After the Brisbane Marathon: Byron Bay
The Route: Brisbane → Byron Bay → Gold Coast Airport or Brisbane Airport Logistics: Hire car, coach or airport shuttle. South down the Pacific Motorway across the Queensland–New South Wales border, three nights, then north to the nearest international airport. Marathon Month: June Duration: 3 nights
Brisbane ──(about 1 hr 50 mins by car or coach, 165 km)──> Byron Bay
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Gold Coast Airport (OOL) ◄──(about 45 mins by car)────────────┤
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Brisbane Airport (BNE) ◄──(about 1 hr 50 mins by car)─────────┘
The Brisbane Marathon finishes in the City Botanic Gardens in early June, and Byron Bay is 165 km to the south, just over the border in New South Wales. Three nights here turn the race into the start of a short coastal holiday, and the town is compact enough that a car is optional once you arrive.
June in Byron Bay: winter, with mild days and cool evenings, and the opening weeks of the humpback whale migration. Tens of thousands of humpbacks pass this coast between June and November, and the headland at Cape Byron sits directly above their route. Early June is the beginning of the season: sightings are possible from the first weeks, with numbers building later in winter. The water is cool, and most visitors come for the walking and the town rather than swimming.
The drive from Brisbane takes about 1 hour 50 minutes. Greyhound and Premier Coaches run services from Brisbane to Byron Bay, and shuttle buses run daily from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ballina airports. Book coach seats ahead and check current timetables on the operators' websites. One practical note: New South Wales is on the same time as Queensland in June, as neither is on daylight saving in winter.
Nights One to Three: Byron Bay
Byron Bay is a low-rise town built around Main Beach and the headland of Cape Byron, the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. Everything in the centre is within a short walk of the beach.
The primary recovery walk is Main Beach itself: a long, level stretch of sand in front of the town, firm near the water, with nothing to climb. Walk it in the morning and again in the late afternoon.
Cape Byron Lighthouse, built in 1901, stands 94 m above the sea on the headland. The Walgun Cape Byron walking track is a 3.7 km loop through rainforest, beach, grassland and clifftop, graded 3, with many stairs and short, steep climbs. That makes the full loop a poor choice in the first days after a marathon. The easier option is to drive or take a taxi to the lighthouse car park and walk the short, paved paths around the lighthouse itself, a good place to watch for whales. Parking on the lighthouse lawn costs about A$10 (£5) an hour. The small maritime museum in the former head lightkeeper's office opens from 10:00 to 16:00 daily, and there is a café at the top. On the third day, if the legs are ready, walk the loop slowly or save it for next time.
Where to stay: Byron Bay Beach Hotel Resort sits on Bay Lane, about 50 m from Main Beach and backing onto the centre of town, with views over the bay towards Julian Rocks. Elements of Byron, a resort outside the town centre, suits a quieter stay for anyone with a car.
Where to eat: Balcony Bar and Oyster Co. serves seafood and oysters, and Fishheads Byron cooks fresh local seafood. For a longer lunch, Bar Heather, named Gourmet Traveller's best regional restaurant in 2024, takes bookings well ahead.
Getting Home
Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is about 45 minutes north of Byron Bay by car and has international flights to Asia-Pacific destinations as well as domestic routes. Brisbane Airport (BNE) is about 1 hour 50 minutes away and has the widest choice of long-haul connections; allow extra time for traffic on the Pacific Motorway approaching Brisbane. Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), 30 minutes south, has daily flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle.