{"id":5238,"date":"2024-07-15T00:12:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T00:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/?p=5238"},"modified":"2024-07-15T00:12:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T00:12:08","slug":"5-reasons-to-visit-ballina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When it comes to visiting the Far North Coast, Byron Bay is usually the biggest drawcard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, just 30 minutes\u2019 drive south lies the more laidback, yet equally beautiful, coastal town of Ballina<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re dreaming of a getaway that lets you truly relax \u2013 away from the hustle and bustle of crowds \u2013 then Ballina could be the way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five reasons to visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEAUTIFUL BEACHES WITH FEWER CROWDS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no doubt that Byron Bay\u2019s beaches are stunning. But, most of the year, they\u2019re also pretty crowded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, it\u2019s still possible to get a spot of sand to yourself in Ballina. There\u2019s more than 32 kilometres of coastline to explore, with beaches of all kinds \u2013 from those with gentle, rolling waves perfect for children to adrenaline-pumping point breaks for experienced surfers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head to sheltered Lighthouse Beach for patrolled swimming in crystal clear waters, Shelly Beach for rockpools that the kids will adore, and Flat Rock beach for a great surf break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Angels
Image credit: Discover Ballina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MORE THAN 25 KILOMETRES OF CYCLE PATHS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a holiday involving hours of cycling is on your mind, then Ballina is the destination for you. There are more than 25 kilometres of cycle paths to explore, for two-wheelers of all levels of skill and experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a gentle, child-friendly adventure, follow the shared path from Lennox Head to Pat Morton Lookout. It\u2019s just 1.2 kilometres long, and finishes with the reward of fantastic views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see plenty of Ballina township, and visit the Big Prawn, ride along the cycleway from Ballina CBD to the ferry. It\u2019s a 4-kilometre journey along nearly all flat terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A longer workout, which takes in beautiful river, lake and beach views, is the Ballina Loop. It\u2019s a 11.5-kilometre trip that\u2019s off-road and flat most of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A BIG PRAWN <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Aussie holiday is complete without a \u2018big thing\u2019 \u2013 from the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour<\/a> to the Big Pineapple on the Sunshine Coast<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballina\u2019s big thing is the Big Prawn. It\u2019s a 9-metre high prawn that weighs a whopping 35 tonnes, and you\u2019ll find it on River Street next door to Bunnings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been there since 1989, but, by the early 2010s, was a little worse for wear. In 2013, Bunnings spent $400,000 restoring it to its former glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lighthouse
Image credit: Discover Ballina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FASCINATING GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballina is home to a bunch of interesting art galleries and museums. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make your first stop the Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum. It holds many treasures, including the biggest collection of ship models in Australia and the last raft from the Las Balsas expedition, which travelled 14,000 kilometres across the Pacific in 1973 on wooden rafts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For local art, head to the Northern Rivers Community Gallery. This well-respected creative hub has four exhibition rooms, and hosts a range of exhibitions, event and artists\u2019 residencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other spots worth a visit include the Mackay Harrison Galleries (for artworks by Australian artists), the Gallery Cafe (for works by Ballina\u2019s locals) and Creative Artisans Gallery (for artworks, sculptures, jewellery and design by Northern Rivers-based artists).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BALLINA HAS ITS OWN AIRPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballina township is just five minutes\u2019 drive from Ballina Airport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019re keen to make  a quick weekend getaway from a major city, then it\u2019s incredibly convenient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GETTING TO BALLINA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballina<\/a> is an hour drive south of the Gold Coast<\/a>, 2 hours\u2019 drive south of Brisbane and 8 hours\u2019 drive north of Sydney.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t have time to hit the road, you can fly to Ballina Airport<\/a>. SIXT is on hand, to provide you car rentals of all kinds \u2013 from electric vehicles to SUVs to 4WDs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to visiting the Far North Coast, Byron Bay is usually the biggest drawcard.  But, just 30 minutes\u2019 drive south lies the more laidback, yet equally beautiful, coastal town of Ballina.\u00a0 If you\u2019re dreaming of a getaway that lets you truly relax \u2013 away from the hustle and bustle of crowds \u2013 then…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[194,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-5238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-travel","7":"tag-ballina","8":"tag-roadtrips-nsw","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n5 Reasons To Visit Ballina - SIXT Magazine Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From beautiful beaches without crowds to a collection of fascinating galleries and museums.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina - SIXT Magazine Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From beautiful beaches without crowds to a collection of fascinating galleries and museums.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SIXT Magazine Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-15T00:12:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-15T00:12:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/Angels-Beach-Ballina-Image-credit-Discover-Ballina.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"arvinf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"arvinf\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina - SIXT Magazine Australia","description":"From beautiful beaches without crowds to a collection of fascinating galleries and museums.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina - SIXT Magazine Australia","og_description":"From beautiful beaches without crowds to a collection of fascinating galleries and museums.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/","og_site_name":"SIXT Magazine Australia","article_published_time":"2024-07-15T00:12:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-15T00:12:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/Angels-Beach-Ballina-Image-credit-Discover-Ballina.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"arvinf","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"arvinf","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/"},"author":{"name":"arvinf","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d3073790687d254a0e5854cc89d35b77"},"headline":"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina","datePublished":"2024-07-15T00:12:05+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-15T00:12:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/"},"wordCount":631,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/Angels-Beach-Ballina-Image-credit-Discover-Ballina.jpeg","keywords":["Ballina","NSW"],"articleSection":["Travel"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/","name":"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina - SIXT Magazine Australia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/Angels-Beach-Ballina-Image-credit-Discover-Ballina.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-07-15T00:12:05+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-15T00:12:08+00:00","description":"From beautiful beaches without crowds to a collection of fascinating galleries and museums.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/Angels-Beach-Ballina-Image-credit-Discover-Ballina.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/Angels-Beach-Ballina-Image-credit-Discover-Ballina.jpeg","width":1024,"height":538,"caption":"Image credit: Discover Ballina"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/travel\/5-reasons-to-visit-ballina\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Reasons To Visit Ballina"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/","name":"SIXT Magazine Australia","description":"Travel Tips & News from SIXT Rent a Car","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#organization","name":"SIXT Australia","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/sixt-logo-png_seeklogo-320002.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/sixt-logo-png_seeklogo-320002.png","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"SIXT Australia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d3073790687d254a0e5854cc89d35b77","name":"arvinf","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f37a51dc0afb5637d2ac90fef7f89019adeeb1e568d663a64083ad97e578531e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f37a51dc0afb5637d2ac90fef7f89019adeeb1e568d663a64083ad97e578531e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"arvinf"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/author\/arvinf\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sixt.com.au\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}