The County That Has Everything
Every year, millions of people drive through Devon on their way to Cornwall. They follow the A30 or the A38, glance at the scenery, and keep going. This is one of the great travel mistakes of the British Isles.
Devon is not a county you drive through. It is a county you stay in. It has two coastlines — the dramatic, surf-battered North Devon coast and the sheltered, turquoise-water South Devon coast — separated by Dartmoor National Park, 368 square miles of granite tors, ancient woodland, and wild rivers. It has some of the best food in the West Country. It has market towns with more character than most cities. And it has the kind of varied landscape that means you can surf in the morning, walk on the moor after lunch, and eat exceptionally well for dinner.
The staycation is not a compromise. In Devon — as Visit Devon will happily tell you — it is genuinely the better option. No airports, no luggage limits, no jet lag. Just get in the car, drive for a bit, and you are somewhere beautiful. And if you are doing it with friends, a Devon staycation has one crucial advantage: it is easy to plan. You pick a weekend, you pick a direction, and you go.
Here are six Devon staycation ideas, organised by mood. Each one works as a weekend or a long weekend, and each one is better with company.
One note on money. We have deliberately taken the price bands out of this guide. Accommodation, spa and restaurant prices in Devon move every season and always upward, and a printed figure that is eighteen months stale is worse than no figure at all — it sets an expectation the county will not meet. Where budget matters we describe the tiers, and you check the current rate.
The Beach Weekend: South Devon
Best for: 2-8 people | Duration: 2-3 days
If you want a beach holiday that could genuinely be mistaken for southern Europe on the right day, South Devon is the answer. The coastline between Dartmouth and Salcombe is some of the most beautiful in England — sheltered coves with turquoise water, sandy beaches backed by green hills, and harbour towns where the pace of life drops to something approaching Mediterranean.
Where to Go
Salcombe is the headline act. This harbour town sits on the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary and has beaches that rival anything in the Balearics. South Sands is the most accessible — calm water, a beachfront cafe, and water sports hire. North Sands is quieter and perfect for a lazy afternoon. For something truly special, take the small foot ferry across the estuary to Mill Bay or Sunny Cove, hidden beaches surrounded by National Trust land where you might have the sand to yourself.
South Milton Sands, near Thurlestone, is a stunning National Trust beach with the famous Thurlestone Rock — a natural stone arch that has been photographed approximately eight million times and deserves every one. The beach is sandy, the water is clean, and the Beachhouse cafe on the sand serves excellent food.
Blackpool Sands, between Dartmouth and Slapton, is a sheltered shingle-and-sand beach in a natural bowl of woodland. The water is remarkably clear, and the beach has its own café and restaurant rather than the usual seaside kiosk.
Where to Eat
The Crab Shed on the Fish Quay in Salcombe is a no-frills quayside restaurant with excellent seafood. The Winking Prawn on Cliff Road at North Sands is a relaxed beachside cafe known for its fruits de mer platter. In Dartmouth, Rockfish serves sustainably caught fish landed at nearby Brixham, and the Seahorse — Mitch Tonks's restaurant on the South Embankment — is worth booking well in advance for a special meal.
How the Tiers Work
Camping and hostels sit at the cheap end, shared cottages and Airbnbs in the middle, boutique hotels and glamping at the top — and food follows the same curve, from a supermarket cool box to a Seahorse dinner. Salcombe and Dartmouth are the two most expensive places to sleep on this stretch of coast; a base slightly inland cuts the accommodation cost sharply without adding much driving.
South Devon accommodation books up fast in summer. If you are planning a beach weekend between June and September, book at least six weeks ahead — particularly for Salcombe and Dartmouth. Shoulder season (May or late September) offers the same beaches with fewer crowds and lower prices.
The Adventure Weekend: Dartmoor
Best for: 3-8 people | Duration: 2-3 days
Dartmoor is 368 square miles of open moorland, granite tors, river valleys, and ancient woodland. It is one of the last genuinely wild places in southern England, and it offers the kind of adventure that does not require specialist equipment or extreme fitness — just a willingness to get outside and get slightly cold and wet.
What to Do
Walk to Haytor for the classic Dartmoor experience — a 20-minute climb to one of the most iconic granite tors with panoramic views across Devon. Follow it with a pint at the Rock Inn in Haytor Vale, an old coaching inn serving locally sourced food.
Wild swim at Spitchwick Common on the River Dart — the most popular wild swimming spot on the moor, with a deep pool surrounded by ancient woodland and grassy banks perfect for picnicking. The water is cold even in summer, but the feeling afterwards is worth every shiver.
Explore Chagford, a handsome stannary town on Dartmoor's north-eastern edge that has quietly become one of Devon's best food destinations. The Three Crowns on the High Street is a historic inn with excellent food, the Chagford Inn on Mill Street serves locally sourced seasonal dishes, and Gidleigh Park, a country house hotel on the River Teign, is there if you want to treat the group to something extraordinary.
