Surfing in Byron Bay is a bit of a rite of passage for any backpacker who cruises the east coast of Oz, surfer or not. The place is established as a cracking learn-to-surf destination and has the hostels and camps to show for it. More experienced surfers will also get nice right-hand points that work really well in the spring and summer months.
An introduction to surfing in Byron Bay
Byron Bay – the name is an NSW legend. At least, it’s that way among the hordes of backpackers (usually British) who’ve come and gone over the years. Sometime around 2000, this salt-washed shoreline town on 44 miles south of the Gold Coast became the vogue surf destination in Eastern Oz. It stayed that way for some time, and surf schools, surf hostels, yogi camps and the whole shebang came in wake of the rep.
Sadly, it sort of worked both ways and now Byron – like its namesake poet – is a bit of a victim of its own success. Porsches now cruise the coast roads and there’s a bit of a posh-git atmos in the galleries and bars. We still love it though, mainly because a series of epic right-hand points cruise into neatly placed Cape Byron to offer some of the best summer-season surfing in the state.
In fact, Byron is first and foremost a surf town. Ignore the New Agers. Dodge the millionaires. Paddle out at Wategos or The Pass on a good, solid E swell with little wind and patience for the crowds and you’ll be rewarded with some lovely sessions. It’s also a top spot for beginners.
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This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in NSW and Australia
Byron Bay at a glance
Wave type: Point break and beach break // Level: All level, esp beginners // Season: All year
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to surfing in Byron Bay?
Where is Byron Bay?
Byron Bay is one of the last towns in New South Wales before you hit the border with Queensland – the state line is less than 40 miles to the north. Geographically, the town occupies a fish-hook of a headland known as Cape Byron. That’s officially the easternmost point in the whole country, which should tell you something about just how much of a swell magnet the surrounding points and beaches really are. From SE to NE, the whole lot works here.
Byron Bay surf spots
We’ll start at the very decent breakwater waves of Brunswick and run south past Tallows beach. All of these spots are within walking or driving distance of central Byron.
Brunswick Heads
A whopping great big curl of golden sand that goes from the Brunswick Heads breakwater all the way to the middle of Tyagarah Beach, this one’s the place to hunt for lonely peaks to have all by yourself. Unlike the points that hug the Byron cape to the south, the sandbars here are exposed just enough to get some whack from refracted sets in the SE channel, so they work and work consistently throughout the winter months.
The nearer to the breakwater you get the more head-on sets will be in the winter. That adds size and Brunswick can be beefy and rippy all at once. On days over 5 foot we would only recommend it for confident intermediates and up.
Tyagarah Beach
The locals know this one as their resident clothing-optional beach. It’s north of Byron proper (about 15 minutes’ drive) and marks the point where the bay begins to bend inwards to face a touch north. That chops down the SE swells that push through to Brunswick Heads to give winter bombs and means the sets here are a little more manageable and intermediate friendly, provided you’re okay with keeping the company of naked folks.
Belongil Beach
A kilometer or so north from Byron Town, the sands run into Belongil Beach. It’s a stunning curve of real NSW stuff – powdery and white, with azure seas that meld with the horizon in the distance. This one works fantastically on big SE swells, that will wrap around and give neat A-frame sets midwinter. Summer swells in E and NE also do well, provided the sandbanks are playing ball.
Belongil Beach is an improvers stomping ground largely because there’s so much room to spread the line up. We think it’s also a fine beginner option in the summer (Nov-March) but rips are the main enemy on larger days in the winter.
The Wreck
One of Byron Bay’s most legendary spots, The Wreck is exactly what it says on the tin: The shipwreck of the SS Wollongbar lodged in the sand below – you can even see the rudder poking up at low tide. It’s been lodged there for enough time to gather neat banks around it, and they give sweet rides on both the left and the right.
The left hits when there’s good E-SE action and enough size. Wave come straight off the rudder of the boat and break super-hollow it a postbox pit that’s fast and mega fun. It’s a very technical wave with an extremely narrow take-off zone. It’s for the good intermediates and up.
The right is also performance wave and the most coveted catch in town for experienced surfers. Position to the edge of the reef boilers there to take off onto a semi-hollow face that invites you to whiz down a super-steep chunk of water. It will cruise overhead and you’ll fly on through like a rocket.
Main Beach
Main Beach covers just under a kilometer of the seafront immediately in front of Byron center. It’s got peak after peak after peak, some of which will hold nicely for the full season if they can score settled sandbanks and storms don’t come along to mess it all up. We’ve surfed nice right tubes here one season and found them gone the next, so quality does happen. So does plenty of cruisy lips for the learners. Big winter days on wrap-around SE swells can kill Main Beach because of the currents. It’s best on the push always.
Clarkes Beach
Tucked neatly into the far eastern corner of Byron is the spot the locals call, simply, Clarkes. Usually busy on account of how close it is to the main town, the spot is a bit of a classic Aussie right point with good protection from both S crossshores and E onshores. Clarkes is often the go-to if the rest of Byron is blown out and messy. The main peaks go right off the rocks but there are some smaller lefts that still benefit from the covering headlands.
