Ballina (New South Wales)

Ballina is a coastal town, just south of Byron Bay and Lennox Head in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

By plane


Avis, Hertz, Thrify, Budget and Europcar all operate from the terminal building.

Blanches Bus Company operate a scheduled service to the airport, travelling as far as Byron Bay for $3.60 to Ballina downtown, $9.40 to Byron.

Airport shuttles to nearby Lennox Head and Byron Bay are readily available.

Taxis operate from outside the terminal building, but a taxi to Byron Bay is expensive.

By car
Ballina is on the Pacific Highway, around 9 hours drive north of Sydney or just over 2 hours south from Brisbane.

Get around
There is a local public bus service in Ballina, that operates every day of the week. Services can be infrequent, most useful is probably the weekday shuttle that runs between Tamar St and Ballina Fair about every hour or so.

Taxis are available, as are hire cars from the major operators.

There is a shared path running along the waterfront connecting the two sides of town, suitable for walking and cycling.

See




Do

 * Swim at local beaches and in the inland waterways:



Buy
Ballina has two shopping areas. One is the main street, called River Street and the side streets around it, such as Tamar Street, which runs parallel to River Street. The other location is at the end of Kerr Street, where there is Ballina Fair on one side of the road and Ballina Central on the other. There is a fairly good cross section of shops between the two shopping centers, as well as Coles, Woolworths, K Mart and Big W. There are also Red Rooster, KFC and Hungry Jacks fast food outlets in the area.

There are also smaller shopping centres at East and West Ballina however these are only of interest to anybody who would be staying nearby, being mainly groceries and other services.

Sleep
There are several cheap but comfortable motels on the Pacific Highway at West Ballina starting from $60 a night through to just over $100. There are also some located on Cherry Street in the middle of town-these are slightly, but not that much more upmarket.

Go next
Byron Bay is the most well known beachside destination in the region, but the Gold Coast and theme parks are also a possible day trip from here. Lennox Head, between Byron Bay and Ballina is also close by.