Cycle the Granite Way, a traffic-free cycle path that runs for 11 miles between Okehampton and Lydford along a disused railway line. It passes through stunning Dartmoor scenery and is flat enough for anyone who can ride a bike. Hire bikes in Okehampton and stop at the Bearslake Inn near Sourton for lunch — a thatched longhouse serving proper pub food.
Where to Stay
Dartmoor has excellent accommodation at every price point. For groups, the best options are:
- Budget: Wild camping is legal on much of Dartmoor (one of the few places in England where this is the case), though check the current Dartmoor National Park guidelines before you go. Basic campsites are the cheapest roofed-adjacent option — see our Devon campsites guide for sites that take groups.
- Mid-range: The Globe Inn on Chagford High Street has rooms above a family-run pub. The Ring O' Bells on Chagford's square is a historic inn with en-suite rooms. Check current room availability with both — small pubs take rooms in and out of service.
- Luxury: Bovey Castle is a country-house resort on a large Dartmoor estate with a spa, golf course and self-catering lodges that work well for groups.
For more Dartmoor ideas, our social guide to exploring Dartmoor covers the best walks, pubs, and swimming spots in detail.
The Foodie Weekend: Topsham and Dartmouth
Best for: 2-6 people | Duration: 2-3 days
Devon's food scene does not get the attention it deserves. While the national food media obsesses over London and the Cotswolds, Devon quietly produces some of the best eating in England — and a foodie circuit connecting Topsham and Dartmouth is one of the most rewarding culinary weekends you can have without leaving the county.
Day One: Topsham
Start in Topsham, a small estuary town just four miles south of Exeter. Despite its size, Topsham punches absurdly above its weight for food. The town has an independent butcher, baker, cheese shop, delicatessen, greengrocer, and fishmonger — all within walking distance of each other.
The Galley on Fore Street is a seafood restaurant overlooking the River Exe estuary, serving Brixham and estuary seafood. The Passage House Inn on Ferry Road is an old pub with waterside views. Darts Farm — worth knowing that it is across the Exe at Clyst St George, a five-minute drive rather than part of the walk — is a farm shop complex with its own restaurant, terrace bar, and estuary views — it is the kind of place where you go for a quick browse and emerge three hours later with a car boot full of cheese and chutney.
Day Two: Dartmouth
Drive an hour south to Dartmouth for day two. This harbour town has a restaurant scene that would be impressive in a city three times its size. The Seahorse, owned by Mitch Tonks, specialises in grilled fish and seafood. Rockfish serves sustainably caught fish with views over the River Dart. Bayards Cove Inn on Lower Street does an evening à la carte in one of the oldest buildings in town. And the Cherub Inn on Higher Street serves local classics in an atmosphere that has barely changed in centuries.
Between meals, walk along the river, take the Higher Ferry across to Kingswear, or walk a stretch of the South West Coast Path. Dartmouth's autumn food festival is a highlight of the county's calendar — check its own site for this year's dates — but the town eats well year-round.
How to Pitch It
At the cheap end this is set lunch menus, pub dinners and shared accommodation. In the middle it is à la carte lunches, one special dinner and a B&B. At the top it is a Seahorse dinner and a boutique hotel. The single biggest lever is which of the two dinners you make the expensive one — do it in Dartmouth, and eat cheaply and brilliantly in Topsham.
The Culture Weekend: Exeter and Totnes
Best for: 2-6 people | Duration: 2 days
If your group is more arts-and-independent-shops than beaches-and-barbecues, a weekend split between Exeter and Totnes covers Devon's cultural bases comprehensively.
Exeter
Exeter is Devon's capital and has a cathedral that has been standing since the 12th century, a museum and art gallery with free entry, a thriving independent food scene, and enough independent bars and restaurants to fill a weekend easily. The Quay area along the River Exe has been regenerated in recent years and is particularly good for a wander — the canal basin has independent cafes, studios, and antique shops. Our guide to the best restaurants in Exeter covers the dining scene in full.
Totnes
From Exeter, drive 40 minutes south to Totnes, a town that has made alternative culture its identity. National Geographic described it as "South Devon's quirkiest corner," and they are not wrong. The high street is packed with plant-based restaurants, independent bookshops, art galleries, and community spaces. The Bull Inn on the High Street is an organic pub with a menu that puts locally sourced vegetables first.
Totnes has a Norman castle overlooking the town, a 450-year-old Guildhall, steam railway trips along the Dart Valley, and the Dartington Estate — a Grade I-listed 14th-century estate that has been a centre for arts and ecology since the 1920s. The town's markets are worth timing your visit around: Friday is the big day, with Saturday markets too, and an Elizabethan market with costumed traders runs on summer mornings — check visittotnes.co.uk before travelling for a specific day.
Totnes is probably the best town in Devon for dietary requirements. Most restaurants offer vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options as standard, not as an afterthought. If your group includes people with different dietary needs, Totnes makes life easy.
