Combine wild Dartmoor moorland with South Devon's best coastal towns on this 8-day loop from Exeter, visiting Plymouth, Salcombe, Dartmouth and Brixham along the way.
Planning a South Devon road trip itinerary that goes beyond beach resorts? This 8-day loop from Exeter delivers the full range of what Devon does best. You will cross the wild heart of Dartmoor National Park before dropping to a coastline of wooded estuaries, medieval harbour towns and sheltered coves that feel nothing like the same county as the moor above.
The route is a true loop, starting and ending in Exeter, so you can arrive from any direction and leave without retracing your steps. Daily drives rarely exceed one hour, leaving plenty of time on foot, on the water or simply sitting somewhere beautiful with a view.
Exeter → Dartmoor (Postbridge) → Plymouth → Salcombe → Dartmouth → Brixham → Exeter
Eight nights, seven moves, one county. Total driving is around 210 km spread across the week.
Best time to go: May to September. The moor is walkable year-round, but the South Devon coast is at its best from June to August when all ferries are running and the evenings are long.
Exeter earns more than a night's sleep. The 11th-century cathedral is genuinely impressive from the outside and stunning inside; allow an hour for a proper look. The medieval underground passages beneath the city streets are a surprisingly good half-hour stop, and the Quayside has the best restaurants for a first-night dinner.
Practical note: park centrally for the evening, then use the city fringes for a clean early departure next morning towards the moor.
The B3212 west from Exeter climbs quickly onto open moorland. Within twenty minutes, wild ponies are drifting across the road and wide views are opening in all directions. This is Dartmoor: 368 square miles of granite moorland that feels nothing like the Devon of cream teas and beaches.
Base yourself at Postbridge, a quiet hamlet centred on a 13th-century clapper bridge over the East Dart River. It has straightforward accommodation, easy parking and direct access to some of the best walking in the national park.
Day 2: Drive south to Haytor Rocks, the most accessible granite tor on the moor. It is a 400-metre walk from the car park to the base of the rocks, and the scramble to the top takes ten minutes more. The views on a clear day reach to the sea in two directions. Return via Widecombe-in-the-Moor for the classic Devon village scene.
White chalk cliffs, a Norman conquest battlefield, cobblestoned medieval streets and a seaside city that refuses to be ordinary: this East Sussex road trip itinerary covers it all in seven days.
Day 3: Head north-west to Grimspound, a remarkably complete Bronze Age settlement with 24 hut circles still visible inside the enclosure wall. The walk from the road takes about 20 minutes. In the afternoon, the B3357 between Two Bridges and Tavistock is one of the most scenic drives in Devon.
Plymouth has been underestimated for years, but it earns a full night. Walk Plymouth Hoe for the full sweep of Plymouth Sound, with Drake's Island in the foreground and the Devon hills behind. The sense of maritime history here is strong and the views are unexpectedly good.
The Mayflower Steps mark where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail in September 1620. The Barbican quarter around them is the most characterful part of the city: cobbled streets, Tudor-era buildings and a cluster of independent seafood restaurants that make for the best dinner on this stretch of the route.
The National Marine Aquarium is the UK's largest and worth two hours of anyone's time. Pre-book online to avoid the ticket queue.
Salcombe sits at the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary and is the most expensive stop on the route (book well ahead in summer). It is also the most relaxing. The South Hams countryside surrounds it on three sides; the fourth is open water.
The town is best explored on foot. The main street runs steeply to the waterfront, where a passenger ferry crosses to East Portlemouth beach. North Sands and South Sands are reachable by water taxi in five minutes.
Use one day for the South West Coast Path walking north from town towards Bolt Head, where the cliffs are dramatic and the estuary views are some of the finest in Devon. Use the other for being on the water: kayak hire, sailing courses and stand-up paddleboarding are all available from the harbour.
Dartmouth is small enough to explore in a morning and good enough to stay in all day. The medieval street pattern is largely intact in the lower town, and the position on the west bank of the Dart means water views are never far away.
The Dart car ferries are worth using for the experience alone. Both the Higher and Lower ferries cross on chains and carry standard cars; taking one to Kingswear gives you the view back across the river and access to the coastal path south to Dartmouth Castle.
The castle sits almost at sea level where the river meets the open coast. The chain mechanism that once blocked enemy ships from entering the harbour is still visible inside. English Heritage manages the site and advance booking is recommended in peak season.
Skip Torquay (or pass through briefly) and go straight to Brixham. The inner harbour is the most photogenic stop on the entire route: a horseshoe of colourful working boats surrounded by fish merchants, chandlers and old quayside buildings, with the town rising steeply behind.
A full-scale replica of the Golden Hind sits in the harbour. It is smaller than most people expect, which makes the scale of the original 16th-century circumnavigation all the more remarkable.
From Brixham, Berry Head National Nature Reserve is a 15-minute drive along the coast. The limestone headland holds the UK's smallest lighthouse, a nesting guillemot colony and views stretching past the Jurassic Coast to Portland Bill on a clear day.
The drive back to Exeter is 50 km, mostly on the A380 and M5: under an hour to close the loop.
When to visit: June and September offer near-equal sunshine to August with fewer crowds and lower accommodation prices, particularly in Salcombe.
Navigation: Download OS maps offline before crossing Dartmoor. The B3212 moor road has no mobile signal in places.
Parking: Salcombe is the one difficult stop. Use Batson car park on the edge of town and walk down. All other stops on the route are straightforward.
Ferries: The Dartmouth car ferries run until roughly 10pm in summer. Neither takes advance bookings; join the queue at the slipway. The Salcombe to East Portlemouth passenger ferry runs from late spring through autumn.
Accommodation: Book Salcombe accommodation well ahead for June to August. Kingsbridge, 6 km north, offers more choice at lower prices if Salcombe is full.
An 8-day Northern Arizona road trip looping from Phoenix through Jerome, Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon South Rim and Route 66 Williams. Full itinerary with drives, stops and the best time to go.
The full route — stops, maps, and driving times — is on Routebook by Kington.
An 8-day driving loop from Exeter combining wild Dartmoor moorland with the best coastal towns of South Devon, including Plymouth, Salcombe, Dartmouth and Brixham.
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