North Coast surf beaches

Travel to Newcastle and visit Merewether Beach, for surfing and swimming. Find great casual dining at nearby beachside cafés and restaurants and a pub. Dolphins share the waves with surfers at Crescent Head. Golfers can play a few holes and enjoy ocean views at the same time at Crescent Head Country Club.

Yamba is a popular holiday town near the legendary Angourie surf break, which is a one and a half hour drive to Lennox Head. Byron Bay’s beautiful beaches lie to the north, about a nine-hour drive from Sydney or a short flight to nearby Ballina.

Nambucca Heads, North Coast
Surfing, Port Stephens

Join a North Coast surf safari

On the North Coast of NSW are some of Australia’s best point breaks, hollow tubes and long rides. Surfers travel to the North Coast for waves created by ocean swells, jutting headlands and submerged reefs, while fine sandy beaches complement the rolling surf.

Tours such as the five-day Mojosurf adventure depart Sydney for some of the best surfing beaches on the North Coast. Backpackers rent campervans from companies such as Mighty Campers and head north to find surf and sun on the Legendary Pacific Coast drive.

There are excellent surfing beaches along the coast to Byron Bay, where alternative things to do include skydiving with Skydive Byron Bay and kayaking with Go Sea Kayak Byron Bay and Cape Byron Kayaks to see bottlenose dolphins and whales. You’ll find a huge range of places to stay at busy Byron.

Airports servicing the North Coast from Sydney include Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Ballina.

Top surfing destinations on the North Coast, according to the National Surfing Reserves, are Merewether Beach in Newcastle, Crescent Head, north of Port Macquarie, Angourie near Yamba, and Lennox Head between Ballina and Byron Bay.