If you're into scuba diving, board surfing, kite surfing, kayaking or just swimming in the sea — Byron Bay is perfect place to enjoy these activities (and a great place to learn if you've always wanted to try).
We like Byron — we like it a lot, in fact. We have been there a few times now, and stayed at both ends of the beach. I say 'beach', but it is technically 'beaches' as they all have different names — from the North it's Belongil, then Main Beach, then Clark's Beach, and then pop round the corner and it's Wategoes. And as beaches go, then they tick almost all the boxes. The only criteria failure likely is the number of people on the beach on sunny days in holiday season, and you can hardly blame them for that — it is stunning!
Everyone seems to want to come to Byron on holiday. There are backpackers and millionaire's mansions, and pretty much every option in between. If you want beachfront then, bar a handful of motels on main beach in the middle of town, you are looking to spend quite a few $ on a beach house. Much as I would love to now list some fabulous affordable beach houses I can't. For 2 reasons: 1 — there are literately hundreds of places to stay in Byron, and we haven't quite worked our way through all of them yet (looking forward to that 6 months' of reserach one day!); and 2 — not many of them will be in the price range we are trying to stick to. In fact, looking for some 'inspired' places to stay in Byron is actually quite tricky.
Head to Wategoes if multi-million dollar beach house-ogling is on your must-do list. Or just have a subtle browse on your way up to the lighthouse
There are, without dispute, some fantastically inspirational places to stay in Byron; from Balinese-style beach bures, to the latest minimalist all-glass (almost) beach houses, luxury penthouses, fantastic apartments, traditional beach houses, etc. that all look sensational, but we haven't listed them as they are going to cause a serious dent in your wallet! Byron isn't cheap.
A lot of the more affordable options of places to stay in Byron are in the 'town' area, which is an area of nice-enough-but-could-be-anywhere streets which I don't think capture the essence of Byron. The other option for more affordable is to head off up the beach in the direction of either Belongil or Clark's and factor in a 15 minute walk to shops and restaurants, but get to be 1 minute from the beach. This is where you will find a lot of perfectly nice, but less than inspirational, apartments and 'units', but if you look hard enough you can also find some great ones — may we present Julian's Apartments.
Being a 15 minute walk away from town (and that is 15 minutes either along the actual beach, or a nicely paved footpath mostly through the promenade of trees and lawn that front the beach, I hasten to add, so not really a hardship!) means you are in fact away from the 'noise' of Byron. As previously mentioned, everyone wants to be on holiday in Byron, and of course that will bring with it an element of having fun and a bit of noise, so if you fancy any early nights being that little distance away is ideal.
A warm and helpful welcome from Madelyn and staff awaits you at Julian's (she was in the office when we took this photo — which is just up the steps)
So what is it that makes Julian's a great place to stay? Well, the onsite management by the lovely Madelyn and her team makes a huge contribution. Where a lot of the units and rentals in Byron are managed by distant real estate agents in town of the 'pick up your keys and get on with your holiday' type, then Julian's has onsite management every day to assist with questions, arrangements and anything else you need.
The office is there if you need anything, although there is nothing wrong with just picking up your keys and enjoying your holiday of course! But I say make the most of Madelyn and her staff — they can find out pretty much anything you might need to know to enjoy your stay in Bryon and around. They can also book trips, and give you numbers to call if you prefer, plus you can borrow the DVDs in the office and buy yourself some minutes to get online if you need to.
The 'mosaic-decked' studio's bedroom — just one you can choose from at Julian's there are no identikit rooms here!
Julian's, like a lot of units in Australia, is a set of individually-owned apartments with an onsite manager. So each of the units are decorated uniquely, and have their own little layout differences (some have an extra bedroom or lounge room, other have a balcony alcove). But all of them have laundry facilities, lots of towels, DVD and stereo, big comfy bed, good size outside space, and best of all... Tim Tams in the fridge when you get there if it's summer (other treats available in winter, so I am told!) (a Tim Tam is a fine 'traditional' Australian delicacy by the way... namely a thickly coated double chocolate biscuit that is NOT a Penguin, thank you Andy — this comparison does it a disservice! — but that is its nearest equivalent, I'll admit).
The palm-lined path at the side of Julian's Apartments takes you to your own holiday front door
There are just 12 apartments at Julian's — 6 on each floor — in a rather funky 'wave' designed building on Lighthouse Road, almost directly opposite the path down onto Clark's Beach. There is parking underneath the building (a space for each apartment), so you don't have to worry about where to leave the hire car — with the added bonus of course of it not becoming oven-like as you won't be leaving it in the sun.
Planning Your Trip
When you start to realise that for the cost of just 2 flights, you have already spent £5k, then you might start to look at Economy as a necessary evil...
Julian's is not a big complex with a pool, instead it is a small set of units with access to a fantastic beach across the road, and a nature reserve at the back of the plot. If you want to swim — jump into the waves!
We happily admit that Julian's is by no means at the top end of the luxury scale (as for this in Byron you really will be paying through the nose), and so compared with other accommodation on our site it's not up there with 5-stars. However, Julian's is very comfortable and it does have personality. The apartments range from the Moroccan to the almost overly-beach themed (tin surfboard on the wall anyone?), to cosy comfortable, to funky and mosaic-decked. There are lots of nice touches such as incense burners in each apartment, and good botanical toiletries, plus dishwashers in the kitchen so no-one has to do the washing up.
A surfer's diet? — If it's hot outside, cold milk and nicely chilled Tim Tams welcome you at Julian's
With town and all it's great places to eat and drink a very pleasant 15 minutes stroll away (see map of Byron), and the fantastic stretch of sand that is Clark's Beach opposite, I say grab your board and let's surf! (Lessons available — have a try!).
Oh, and by the way — there is no 'Julian' — that is in fact the name of the island out in the bay which you can see from the beach just opposite — "Julian Rocks" (and so do his apartments! Sorry — couldn't resist the cheesy pun!!).
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