The Wellness Weekend: Coastal Walks and Spa Days
Best for: 2-6 people | Duration: 2-3 days
Sometimes what a group of friends needs is not adventure or culture or food — it is rest. Devon is excellent for this. The combination of coastal walking, sea air, and a good spa creates the kind of weekend that sends you back to normal life feeling genuinely restored.
The Walk
The South West Coast Path runs for 630 miles around the coasts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, and Somerset, and some of its best stretches are in Devon. For a wellness weekend, pick a manageable section — the path from Ilfracombe to Mortehoe in North Devon (about 10 kilometres) offers dramatic cliff views, or the gentler stretch from Budleigh Salterton along the Jurassic Coast is stunning without being strenuous. If you want more walking ideas near Exeter, we have a dedicated guide.
The Spa
Saunton Sands Hotel in North Devon has the Source Spa, a wellness centre overlooking one of the best beaches in England, with a thermal suite, sauna and steam facilities, a pool with sea views and a set of treatment rooms. Check the hotel for current spa day packages and what each one includes.
Yeotown in North Devon offers a refined mind-and-body wellness experience. This is for groups who want something more structured — think guided wellness programmes rather than a quick facial.
The Cary Arms and Spa on the English Riviera offers coastal spa days with views over Babbacombe Bay, combining treatments with the kind of setting that makes relaxation almost unavoidable.
How to Pitch It
The cheapest version of this weekend is free: a coastal walk, a packed lunch and a shared cottage. Add a spa day package and a pub dinner for the middle tier. The top tier is an overnight at Saunton Sands with a full spa day and dinner. The walk is the part that does most of the work, and it costs nothing.
The Social Case for Staycations
We have written extensively about how shared experiences strengthen friendships, and staycations with friends have three advantages over foreign holidays that are worth stating plainly.
They are easier to plan. No passport coordination, no flight comparisons, no transfer logistics. You pick a weekend, you pick a direction, you get in the car.
They are cheaper. Even a luxury Devon weekend costs less than a budget European city break once you factor in flights, transfers, and tourist prices. And because it is cheaper, you can do it more often — quarterly rather than annually, which means more time together and stronger friendships.
You get more time together. A weekend abroad includes airport hours, transfer hours, and the recovery day when you get home. With a staycation, you arrive and you are immediately on holiday.
The best staycation hack for groups: rotate who plans each trip. One person picks the destination, books the accommodation, and decides the rough itinerary. Everyone else just shows up. It distributes the effort, and each trip has a different flavour depending on who is in charge. Set a budget limit per person and let the planner work within it.
The Pub Trail Weekend: Devon's Best Pubs With Rooms
Best for: 2-6 people | Duration: 1-2 nights
For groups who love good food and drink but do not want the logistics of self-catering, a pub-with-rooms overnight is the simplest possible staycation. Pick one of Devon's excellent country pubs, book rooms, and let the evening unfold. No cooking. No cleaning. Just dinner, drinks, and a cooked breakfast the next morning.
Our dedicated guide to the best pubs with rooms in Devon covers the finest options across the county — from the whisky-soaked Nobody Inn at Doddiscombsleigh on the edge of Dartmoor to the coastal Masons Arms in Branscombe. For groups on a budget, The Lamb Inn in Sandford is usually the cheapest way into a proper overnight pub experience — check its current room rates directly.
The pub trail concept works brilliantly for regular friends' getaways. Visit a different pub each quarter, rotate who books, and over a year you will have explored four corners of Devon without ever needing to pack more than an overnight bag.
Where Devon Is Heading in 2026
The car-hire firm Drivalia reported a 61% rise in Devon staycation interest in its 2026 travel write-up — a marketing piece rather than a statistical publication, so treat it as a straw in the wind rather than a measurement. The county's combination of coast, moor, and food scene continues to attract visitors who might previously have booked European city breaks.
New and notable for 2026: the ongoing regeneration of Exmouth's Queens Drive waterfront is bringing fresh investment to the seafront. The growing glamping and unusual stays sector means more options for groups who want the outdoors experience without the tent — from shepherd's huts with hot tubs to converted airstreams in the Devonshire countryside. And Devon's food festivals continue to multiply, with events in Dartmouth, Topsham, and Exeter throughout the warmer months.
The infrastructure for sustainable travel is improving too. The Exe Estuary Trail connecting Exeter to Exmouth by bike continues to be one of the finest traffic-free cycle routes in Britain, and Devon's rail network — including the scenic Riviera Line to Dawlish and Teignmouth and the Avocet Line to Exmouth — makes car-free staycations genuinely practical.
Devon has everything you need for a holiday — beaches, mountains (well, moors), excellent food, culture, adventure, and the kind of scenery that makes you pull over and just look. The only thing it lacks is the bragging rights of a foreign postcard. And honestly, once you have watched the sunset from Salcombe harbour or stood on top of Haytor on a clear morning, you will not miss the postcard.
Pick a weekend. Pick a type. Text the group chat. Devon is waiting.