We've been coming here each summer for over ten years and I've gotta admit -although it's a little…read morepricey - First Sun is the best located holiday park in Australia in my opinion. 50 footsteps and you're on the beach. And what a beach - beautiful Byron Bay is absolutely gorgeous. Soft white sand and pristine beaches. We started camping here back in the 90s and LOVED our camp spot with an uninterrupted view overlooking the beach - I reckon it had to be THE BEST camp spot in the world! Those windy days and nights made us feel like we were on a boat with our sail like tent in full billow. Then First Sun went up-market and changed its name from humble caravan park to First Sun Holiday park when it built it's luxury beachfront cabins. When the part told us our beachfront camping spot would be turned into a community park BBQ area we were horrified. Oh no - what will we do for our holidays now? But we were offered first shot of the luxury cabins overlooking the beach so we thought we'd give it a go. OK, it was a financial stretch beyond our camping spot - but still, compared with the holiday houses we rented for a couple of years around Byron before we found our idyllic camping spot - this was a bargain! The thing we love about First Sun beachfront luxury cabins are: 50 footsteps to the beach, nice and quiet, listen to the surf all day and all night, lovely sea breezes all day and all night, it's a very short stroll to the town and you can go via the beach or via the town centre. Feel like an espresso? or a gelato, a kebab, a tofu and vegetable pie, a drink or a great meal at three of Byron's fabulous pubs? It's all a short walk away. Right in the heart of the action yet lovely and peaceful with only the sounds of the waves and the birds. First Sun Holiday Park at Byron Bay has a full community kitchen, where you can meet up with friendly travelers from around the world - and it's always fun trying to guess where their accent is from. We've met some awesome people here at First Sun. Plus there are cabins, caravan sites, camping sites and also dorms too with shared bathroom facilities. So FIVE STARS for First Sun Holiday Park in one of Australia's top 4 tourist destinations (Sydney, Byron Bay, Great Barrier Reef, Uluru (Ayers Rock). And Byron Bay is blessed with some of the best tourist friendly activities. I could go on and on but I think this will give you a good idea about this place - and I know you will love it too.

The views from the look out to the beach are so perfect. You can hear the roar of the ocean from…read morethe tent park. Flat rock also has great facilities which are kept clean and tidy. They are also serviced twice a day. If you're looking for a cheap get away it's about $30 for two people per day and $10 per person after that. An excellent park with a big family feel to it where campers help each other out and are extremely friendly.

The recent upgrading of this park makes it one of the best equipped of all the parks along the…read moreWynnum, Manly and Lota foreshore. It's right at the end of the Esplanade, so has a great view over the bay to Straddie and also around to Wellington Point. It has a huge new playground, with shadesails, slides, forts and timber walkways. It also has very nice new picnic tables and barbecues, accessible toilets, shared walkway/bikeway and a seperate area with fitness equipment for anyone keen to do some circuit training. Oh, and obviously these days you can't camp at all; this name is an historical reference to its turn of the century popularity as a holiday camping spot by the bay.

We pitched our tents and were told an hour later we had to move them to the other side of the camp…read moregrounds. Not a problem. Toilets were disgusting, smashed glass and cigarette butts cover the grounds. We were packing up in the morning and threw away our sticker for our car and they charged everyone in the car 15$ again since we didn't have "proof" we paid to enter even though he was there when we purchased our admission. Never go here. He was rude and tried to intimidate us, the bins are covered in maggots and the grounds are terribly boggy.

Lovely walking trails in the National Park. We took a trip into the hinterland from the coast for a…read morefew hours and did the MacDonald Rainforest Circuit and the Cedar Creek Falls walks - both were quite easy going, taking us through rainforest brimming with nature and to scenic waterfalls and rock pools you can swim in (and which a few plucky souls were leaping into). Was less impressed with Gallery Walk, a street of cafes and shops atop the mountain said to be a must-see attraction. I just found it odd and a bit of a tourist trap, I'd give this a miss if you're not really into shopping for nick nacks or cuckoo clocks and use your time to do some more exploring. I did taste some nice flavoured fudge though!

Tamborine Mountain is an easy 45-minute drive from Brisbane, perfect for a day trip and for some…read moreshort walks. It's a rainforesty area where you'll find swimming holes, water falls and spectacular views of the Logan Valley. I took a drive up there recently and really just went exploring without too much direction. There are plenty of places to eat, but my friend and I decided to stop for lunch at a restaurant/hotel called St Bernard's, drawn in by a huge model of a St Bernard. For those more active people, cycling up Mt Tamborine seems to be popular and there are also other sports on offer such as hang gliding. This is a great, easily do-able little escape from Brisbane. You may not want to return...