The Westower tavern is a bit of a mixed bag. Excellent atmosphere, modern recently renovated premises, keno, bar, bistro, meat raffles, etc. They are kid friendly, and their meals a reasonably priced.

The first time I went there I was slightly disappointed. The food was alright but nothing special, and the premix drinks were expensive with the average costing between $7.50 and $10. But since then I've lowered my expectations, now we take the kids with us when we go, order the chicken parma and chips, and only drink soft drinks.

If you want a nice night out with the kids, and a you're willing to settle for a "pub meal" then give them a go.

The Mexican Del Rio in River Street Ballina offers authentic tasting Mexican cuisine, a pleasant atmosphere, friendly staff, and best of all - they're licensed so that you can have a couple of cocktails with dinner. Bookings aren't essential, but preferred (especially if you rock up with ten people like we did).

Their menu features a wide range of Mexican cuisine but by far my favorite is their Chile Con Carne. Our family has eaten there on at least six separate occasions and we have never had a meal we didn't like. The prices are reasonable, and the service is fast and friendly. It is one of the better Mexican restaurants that I have been too!

Our family car is a large people mover, so when we need to go out of the town on business we like to hire a smaller fuel efficient car. That's where Ballina Europcar comes in. We've tried a number of car rental businesses in the area, and Ballina Europcar is by far the best.

We can rent a new model Holden sedan for under $60 per day and this includes the first 400kms. And what I like the best is that they will come and pick us up with the rental car which means we don't have to leave our family car at the airport (and pay for parking) or catch a taxi ($20+).

The staff are friendly and helpful and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

With Internet from $1 for 5 minutes, hot takeaway, delicious ice cream, and friendly staff, the Ballina Ice Creamery Internet Cafe is a must if you visit Ballina. What I liked most was that the friendly staff tailored the size (and prices) of their ice creams to suit the ages of our kids. There is nothing worse than spending $4 on an ice cream for a two year old, only to have him take two bites and toss it!

Their hamburgers and steak sandwiches are delicious and while I'm waiting I like to hop on the Internet and check eBay or the latest news headlines.

As far as I know they are open &am to 5pm, 7 days a week. Their prices are reasonable and I would highly recommend them to anyone!

The Ballina Fisherman's Co-Op is one of the best takeaways that I have been to in years. The food is excellent, the prices reasonable, and the staff friendly and helpful. Our kids love their fish cocktails, they are huge, the home-made batter is delicious, and they are only 90 cents each. There are 10 of us in our family (2 adults, 3 teens, and five kids) and we can get a takeaway meal from the Co-Op for the whole family for under $30, which is excellent value. I would highly recommend them to anyone in the area. In fact, I'm getting hungry just writing this review!

I recently required a part to fix my son's Wii gaming console. After a seach on Google I discovered a business online that had the part I needed at a reasonable price with free postage. So I proceeded to purchase it, opting to pay extra postage to have it sent out express, as my son wanted to be able to play his Wii, ASAP! They emailed me an invoice and said my purchase would be promptly dispatched.

To make a long story short, a week went by and I still hadn't received my purchase. So I emailed them, and tried to telephone them, but for some reason they don't answer their phone. Another week went by, and still no purchase, no email, no nothing. After five weeks I filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Trading and a few days later Quantronics finally sent me an email apologizing for "their screw-up", and said that they would send my purchase out to me the next day. I immediately emailed them back saying that I no longer required the item, that I was forced to purchase it somewhere else, and would they just please refund my money. I even tried ringing them again, but still no answer.

Two weeks later I received the item (even though I paid for express post) and that day an email saying that if I posted them back the item "I may" eventually get a refund minus the cost of postage, even though I had told them I no longer required it before they posted it.

I would highly discourage anyone from doing business with this company. They are quick to take your money, but do not communicate with their customers unless it suits them. They are very unprofessional, and I'm surprised that they are still in business.

I recently stumbled across the ikoala website (http://www.ikoala com) on Google whilst looking for free classified websites on which to advertise my Internet business. And I must say I was greatly impressed. Not only was I able to put a free ad up for my business, but I found a Daily Deals area of their website, where I could get up to 50% a number of goods and services that were relevant to myself and my family. I've found a number of free Australian classified websites, but this one was by far the best, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a bargain.

Approximate cost: $FREE

I have a love/hate relationship with eBay. I love getting bargains, I love the thrill of the hunt - that last 30 seconds before the end of the auction, when it's just you against the other bidders, and the winner is the person who wants the item the most (and who has the fastest internet connection). And I love the sound of the parcel man pulling up out the front of my house with my purchases.

On the downside, I hate how eBay's seller's fees have gone through the roof. I sold items on eBay for more than 5 years, but in the end I had to give it up as the fees just became too expensive. However, that has not stopped me from buying on eBay. It is by far the best auction site that I've found so far.

I love Byron Bay Cookies, I always buy a couple when I visit McCafe. I recently visited their store in Byron Bay, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. They had such a wide variety to choose from and they are all so delicious. However, if you have a lot of kids, I suggest you leave them at home. I made the mistake of taking 5 of them into the shop with me, and walked out $90 poorer. However, quality is worth paying a little extra for!

A great place for the whole family. We recently went to the Ballina RSL bistro for my Husband's 42nd Birthday. The atmosphere was good, it was kid friendly, and the prices were reasonable. But best of all the food was good. The night we went was a Friday, and it was packed but the service was good. We ordered dinner, got our drinks from the bar, and when the food was ready a little bluetooth beeper went off and we went up to the counter and collected our meals. Overall it was a good night and we'll be going back there again soon.

Approximate cost: $15