young people enjoying a coffee at the Top Shop Cafe in Byron Bay
Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach Credit: Destination NSW
Paper Daisy restaurant located within boutique hotel Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach.
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Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach Credit: Destination NSW
Paper Daisy restaurant located within boutique hotel Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach.
Play
It's time to go dolphin spotting
Cape Byron Kayaks runs guided tours through the Cape Byron Marine Park every morning and they see dolphins on 90% of their trips. (And if you don’t, you can go again for free.) You’ll also see sea turtles and humpback whales (during the winter months), get a unique perspective on the Cape Byron Lighthouse, and pull into a secluded beach for a Tim Tam feast.
Ride into the sunset
Saddle up for a gentle ride from the forest to the beach with Zephyr Horses. Feel the salt spray revitalise your senses as you trot along the shoreline, or take a ride to the pub, saloon-style.
Explore a fishing and surfing village
In Brunswick Heads the most popular activities are those centred around the water. Explore the Brunswick River on a kayak with Byron Bay Eco Cruises, or snap on a snorkel and go diving with Blue Bay Diving to explore below the surface of this holiday hotspot. Or if you feel like sitting back and taking in the views, book a trip with award winning eco-certified Brunswick River Cruises.
Husk Distillery, Tweed Shire
An excursion to the under-the-radar Tweed reveals sunlit cane fields, riverside landscapes and towns built upon stilts, and should culminate in a visit to Husk Distillery’s cellar door. Designate someone else to drive, sip the refreshing rum made from local cane sugar and book a table or spread out under an umbrella on the lawn and enjoy a lazy country afternoon.
Explore
Beach hop across the NSW North Coast
As well as world-famous Byron Bay, the adjacent Tweed and Ballina shires are well-endowed with their fair share of glittering coastal gems lapping the shore. Northwards, in the Tweed, you’ll find the winner of Australia’s best beach in 2020, Cabarita Beach, as well as plenty of river-to-ocean creeks that are perfectly agreeable to paddleboarding, kids, and lolling in crystal waters. Southwards, Ballina and Lennox Head are fringed with vast beaches to surf and swim, as well as Lake Ainsworth, a tea tree-stained lake perfect for paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing.
Cape Byron Lighthouse
The most easterly point in Australia doesn’t disappoint with its oceanic vistas that are often interrupted by whales or pods of dolphins. Join the throng of joggers with a morning run with a view or take a more meditative pace and wander mindfully all the way to the very edge of Australia
Cape Byron Kayaks, Byron Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Experience all the fun and adventure of a Cape Byron Kayaks guided tour in Cape Byron Marine Park. Feel the exhilaration as you paddle your kayak with the dolphins, turtles, and whales that frequent the enticing waters of Byron Bay.
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Cape Byron Kayaks, Byron Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Experience all the fun and adventure of a Cape Byron Kayaks guided tour in Cape Byron Marine Park. Feel the exhilaration as you paddle your kayak with the dolphins, turtles, and whales that frequent the enticing waters of Byron Bay.
Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach Credit: Destination NSW
Paper Daisy restaurant located within boutique hotel Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach Credit: Destination NSW
Paper Daisy restaurant located within boutique hotel Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach.
Stay
Hotel Marvell
Opening in mid 2023, Hotel Marvell is the first five-star property in the centre of Byron Bay. It’s also the first with a rooftop pool and bar, which is one of the best places in town to watch the sunset. There are 18 rooms and six suites, styled with raw concrete, natural fabrics and gold fittings, perfectly suited to the local bohemian luxe aesthetic.
Swell Hotel
Another new opening in 2023, the Swell perfectly captures Byron’s retro luxe charm, with just 16 rooms designed around a palette of earthy tones and natural elements. It’s an adult’s only retreat, so expect some quiet time to rest and recharge around the ozone pool or rejuvenate with a session in the infrared sauna and ice bath.
Cape Byron Retreat
It’s less than five minutes from the centre of town but this adults’ only retreat feels a world away. There are just nine villas and apartments surrounded by gorgeous gardens, a sparkling swimming pool, outdoor hot tubs, a yoga pavilion and indulgent spa. Check in and tune out.
