I need some help please. I have some air tickets that must be booked ( or will lose them ) within a a day or two and can be used to fly to any Major airport in Aus. But can't book any further out than May next year and trying to think of some places to go.

At the moment the top of the list is Byron bay in the middle of January but just can't think of any other options i may have missed.

Looking to just sit on the beach and vedge, surf and maybe explore a little. Not really wanting to spend a fortune and looking at villa or beach house type of accommodation with wifey and two kiddies. (11 and 14).

Any suggestions that any one would have would be very helpful thanks.

Will need a car i guess from Brissy but thats not a real biggie, but so anywhere we book will need to be within a few hours drive from a major airport.

yep byron in january is the go. a bucket list place for any surfer

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chrispy said..
yep byron in january is the go. a bucket list place for any surfer

Thanks Chrispy. I haven't been able to find anything comparative so far.

North straddie

Or do the drive from Brisbane to Sydney

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jbshack said..

chrispy said..
yep byron in january is the go. a bucket list place for any surfer

Thanks Chrispy. I haven't been able to find anything comparative so far.

hey i would not surf byron,but the place is amazing with many a world class wave near by. some cool stuff to see and do ,all ready to be done if adventure is in ones heart.

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Indodreaming said..
North straddie

Or do the drive from Brisbane to Sydney

i love north straddie

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chrispy said...

Indodreaming said..
North straddie

Or do the drive from Brisbane to Sydney

i love north straddie

brisbane to sydney would be the best....or sunny coast to newy

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chrispy said..

chrispy said...

Indodreaming said..
North straddie

Or do the drive from Brisbane to Sydney

i love north straddie

brisbane to sydney would be the best....or sunny coast to newy

I thought about a drive holiday for a moment but really working for myself a week is really all i can organise and school holidays and other events really have limited my options. I also looked at bare boat charter, but really just want to wake up and surf, relax and spend the arvo poking around.

Ill look at North Straddie..

queensland, close to cyclone season but not in the heart of it.... its ticking boxes, byron is nice but its a zoo at times and january will have serious holiday crowds
an hour south of there will see a reduction in crowds of 100% also cause of the way the highway is now there is still some nice beaches along the stretch between snapper and ballina that are still relatively uncrowded.
the mantra at coolangatta is ok and ya between kirra and snapper but to get semi uncrowded waves you need to drive 30-45min at least. and every time i stay there i get good waves but the best sessions are always when i get out of there... I suppose i feel the same about byron. either one is a really good base for food and beverages entertainment etc etc
but if you want to chill out and not have to drive everyday any spot between the two (even another hour south )is pretty magic that time of year.

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Razzonater said..
queensland, close to cyclone season but not in the heart of it.... its ticking boxes, byron is nice but its a zoo at times and january will have serious holiday crowds
an hour south of there will see a reduction in crowds of 100% also cause of the way the highway is now there is still some nice beaches along the stretch between snapper and ballina that are still relatively uncrowded.
the mantra at coolangatta is ok and ya between kirra and snapper but to get semi uncrowded waves you need to drive 30-45min at least. and every time i stay there i get good waves but the best sessions are always when i get out of there... I suppose i feel the same about byron. either one is a really good base for food and beverages entertainment etc etc
but if you want to chill out and not have to drive everyday any spot between the two (even another hour south )is pretty magic that time of year.

Thanks guys and now I'm getting more options. Driving to surf everyday is not really it, maybe on a few days for a real nice option, but mostly just chilling with kids, they both surf. BUT I'm not that good with busy crowds and Australia day and holidays is a concern.

North Straddie looks nice, found a spot at Point lookout thats nice and priced right. Question do you get there by ferry, barge

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jbshack said..

Razzonater said..
queensland, close to cyclone season but not in the heart of it.... its ticking boxes, byron is nice but its a zoo at times and january will have serious holiday crowds
an hour south of there will see a reduction in crowds of 100% also cause of the way the highway is now there is still some nice beaches along the stretch between snapper and ballina that are still relatively uncrowded.
the mantra at coolangatta is ok and ya between kirra and snapper but to get semi uncrowded waves you need to drive 30-45min at least. and every time i stay there i get good waves but the best sessions are always when i get out of there... I suppose i feel the same about byron. either one is a really good base for food and beverages entertainment etc etc
but if you want to chill out and not have to drive everyday any spot between the two (even another hour south )is pretty magic that time of year.

