My trip to Byron Bay was just one of the weirdest of all.

I only spent one week there and first half of it was nightmare and the second half was dream. Let me just tell you all.

I arrived at the beginning of September and unfortunately it was the raining period. Although it’s raining all year long because of the tropical weather, I wasn’t ready for it. No raincoat, no umbrella. I then learned that the best moments in the year to go there were from September to November.

I had booked 1 week at YHA Byron Bay in a 4 girls dorm with private shower and toilets and I was really disappointed about it. The bathroom looked like it has never been cleaned which is not really what you expect when you’re paying more to have your own comfort/privacy. The staff working there at that time wasn’t really friendly and in opposition to the other backpack hostels that I went before in Australia, the breakfast wasn’t entirely free (1 pancake free and then you had to pay for the next ones, WTF is that?). But the kitchen and living room were pretty nice. The swimming pool looked also good but I couldn’t unfortunately try it.

I loved Byron Bay but if you’re very sensitive to humidity, like me, it can be a problem. When I arrived there, I already had my usual chronic sinusitis but after 1 day there, it got worse than ever before in my life. I couldn’t breathe, had asthma crisis, pain in the joints, congestion, headaches,…Let’s say that I wasn’t in the best shape to visit the city. Really quickly I realized that I had to see a practitioner to get some relief and found an Ayurvedic Center at 5 min by walk (learn more about this experience here).

2 days after when it finally stopped raining and I was feeling better, I decided to enjoy the great weather to go for a walk and finally see the lighthouse that everyone talked to me about. I went first to the Main Beach and was really surprised by it. I don’t know if it’s because of the humidity but the shadow above the ocean looked like surnatural and I had this feeling that this place was special. I saw the lighthouse from there and just walked barefoot in the sea until I had to put back my shoes again to walk into the forest. After 15 minutes walking, I made a stop at Wategos Beach, which was just wonderful. I was finally enjoying the sun touching my skin after months of cold weather. I couldn’t resist. I lied down on the grass close to the beach and read a book. Few hours after, I realized that I fell asleep and was awake by a big bird trying to steal my Kindle! It was time to continue my walk to the lighthouse!

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What a beautiful view I had when I arrived on top! From one side, you have a beautiful view over the ocean and on the other side, another nice view over the bay. If you are going there from Main Beach by walk without stopping on the way, I’d say it take 1 hour and a half to do this little hike. But I noticed a parking spot up there so if you have a car and don’t want to walk (especially when it’s raining!!!) you can also do it that way.

Later this day, I went for a tea with a friend at Balcony Bar and Oyster and Co. I really liked the decoration inside and the little terrace to enjoy some fresh air. It was also really nice to see Phoebe again, a beautiful soul and my roomie in Bali who I did the Yoga Teacher Training with!

At night, I packed my stuff and escaped from YHA to go at her place in Mullumbimby. But first we stopped at Milk and Honey restaurant to have a beautiful pizza and salad. That was seriously one of the best meal I had ever since I’m in Australia!

Next day, I enjoyed a little tour in Mullumbimby city centre, a really cute place at 20 minutes away from Byron Bay.

And at night, my friend and I went to the Kiva spa which was just…awesooooooome. Perfect even if you are a little bit sick, the combination of cold and hot pools with sauna (cutest ever seen by the way) and hammam was exactly what I needed to breathe better.

Next day, I had to go back to Melbourne. So you know there is no airport in Byron Bay so to go back to Gold Coast Airport (the closest airport around) I had 1h approximately to go there by car/shuttle.

And as soon as I put a foot in Melbourne, I could breathe better. How crazy is that?! Next time I’m coming back to Byron Bay, I’m definitely thinking about coming back in a super healthy state and I’m also thinking about all the cities and beaches that I haven’t seen around Byron Bay like Nimbin and snorkel at Julian Rocks. Have you been there? Do you have some nice place to recommend?

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