A wellness guide to Byron Bay

Check into a wellness retreat or hotel 

Wellness experiences in the Byron Bay region are as luxurious as they are focused on achieving your wellness goals, whether physical or mental. At Elements of Byron two-bedroom villas are situated right on Belongil Beach, and ‘Wellness’ packages include five nights in a Botanical Villa, a spa voucher, daily yoga, a holiday-access pass to the Bende yoga and Pilates studio, and a guided rainforest walk. Meanwhile, the rainforest-surrounded Crystalbrook Byron’s ‘Microdose Byron’ package includes two nights, two 30-minute spa treatments, infrared sauna sessions, daily yoga, wellness elixirs and more.  

Crystalbrook Byron, Byron Bay

With its rolling hinterland views, The Brooklet is set up to entertain and enable any kind of wellness escape. While you can simply book a villa and flit between the wooden infrared sauna, massage room, outdoor hot tub, ice bath, 25-metre magnesium pool, tennis court and gym at will, you can also try the Reset + Connect Retreat, which includes organic meals; a facial and massage; yoga, breathwork and Pilates sessions; and a luxury wellness giftpack. 

Soma Byron Bay may be one of the most famous retreats in the state: Nicole Kidman’s Nine Perfect Strangers was filmed here. As highlighted on the show, the retreats at this architecturally striking stay are comprehensive, with multi-day options covering a range of topics including meditation, yoga and connecting to your purpose. While each retreat has a slightly different agenda, expect modern rooms featuring mid-century pieces, ensuites and views; yoga; a wholefood plant-based menu; ice baths and wellness sessions hosted in a sun-lit geodesic dome.  

Soma Byron Bay, Byron Bay - Credit: Soma Byron Bay

A little further south in Ballina, Sugar Beach Ranch facilitates one-day transformative retreats focused on emotional freedom technique, along with three-day women's ‘Sweet Retreats’ that include meditation and breathwork, painting, sound-bowl healing, a fire ceremony and connecting with the ranch’s horses.  

Sugar Beach Ranch, South Ballina - Credit: Robyn Stoddart

BlueGreen Sanctuary in Newrybar has a retreat for nearly every wellness pillar: yoga, Pilates, mindfulness and a deep-dive one-day retreat for those seeking a quick reset. Similarly, Gaia Retreat and Spa offers perhaps the area’s most extensive range of retreats with packages covering pregnancy, couples, beauty and mother-child relationships – it’s also home to a highly regarded spa. And, the all-inclusive Wellness Stay at The Health Lodge, which describes itself as an integrated health centre, includes daily beach walks, organic meals, access to the Byron Bay Bathhouse and accommodation in the wellness-optimised rooms.  

Gaia Retreat & Spa, Bangalow - Credit: Gaia Retreat & Spa

Book into a day spa 

A massage or facial is a gateway to relaxation and unwinding, and the Byron region has a huge diversity of options. Many of the hotels and retreats in the area have in-house spas, such as the Eléme Day Spa at Crystalbrook Byron, or Elements of Byron’s light-filled and nature-surrounded Osprey Spa, there are also a handful of dedicated spots dotted around the region.  

Eléme Day Spa at Crystalbrook Byron, Byron Bay

At Comma, find a modern Australian spa complete with designer interiors. There’s an in-house bathhouse with hot tubs, saunas and a cold plunge, plus invigorating treatments employing stones, clay, salt, essential oils and heat packs.  

Little Company, a wellness space outfitted with polished concrete and natural textures, similarly offers repairing and remedial treatments including facials and massage, as well as having an LED-light room. 

Comma Spaces, Byron Bay - Credit: Jessie Prince

Bathe in a bathhouse 

Skedaddle north to Mullumbimby to luxuriate in the adults-only communal, European-inspired experience at The Banya, with its lap pool, two hot mineral pools, a woodfired sauna, a steam room, a cold plunge and massage offering, all set in an elegantly restored 1920s bank. Just down the road is The Kiva Spa, surrounded by tropical gardens and a bamboo grove, offering hot hydrotherapy pools, a woodfired sauna, plunge pool and steam room (hammam), plus dedicated ladies-only nights and spa treatments.  