Thanks guys and now I'm getting more options. Driving to surf everyday is not really it, maybe on a few days for a real nice option, but mostly just chilling with kids, they both surf. BUT I'm not that good with busy crowds and Australia day and holidays is a concern.

North Straddie looks nice, found a spot at Point lookout thats nice and priced right. Question do you get there by ferry, barge

yes

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Razzonater said..
queensland, close to cyclone season but not in the heart of it.... its ticking boxes, byron is nice but its a zoo at times and january will have serious holiday crowds
an hour south of there will see a reduction in crowds of 100% also cause of the way the highway is now there is still some nice beaches along the stretch between snapper and ballina that are still relatively uncrowded.
the mantra at coolangatta is ok and ya between kirra and snapper but to get semi uncrowded waves you need to drive 30-45min at least. and every time i stay there i get good waves but the best sessions are always when i get out of there... I suppose i feel the same about byron. either one is a really good base for food and beverages entertainment etc etc
but if you want to chill out and not have to drive everyday any spot between the two (even another hour south )is pretty magic that time of year.

+1 Coolangatta Mantra is really nice, you can get a room with fully equipped kitchen & laundrey over looking Greenmount/Kirra at very reasonable cost from a West Oz pov Personally I think Byron is way way overpriced & your always driving 30-60 mins South to get better waves anyway.

PS bloke I chatted to recently from some Suburb West of Straddie has his own boat to surf there regularly says its packed a lot of the time...but hey maybe he's just telling me that haha...but I doubt it...

April/may hmmmm I'd be going to vicco man the place starts cranking at that time of year !!!!buts that's just me decisions decisions!!!!

Not really looking for a high rise type of accommodation.

Options are now

Lennox Head (looks nice and clean)
Point Lookout (Looks really nice, quiet and cool idea of ferry, kids will enjoy, but might be a bit quiet )
or Byron Bay central (seems like what i want, but worried about crowds. It seems like a bigger version of Denmark WA)

Ive got to be honest i hate making decisions like this..

March on the Mornington Peninsula. We start getting some decent waves, it's warm, plenty of wineries, golf, fishing...... need I go on?

Then again I am bias

I've done north straddie in January, fun waves and good vibes. The RSL seems to be the place to be, and crowds in the surf weren't ridiculous. Few options for the groms too. Get there via a ferry, you could do it without a car but a car would be helpful getting around on the island (I hitched a lift everywhere, hard with the family!)

Lots of great east Coast options - but super busy at that time of the year. Go to Indo. Loads of good options at that time of year.

Try hiring a houseboat on Gold Coast broadwater. took wife and my three boys and we had a ball. Surfed from jumpin pin to pumping jetty. Did plenty of fishing both on boat and islands. Kids jumped off roof of houseboat about a million times And wife still was able to do some shopping wherever I could moor the boat. You don't need a boat license and it's worth getting the top of the range houseboat.

Byron in January is even more out of control than usual,if you don't like crowds don't go there it'll do your head in,but just a bit north of there is Brunswick Heads
a quarter of the crowds,beautiful river and beaches,a most excellent pub and beautiful hinterland,and just a short drive from Byron so you can poke your head in and see what you're not missing,just allow 2 hours to get there as the road into Byron past the industrial centre is usually a crawl,if you go there drive past Byron exit and come in through Bangalow.if it was me Id head to Melbourne and do Mornington Peninsular

Byron 100 %

I have spent a fair bit of time between Noosa and Byron as I have family there. If it's a cool holiday spot with some waves available, look to Kirra, Coolangatta. The banks at snapper spread the crowd right out and it super fun, with lots of beachies around.

Byron is a circus. From a WA perspective, the Goldie is less insane than Byron. Like a lot of people have said, there are heaps of options outside of the main areas. Lennox doesn't have the holiday infrastructure of the Goldie and Byron and it sounds like you are after a sweet holiday with waves as a bonus.

Make sure you bring something to surf gutless waves if you go to Byron or the Goldie. Even with some size on it, the Goldie is a cuddly kitten power wise.

