Ballina to Brisbane road trip: Distance, time & best stops
Ballina to Brisbane road trip: Byron Bay to Tweed Heads
It’s about 45 minutes from Byron Bay to Tweed Heads, the northernmost town in New South Wales. But there are several tempting options along the coast.
First, you’ll go past Belongil Beach and the Tyagarah Nature Reserve.
Here’s why you should stay in Brunswick Heads – four fantastic experiences
- Take a snorkelling tour to the protected subtropical paradise – at the marine life-packed Julian Rocks.
- Take an eco-cruise through the rainforest – in the day time or on a sunset cruise.
- Watch migrating humpback whales between June and October – on a whale-watching cruise with a marine biologist guide.
- Take a nature kayaking tour along the river – choose from sunrise, daytime and sunset tours.
Brunswick Heads a little further north has a fantastic beach, but you can also kayak or cruise along the Brunswick River or take a snorkelling tour to Julian Rocks.
Brunswick Heads accommodation picks include the sassy Brunswick and the pool-boasting Sails Motel.
Keep going, and west of the highway is Mooball National Park. Most travellers tend to look east, though. Enticing coastal distractions include Pottsville, Hastings Point and Cabarita Beach.
Nearer the motorway, Tropical Fruit World in Duranbah showcases hundreds of bizarre fruits. There’s also a farm tour that throws in a boat cruise.
You might also like to try rum-tasting at the Husk Distillery in Tumbulgum.
The motorway rejoins the coast at Kingscliff, where Watersports Guru deals in kayak hire.
Top Kingscliff accommodation options
The best places to stay in Kingscliff are:
- For a Balinese-style resort: Oaks Santai Casuarina Resort.
- For a kid-friendly holiday park: Ingenia Holidays Kingscliff.
- For suites with a lagoon pool: Mantra on Salt Beach.
- For good value by the beach: The Blue Water.
Five fabulous Tweed Coast experiences to at least consider booking
- Tweed River lunch cruise – with wildlife viewing in the rainforest.
- Crab-catching tour in Tweed Heads.
- Farm tour at Tropical Fruit World – with wildlife spotting cruise.
- Progressive four course meal across four top Kingscliff restaurants.
- Husk Distillers distillery tour – with tastings.
Things to do in Tweed Heads, meanwhile, include crab-catching adventures and Tweed River cruises.
Tweed Heads accommodation favourites include the highly-rated Tweed Heads Vegas Motel and Arabella Motor Inn.
Click through for the next section: The Gold Coast.