North Coast of NSW

The North Coast has some of the best, and most well known, beaches in Australia, such as Byron Bay, Lennox Head and Yamba.

Whether you love body-surfing or serious wave riding, swimming in safe, shallow waters or long beach walks, the beaches of the North Coast are just about perfect. This is the most accessible coastline in Australia, with national parks, nature reserves and headland lookouts.

Whale-watching tours are also popular on the North Coast. You'll find a wide range of tours on offer at locations such as Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour. Humpback whales and southern right whales migrate along the NSW coastline throughout June and in the first week of July, and return southwards from around September to November.

While tropical produce such as bananas and sugar cane are often associated with far north Queensland, these crops and others thrive in the warm moist climate of the NSW North Coast. Darying and vegetables are also produced here and one in eight people living on the North Coast are employed in agriculture.

You don't have to venture very far west from the coast to find yourself in the cool mountain air of the North Coast Hinterland. The iconic landmark, Mount Warning, west of Byron Bay, stands like a sentry, just as it did when first named by Captain Cook in 1770. The Great Dividing Range runs the length of the East Coast of Australia and is never very far from the coast, varying from a few kilometres to a hundred kilometres in places. The North Coast of NSW boasts some of the prettiest wooded areas anywhere, with subtropical rainforests such as the heritage listed Dorrigo National Park.