North Stradbroke has some fun waves too, but you will need to drive when you are there. As far as wake up and be surfing in five minutes go, Kirra Caravan Park is wicked. Stayed there several times.

Once again, heads up, the surf in Byron is small, gutless and ridiculously crowded. Tallows is always an option too I guess and that spreads people out a bit more, but it is still weak.

There are some cheap, high quality boards available over there so even consider purchasing appropriate equipment once there. My experience with The Surfboard Warehouse and there boards was overwhelmingly positive. They have a pretty good website that I still peruse regularly as I will eventually order a couple of boards that just live at my Mum's place near Caloundra.

Now if I was thinking of places I would want to go - Ulladulla. Excellent waves, an awesome town right next door in Milton (we would call it a suburb) that provides all the touristy things you could want. The waves are bigger and more powerful than Queensland and NSW. It is a very pretty part of the world and relatively uncrowded for the East coast. It was one of two places we thought we could live when we travelled around.

And an out of the square one, North narrabeen caravan park is just over the road from, surprisingly, North Narrabeen. I have had a great time there. There are waves right there and other waves very very close. Then you have all the stuff available of a major city. My wife barely left the caravan park in the two week long trips we have done there as she revisited her teenage beach bunny years.

Thanks for confusing me even more

Ted has to be a flown to a major Aus airport. So Indo out. Im only doing this to save the flights instead of losing them..

Vic would be great, if only i could go in the snow session but have to book before May. Really also wanting a warm beach type of spot, shorts and thongs everyday and night

Houseboat would be no issue, looked into bare boat charter, but i think its not really a one week option and looking more for a relaxing trip

Ricardo has freaked me out even more, as i don't mind melo crowds, but struggle with busy stupid people. I do like the idea/charm/legend of Byron but my hairs on my neck are tingling. Watching the pass this morning on the cameras looks like fun

Straddie is ticking the boxes but worried it might be a bit boring. I need to look into other infrastructure that is their, restaurants, coffee shops, skate park that type of stuff? Mind you the surf shops at Byron may cost me a small fortune so maybe quiet could be a good thing

Lennox looks cool. This is why i don't do holidays often, i over think it too much as i don't like to miss anything

Byron i guess you'd want to stay out near the Light House Any suggestions..

Never stayed in Byron, but it really is an easy day trip from Coolangatta. A lot of the other spots people have mentioned are all close together too. My wife and I have done that several times. Like, head down from Coolangatta, get a surf, browse the shops, have something to eat, hang out some more then home by four. And yes, I reckon North Staddie would be quite boring for the missus while you surf. There isn't much there.

Way better surf shops on the Goldie too. More of them with a larger variety of equipment. Byron surf shops seem very Pass focussed from what I have seen. Not a bad thing, just not surf craft in all their varied glory. The Goldie surf shops were awesome and I could easily spend a motza there on every fetish.

I found enough cafes etc at North Straddie to eat out

Main beach is a reliable option and Cylinders would be an absolute bonus for surf

some of the point break towns further south Port Mac to Coffs area a great alternative

Generally the villages have a sporting club and enough places to eat to keep family happy

easy jb .....crescent head for the family option ....easiest place ever for family hols

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Prawnhead said..
easy jb .....crescent head for the family option ....easiest place ever for family hols

Looks nice, but a bit too far to drive from either Sydney or Brisbane. Really i think anything more than a few hours away is enough..

But thanks for the option..

I took my family to Manly last march for my 50th. I liked it. We spent 3 days there. To my surprise it wasn't that crowded in the water as I expected.

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dmitri said..
I took my family to Manly last march for my 50th. I liked it. We spent 3 days there. To my surprise it wasn't that crowded in the water as I expected.

Yeah i love Manly and it was a thought. But we did do Sydney last year. Not the beach but we found it hard to book anywhere that would suit 4 people. In fact we emailed a heap of places and when they never got back to me, thats when i started to look at Hawaii and we eventually booked their. So i guess i should be grateful in hindsight because if they had responded i might have missed the Northshore

So which joint won?

And, I guess, the ultimate winner is you and your family as it is very hard to find a holiday that's not enjoyable. They just vary from lots of fun to awesome amazing ness.

why go to QLD and NSW when WA has like 67 foot barreling waves with no crowds