Sun Ranch
Arrive at this 70s-inspired ranch close to Bangalow and you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped onto the set of a spaghetti Western. Earthy tones, vintage furniture, funky fabrics and cowboy touches are found across its 55 acres, which includes a five-room guesthouse called The Rambler, six freestanding two-bedroom barns, and quirky communal spaces like The Badminton Club and The Lair.
The Brooklet
Perched on a lush green hillside just outside the village of Newrybar, The Brooklet is an impossibly glamorous country retreat. Stay in one of the six opulent one-and two-bedroom villas or book The Bails, the original dairy that’s been turned into a luxe three-bedroom house with a private pool. Swim in the 25m magnesium pool, hang out in The Barn, play croquet on the lawn or work out in the gym.
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For more information on Great Southern Nights and to purchase tickets go to greatsouthernnights.com.au. Start planning your Great Southern Nights road trip and learn more about New South Wales’ diverse destinations and experiences at sydney.com and visitnsw.com.
Share your Feel New moments with #FeelNSW and #FeelNewSydney.
More Inspirational Stories
Luna Park Sydney, Milsons PointCredit: Destination NSW
Kids enjoying fairy floss during a day out at Luna Park Sydney, Milsons Point
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Fill the school holidays with fun for the whole family in Sydney and across New South Wales this summer. From educational activities at leading cultural institutions to unforgettable road trips along the coast and adventures through country NSW, here’s some inspiration to help plan your journey.
Revel in Sydney’s summertime diversions
Feel your head spin with the variety of family entertainment options on offer in Sydney during school holidays. Immerse in a magical multimedia show, complete with colourful holograms, at Luna Park Sydney’s recently launched Dream Circus experience. Then emerge from the harbourside amusement park’s Immersive Big Top and step onto one of its signature rides for thrills of a more physical kind.
Give your budding performers and junior theatre buffs a taste of life in the creative arts with school-holiday classes and workshops at the Sydney Opera House. Encourage visual creativity with artmaking sessions in the Kids on deck maker space at the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour, before the whole family explores the museum’s interactive displays and clambers onto the ships docked in the harbour’s waters.
If your kids have expressed an interest in working with animals in the future, they’ll love Taronga Zoo Sydney’s Junior Keepers program – children aged 8 to 11 can join a Taronga Keeper behind the scenes as they go about their day caring for some of the zoo’s native animals.
Burn off energy while learning how to surf in a controlled environment in URBNSurf’s wave pool at Sydney Olympic Park, a 20-minute drive from central Sydney. Bring your bikes to explore Sydney Olympic Park’s massive Bicentennial Park, gaze down into an old quarry filled with frogs on the Brickpit Ring Walk, or survey the ship graveyard hidden in the mangroves from the park’s shipwreck viewing platform.
Watch your younger kids’ faces light up at the incredible Planet Mino indoor play centres in Chatswood and the Northern Beaches suburb of Warringah – each play centre has an array of sensory experiences, including role-play zones and interactive augmented-reality walls. Or enjoy the more down-to-earth sensory experience of milking a cow and riding a tractor at Calmsley Hill City Farm in Abbotsbury, Western Sydney.
Taronga Zoo, Mosman Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying a giraffe encounter at Taronga Zoo in Mosman
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Taronga Zoo, Mosman Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying a giraffe encounter at Taronga Zoo in Mosman
Head to the mountains – and beyond
Go west on an epic road trip your family will be talking about long after school has started back again. Begin your western wanderings in the Blue Mountains, an hour’s drive from Sydney’s city centre, following walking trails to scenic outlooks throughout the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park.
Notice how everyone falls silent in awe as you descend into rainforest on Scenic World’s Scenic Railway – the world’s steepest passenger train – or travel high above a bushland valley on the Scenic Skyway outside the main Blue Mountains town of Katoomba.
Venture into the expanses of the plains beyond the Blue Mountains, making your way to the historic town of Bathurst. Imagine you’re in a epic motor race, albeit at a much more sedate pace, on the public road that becomes the Mount Panorama racing circuit a few eventful times each year, before soaking in the lore of the racetrack at the National Motor Racing Museum.
Push on west, stopping for a gourmet lunch in the epicurean haven of Orange, on your way to Dubbo’s safari-style Taronga Western Plains Zoo, home to rare and endangered animals from the African, Asian and Australian continents.