The Pass
Good luck scoring anything that the locals leave run through off the main point here. This is the Pass, not some secret NSW right that no one knows about – it’s up there with Noosa and Bells as the most-photographed surf locale Down Under. There’s a loyal following to show for it.
The wave is a cruisy and fun longboard staple that can brush down from the very edge of Clarke’s Beach right into the center, clocking up 150-200 meters of riding as it goes. It loves nice E and NE summer swells, but can also fire on big wrap-around SE pulses in the winter, but watch out for the winds then, which can often be cross shore.
The inside section isn’t usually fought-over so much by the rippers and loggers, so it’s turned into a sort of nursey zone for learners.
Wategos
Wategos faces due-north, helping it harness good E swells into cruisy lefts and rights. The main point is actually a left-hander (a rare thing in NSW) on the western end of the bay but there are four or five individual peaks, each with multiple take-off zones. At 40 minutes’ walk from the center of the town, this is too far for strollers so the crowds do thin out.
Little Wategos
If you really want to shake the crowds then push on to Little Wategos, the final beach at the end of the cape to the south and east of Byron. Strong SE swells will be too much here because the headland doesn’t offer all that much protection. Anything relatively small to medium (say, 3-5 foot) with E in the compass can work fantastically – think a cruisy right curler that’s glass from tip to toe.
Tallows Beach
Tallows has become the stomping ground for the out-of-town surf groups that go on the hunt for the often-fantastic beach breaks that roll in up and down this whole stretch. It’s the most consistent spot in Byron thanks to the exposure to everything from S to NE swell channels, and there’s nice protection from the biggest offshore N winds in the winter. Sandbanks can form here to offer lovely hollow breaks on occasional and you can come to hit them all on your own if you don’t mind cruising the coast road on the lookout.
Broken Head
If you ask us, Broken Head is the real gem of Byron Bay. Move over Wreck and Pass, this one’s the place where you’ll be scoring those teal-blue cruisers off a point without having to navigate a horde of locals and foamie throwers. The drive here from the center is about 15-20 minutes but there’s parking right by the start of the Three Sisters Walking Track.
Broken Head has a more exposed angle to the E and SE swell. That helps it achieve more consistency during the summer months only without the crowds thanks to the fact it’s not in the town. When it’s 5 foot and nicely angled with a light offshore, this one can give long rides of over 100 meters.
Where to stay when surfing in Byron Bay?
One area where you simply will not be disappointed with Byron is when it comes to accommodation. This town covers every possible angle, from budget backpacker lodge to eco-friendly boutique hotel. We’ve had the joy of staying in some seriously nice places here, like…
The Surf House
Where else? Part sleek surf lodge, part backpacker hostel, this one comes in cheap and fun. It’s got surfboard rentals on site, walking access to Clarkes and the Main Beach, and a super-cool style that reminds us of the vintage surf stays of the Cali West Coast. Rooftop bar is a corker too. There are dorms and private rooms.
THE CAPE at Wategos
The tag line for this one is “Lodging in Paradise”. They aren’t lying. Glance out the window and you’ll see the peeling rights of Watego’s rolling in just below your balcony through groves of palms and eucalyptus. The lodge itself oozes beach charm, with simple and elegant interiors and gorgeous balconies.
Cavvanbah Lane
This is our pick for groups of surfers who hit Byron together. Cavvanbah Lane sits between the dunes back from Belongil Beach, which means dodging the crowds a touch. It’s also a super-nice pad with its own plunge pool and gorgeous interiors that ooze tropical-chic.
Surf camps in Byron Bay
Byron Bay has the best surf camp options in eastern Oz. Big words but they are justified. Packages tend to be three or four days but take care of everything, from accom to surf lessons to gear rental, and even sometimes extras like yoga courses and whatnot. There are one or two that we know are pretty darn fantastic. You can book em’ online before you come now (and if you use our links then we get a little something so would be super grateful). Here goes…
- 3 Day ‘The Shaka’ Surf Holiday in Byron Bay – The Shaka is a popular three-day package that’s run as a partnership between the acclaimed Soul Surf School and The Surf House hostel (see above). It includes two complete four-hour lessons with fully qualified guides and transport to and from the local surf breaks. To be honest, the relatively modest price almost makes it worth it simply because it should help you save on gear and rooms.
- 4 Day Surf and Yoga Camp in Byron Bay – We mention this one because it’s based in the Arts Factory Lodge, a cool hostel-style lodge that’s just outside the main bustle of the town. Surf tuition is run by Mojosurf, and the package comes with 3x surf lessons and 3x yoga. It’s a bit more chilled than the Shaka but not as intense.
Step-by-step guide to planning your Surfing Byron Bay trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the Surfing Byron Bay…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp. Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Rent a car. If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step four: Enjoy!
When to surf in Byron Bay?
Byron Bay is very much an all-year-round surf destination. The main point breaks here (the reason the town is so famous for its surf) love a bit of E in the swell direction. That tends to be more dominant in the summer, when you’ll usually see smaller forecasts of 2-8 foot, making the warmer season between November and March better for beginners hitting the Byron surf schools.
The winter sees the SE swell channel get firing from the Southern Hemisphere. The swells need to work hard to wrap around Cape Byron then but they will do it, bringing the beefier sets for the more advanced surfers between May and September.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
