There are so many great days out in the South Hams, with a wide choice of activities and interests to enjoy.

The local area offers incredible walking, sailing, boating, cycling, surfing, paddleboarding, fishing, canoeing, and general exploring, the list is endless! But if you’re trying to find something a little different from your normal holiday habits of just sitting on a beach, here is a list of OUR TOP MUST DOs…but you’ll need to stay for a week!

1) Salcombe Gara Rock loop. Take our Ebikes on a lovely short ride to Salcombe (20 mins on country lanes). If you’re feeling keen you can go via Snape’s Point to take some amazing photographs of Salcombe across the estuary, otherwise continue on to Salcombe and lock the bikes up to the railings by the entrance gate to Normandy Pontoon. Walk up the high street to the Ferry Inn and then walk down the steps to the ferry. Once you get over to East Portlemouth you can stroll south towards Mill Bay (across the sandy beaches at low tide or along the road at high tide), then up into the woods and follow the coastal path round to Gara Rock. The hotel is a great place to stop for a drink or a leisurely lunch (booking essential), or you could have a picnic on the beach below, before heading back over the hill and down through the magical woodland back to the ferry.

2. Thurlestone to South Milton. Park in Thurlestone car park and walk along the beach towards Thurlestone Rock (add a loop around The Delvers if you want a longer walk). This is beautiful on a warm calm evening with the setting sun, with The Beachhouse perfectly placed to enjoy the sunset and a delicious supper of seafood with ice cold rosé.

3) Boat Hire. Hire a boat from Whitestrand Boats in Salcombe. Make sure you do this on a rising tide and give yourselves a few hours. The creeks of Southpool and Frogmore are absolutely beautiful and full of wildlife. A trip up to Kingsbridge to have lunch at The Crabshell Inn is a great pit stop, but our favourite is most definitely winding our way up Southpool Creek to the Millbrook Inn, which is best visited on evening spring tides when the pub does fantastic barbecues!

4) Paddleboarding up the Creek. On spring tides you will be able to access Collapit Creek (2 minute drive or 10 minute walk) when the tide is above 4.3m. We usually drive down with paddleboards on the roof and park in the layby. This is a really lovely thing to do, especially on the warm summer evenings, when all you can hear is the insects and the birds. You can also go on a guided tour with the fantastic people at SUPWALK. They specialise in memorable custom adventures in a variety of waterways and open sea in the South Hams. They also do walking tours!

5) The Bantham Swoosh. Head to Bantham Beach but don’t park too far from the entrance, as on an outgoing tide it’s great fun to do the ‘swoosh’ either on a paddleboard or just bobbing along swimming. Get in the water down where the summer ferry goes from, and follow the tide taking you all the way down to the beach. If you time it right for a longer stay at the beach you can paddle all the way from Aveton Gifford, maybe stopping off at the Oyster Shack on route! https:

6) Rib Rides. Call Ali Jones at Sea-n-Shore and book on to one of her famous Rib rides! Whether you’re looking for fast, thrilling excitement or a slower, more relaxed tour around the coast, one of her three great RIB Ride packages will fit the bill! Alternatively she also offers waterskiing, coasteering, treasure hunts and banana rides.

7) Bolthead, Overbecks, South Sands. Book a table at South Sands Hotel for lunch and you will get the code for their car park. There is a fantastic walk round to Bolthead that finishes off at Overbecks gardens, and after that you should have worked up quite an apetite!

8) Salcombe Estuary Cruise. After a mooch around Salcombe another really nice way to spend an hour is in Kirby, a wonderful little cruise boat with a very enthusiastic skipper. You could also take the South Sands Ferry, which has a rather fun way of using a tractor to dismount you on to South Sands beach.

9) Salcombe Gin School. This is great fun, and really informative. The distillers at Salcombe Gin spend an afternoon showing you how gin is made, and then helping you distill your own. You will leave with your very own uniquely flavoured and branded bottle of gin, having consumed a few rather lovely gin & tonics during the process!

10). Dittisham to Stoke Gabriel. To mix things up a bit there is a cracking paddle board from Dittisham to Stoke Gabriel on the river Dart. If you time it about 90 minutes before high tide you will time it perfectly for a lazy lunch at The River Shack, and then an easy paddle back with the tide.

11) Bolberry to Soar Mill Cove. This is a lovely walk along the high clifftops, and then down past the grazing cattle to the stunning beach of Soar Mill Cove. There is a lovely hotel up from the beach for lunch, or the great Oceans restaurant back in Bolberry.

12) Beesands & Hallsands. When you wind your way through Chillington and Stokenham and turn down to the east-facing shores of Beesands, you will be forgiven for wondering if you’re in the same county. Sand gives way to pebbles and with the old rows of houses time seems to stand still. There is a lovely walk from Beesands to Hallsands, and you can either reward yourself with fish & chips at Brittania-on-the-Beach, or treat yourself to a proper sit down feast at The Cricket Inn.