Hot tub lodges on the clifftop. Self-catering cottages above Start Bay. Glamping with the South West Coast Path at the gate, and a beach that wears a Blue Flag every summer. Stay a few nights — you'll find reasons to stay longer.
This corner of the South Hams is the bit of Devon that gets passed over for the busier names — and that's the point. Stoke Fleming sits high on the clifftop. Blackpool Sands is at the foot of the hill. Dartmouth is ten minutes the other way, with its harbour, its hill of pastel houses and one of the best Sunday lunches on the south coast.
Whatever you're after — a hot-tub weekend, a half-term with the dog, a couple of weeks with the family — this guide points you to where to stay, where to eat and how to spend the days in between.
On the clifftops above Start Bay, with the South West Coast Path running through it. Self-catering cottages, holiday lodges, static caravans, glamping pods and a touring & camping field — most accommodation has sea views, many have hot tubs, and dogs are welcome in cottages and lodges.
Choose from cottages and lodges with private terraces, glamping pods tucked into the woodland edge, refurbished caravan-style holiday homes, or pitch up on the touring & camping field — all on a single site three miles south of Dartmouth.
See accommodation & bookPrivate hot tubs on selected lodges, with sea views over Start Bay.
Most accommodation looks out over the bay or down to Blackpool Sands.
Pet-friendly cottages and lodges, with the coast path right outside.
Pods tucked into the woodland edge — comfort with the canvas feel.
Equipped kitchens. Bring the dog, the wetsuits, the slow cooker.
Pitches for tents, motorhomes and tourers. Sea-view field — bookable on site.
A short stretch of Devon coast, but a varied one — a Blue Flag beach, a clifftop village, a harbour town with proper restaurants, and one of the most scenic sections of the South West Coast Path.
A sheltered shingle bay backed by evergreens, Blue Flag rated, with a beach café, paddleboard hire and lifeguards through the summer. Possibly the prettiest beach this side of Cornwall — and quieter than most.
A working Devon village on the clifftop above the bay — pub, post office, parish church, and one of the best coastal viewpoints in the South Hams. Leonards Cove sits at its southern edge.
The harbour town on the River Dart — independent shops, gallery streets, a foot ferry to Kingswear, the steam railway and a cluster of restaurants worth catching the bus into town for. Kendricks is here.
The 630-mile national trail runs along the clifftop above Leonards Cove. North to Dartmouth Castle is the showstopper; south takes you past Blackpool Sands and on toward Slapton Ley. Boots and a dog work well here.
One in the harbour town, one on-site at the holiday village. Both worth booking ahead — especially in season.
Contemporary British cooking in the centre of Dartmouth — a short trip from Leonards Cove or anywhere else you're staying on this stretch of the coast. Lunch, dinner, weekend brunch.
Independent Italian restaurant on the Leonards Cove site at Stoke Fleming. Open to non-residents as well as guests. Bookings by telephone.
The South Hams reads differently in March than it does in August. Some of the best weeks of the year are the quiet ones.
Coast path daffodils, primroses on the Dartmouth ferry approach, and quiet beaches before half-term. Touring & camping season opens in April.
Blackpool Sands at its best — Blue Flag water, lifeguards, paddleboards. Family summer holidays in cottages, lodges and glamping pods.
The most underrated season on this coast. Mild, golden, empty. Hot tub holidays come into their own, and the coast path is at its best.
Off-peak escapes with log fires, sea air and Sunday lunch in Dartmouth. Cottages and lodges open year-round — dogs love it, couples love it more.
The questions we get most about staying on this stretch of the South Devon coast.