The Banya Bathhouse, Mullumbimby - Credit: The Banya

Back in Byron, Navia offers a two-hour Scandanavian-inspired experience with its traditional Finnish sauna, magnesium hot pool, and cold and ice plunge. Nimbus is a wellness sanctuary based on a state-of-the-art studio with infrared sauna and ice bath facilities, plus massage, naturopathy, acupuncture, meditation and more. Similarly, at The Byron Bathhouse, nestled alongside The Health Lodge, find high-quality hydro-thermal facilities including a sauna, cold plunge, LED therapy and spa treatments. 

Navia Bathhouse, Byron Bay - Credit: Elise Hassey

Eat mindfully 

The produce available in and around the Northern Rivers is exceptional. Fill your basket with local goods at the Byron Farmers Market and Bangalow Market, then head to The Farm Byron Bay to enjoy farm tours and workshops alongside a paddock-to-plate offering across three venues: Baylato, The Bread Social and Three Blue Ducks - Byron Bay. Federal Doma Cafe is a beacon for day-trippers with its loosely Japanese-inspired breakfast and salad-heavy lunch menu. While Forest Byron Bay, Crystalbrook’s on-site restaurant, pitches an authentic taste of Byron Bay, with a Mediterranean-based menu, including 'Climate Calories' icons highlighting which dishes are locally sourced, use ethical meats or are culturally considered (using native ingredients or working with Aboriginal communities).  

Byron Bay Wellness, Byron Bay - Credit: Byron Bay Wellness

Karkalla and Karkalla On Country are both run by Bundjalung woman Mindy Woods, the former being a twice-hatted restaurant known for its use of native ingredients, and the latter offering cultural experiences including cooking classes and pop-up meals with Aboriginal elders. Cape Byron Distillery Tours will see you walk through the rainforest with a Brookie’s gin and tonic while learning the history of the Big Scrub, which was once an enormous area of subtropical rainforest. 

Cape Byron Distillery, Mcleods Shoot

Move your body 

Beyond swimming Byron’s world-famous beaches, explore more active wellness experiences around town that are as energising as they are picturesque. Set on 30 acres of nature, Byron Yoga Centre is one of Australia's longest-running yoga centres and it offers an extensive range of yoga retreats that include meals, massage and accommodation, along with regular studio classes. In the town’s north, Bende Byron Bay offers drop-in classes, along with Pilates, barre and reformer.  

With award-winning Explore Byron Bay you can learn about the Aboriginal history of the area on a guided walk with Arakwal Bundjalung woman, Delta Kay. In the water, Cape Byron Kayaks or Go Sea Kayak Byron Bay will see you kayak Cape Byron Marine Park, looking out for turtles, dolphins and, depending on the season, even whales. 

Cape Byron Kayaks, Byron Bay

Try something new 

Byron is well known for its bohemian history, with its waves attracting surfers and the Aquarius Festival bringing in a counter-culture movement. Many of those elements still exist in a multitude of ways. At Crystal Castle and Shambhala Gardens, find amethyst geodes twice the height of a human, stroll rainforest trails, sit inside an enormous crystal and try crystal sound healing. Benny Holloway’s Soundbed Therapy sees guests lay upon a rare large acoustic sound bed as Benny plays the instrument, allowing the healing vibration of sound to move through the wood and massage your body. Divine Sound Healing also offers sound healing, along with energy healing, yoga and hypnotherapy.  

The Returning is an Indigenous-women-led charity that, through culture camps, retreats and gatherings, seeks to have all people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to be connected to Country.  

Crystal Castle and the Shambhala Gardens, Mullumbimby