National Motor Racing Museum Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying The National Motor Racing Museum located at Murray’s Corner, Mount Panorama in Bathurst
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National Motor Racing Museum Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying The National Motor Racing Museum located at Murray’s Corner, Mount Panorama in Bathurst
Choose your own northern adventure
Make memories as the miles go by when you embark on a Legendary Pacific Coast road trip, following the Pacific Highway to the tourist hubs of Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads on the NSW North Coast.
Or stay closer to Sydney and enjoy a more sedate pace by holidaying on the Central Coast, seeking out aquatic adventures on Lake Macquarie, Australia’s largest coastal saltwater lake, and exploring the sea port of Newcastle, all within a two-hour drive north of Sydney.
Spend the day getting to know native Australian wildlife, from koalas and kangaroos to snakes and lizards, at Australian Reptile Park, on the Pacific Highway near the Central Coast town of Gosford. Slow down and attune to the beauty of the bush with Glenworth Valley Wilderness Adventures, also near Gosford, which offers horse riding, quad biking, kayaking and more in a heavenly wilderness setting.
Plunge into the waves at one of Newcastle’s surf beaches before checking out the military displays at the city’s Fort Scratchley Historical Site or swinging from ropes at Treetops Adventure Newcastle. Or venture north of Newcastle to Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary to meet wild koalas receiving treatment at the Port Stephens Koala Hospital.
Australian Reptile Park, Somersby Credit: Destination NSW
Australian Reptile Park located in Somersby on the Central Coast offers interactive animal experiences as well as close encounters with wildlife. Set in a natural bushland setting, the experiences include educational and entertaining shows.
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Australian Reptile Park, Somersby Credit: Destination NSW
Australian Reptile Park located in Somersby on the Central Coast offers interactive animal experiences as well as close encounters with wildlife. Set in a natural bushland setting, the experiences include educational and entertaining shows.
Cruise down south for family fun
Take your pick of countless beaches lining the NSW South Coast to make your base for carefree summer days relaxing by the water. In between swims, head inland for unforgettable outdoor adventures and animal encounters.
Get up close to native Australian wildlife and exotic animals at Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh, a 70-minute drive south of Sydney, before following the epic Grand Pacific Drive down the coastline.
Cool off with a dip in the waves at Austinmer Beach or Thirroul, stop in the beachside city of Wollongong for lunch, or drop in to see an amazing collection of heritage aircraft brought back to life by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society at HARS Aviation Museum, a 20-minute drive south of Wollongong.
Make a splash on the water rides at the Jamberoo Action Park, around a 10-minute drive inland from HARS Aviation Museum, or push on to Kiama to check out the beach town’s famous blowhole.
Symbio Wildlife Park, Helensburgh Credit: Destination NSW
The Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh provided interactive animal experiences and an opportunity to explore the Conservation Splash Park Adventure Playground.
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Symbio Wildlife Park, Helensburgh Credit: Destination NSW
The Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh provided interactive animal experiences and an opportunity to explore the Conservation Splash Park Adventure Playground.
Feast on experiences in the Riverina
See – and taste – for yourself why the Riverina is called the country’s food bowl when you cruise through the southwest NSW region’s seemingly endless farmland, passing countless citrus groves and fruit trees. Wow the finicky eaters as well as the foodies in your family as you stop in at charming country towns for a memorable meal or an indulgent snack, on your way to an immersive farm stay.
Connect your kids with the produce they usually only see in a supermarket by staying in a farmhouse at Catania Fruit Salad Farm outside of Griffith. And savour a punnet or two of the juicy strawberries you’ve just picked yourself at Bidgee Strawberries and Cream in Wagga Wagga, the Riverina’s largest town, before picking up home-made strawberry ice-cream and jam from the farmgate shop.
Inject a sense of unrestrained joy into the day by visiting Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory, a wonderland of confectionary housed in an old flour mill in Junee, around a 30-minute drive from Wagga Wagga. Take a guided tour of the licorice and chocolate factory and take pride in watching your kids make their own giant chocolate freckle, before or after a hearty lunch at the in-house Millroom café.
Junee Licorice and Chocolate, Junee Credit: Destination NSW
Family-friendly tourist attraction located in Junee. Guided tours and chocolate tasting as well as hands on interactive chocolate experiences.
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Junee Licorice and Chocolate, Junee Credit: Destination NSW
Family-friendly tourist attraction located in Junee. Guided tours and chocolate tasting as well as hands on interactive chocolate experiences.