Fishing boats on a pebble beach at Beer in East Devon.

Discover Delightful Coast and Country Holiday Cottages in Devon

Coastal, Countryside and Moorland Holiday Cottages in Devon

For many visitors, renting holiday cottages in Devon is the most enjoyable way to experience this charming County. Here are beach apartments overlooking wide sandy bays from Woolacombe in North Devon to Slapton Sands in South Devon. Discover thatched cottages in quaint coves such as Beer, Lee Bay, Blackpool Sands and Ladram Bay, with clear waters backed by lush green Devon countryside. 

Stay in a thatched Devon holiday cottage in the heart of the countryside to explore deep flower-filled lanes or the wild moorland landscapes of Exmoor and Dartmoor. The many picturesque and historic towns and villages from Clovelly to Budleigh Salterton scattered across Devon offer a fine choice of self-catering accommodation. 

Find quaint thatched cottages in sleepy villages, stylish barn conversions on working Devon farms or waterside apartments in converted fishing lofts and harbourside warehouses on the South Devon coast. Devon's mild climate makes the County a popular choice for self-catering cottage holidays all year round, as Christmas Day surfers on the North Devon beaches at Croyde and Saunton will testify. At the same time, wild daffodils and primroses appear in the hedgerows as early as February, adding colour to winter and early spring walks in the countryside.

A contemporary wood and glass bungalow with a wrap-around deck overlooks a shrub-filled garden.
Vantage Point Near Dartmouth
Dartmouth
Devon
England
Sleeps
8
Bedrooms
4

Unique four-bedroom coastal property near Dartmouth in South Devon, sleeping up to eight guests. Suitable for large groups or extended families, including an outside hot tub and covered sauna.

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  • Active Holidays
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Cottages with Hot Tubs
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  • Cycling Holidays
  • Large Holiday Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
3-storey contemporary seaside apartment block with glass-screened balconies.
7 Putsborough
Woolacombe
Devon
England
Sleeps
4
Bedrooms
2

The golden sands of Woolacombe Bay beckon guests at 7 Putsborough, a sophisticated seaside holiday apartment in Devon. The pet-friendly apartment in the Byron complex boasts contemporary styling and modern comforts, plus access to a swimming pool and other facilities, all a short walk from the beach.

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  • Accessible Cottages
  • Active Holidays
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Cottages With Games Rooms
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Holiday Cottages With a Pool
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
A wooden deck with lounge furniture sits in front of a contemporary 3-storey waterside holiday home.
Mossgara Waterfront Cottage
Devon
England
Sleeps
8
Bedrooms
4

Mossgara is a captivating waterside cottage in South Devon. With a large layout, private quay, and direct water access, this large luxury property offers stunning views from all levels. Well-appointed interiors include a spacious kitchen, dining area with bay windows, and a comfortable lounge with a gas fireplace. Four bedrooms, each with waterside views, add to the charm. Enjoy nearby beaches, coastal paths, and excellent pubs. Mossgara ensures a delightful retreat for those seeking a unique waterside holiday in Noss Mayo. Discover more about this exceptional property!

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  • Active Holidays
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  • Walking Holidays
  • Waterside Cottages
A large North Devon farmhouse and a cluster of three barns, all surrounded by green fields.
Braunton Farmhouse
Braunton
Devon
England
Sleeps
10
Bedrooms
5

Braunton Farmhouse is a 5-bedroom holiday cottage in Braunton that has been recently refurbished to a very high standard. This North Devon house is ideally situated on the hill above Braunton and is within a few miles of Georgeham, Croyde, and amazing, award-winning beaches at Putsborough and Woolacombe Bay. Pets are welcome.

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  • Active Holidays
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
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  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Farm Cottages
  • Large Holiday Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
Windows of a little cottage overlook a terrace filled with flowers and shrubs.
Cherry Tree Cottage
Sidmouth
Devon
England
Sleeps
2
Bedrooms
1

Cherry Tree is an attractive cottage for couples. It is a one-bedroom Grade II-listed self-catering holiday cottage in Sidmouth. The town's beaches on the East Devon coast are only a short distance away.

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  • Active Holidays
  • Coastal Cottages
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  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
A double-fronted holiday cottage exterior with a small walled front garden
Lilac Cottage
Musbury
Devon
England
Sleeps
5
Bedrooms
3

Escape to Lilac Cottage, a charming Musbury holiday let within a designated National Landscape. Ideal for families or couples, it sleeps five and has a cosy woodburner and sunny garden. Explore nearby Lyme Regis and Axmouth's coastal delights. Fully equipped for self-catering holidays in East Devon, it's close to River Cottage Farm and offers easy access to walking trails. Enjoy comfort, convenience, and natural beauty—book your stay for an unforgettable rural retreat.

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  • Active Holidays
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  • Coastal Cottages
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  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Small Cottages
  • Walking Holidays
Exterior of a barn conversion with tables and chairs in a flower-filled courtyard.
The Old Barn
Colyton
Devon
England
Sleeps
5
Bedrooms
3

Located in the charming village of Colyton, within East Devon's picturesque National Landscape, you'll find The Old Barn - a delightful rural holiday cottage. This cosy rural retreat is perfect for cottage holidays, accommodating up to five guests and pets. The cottage comprises three ground-floor bedrooms, including a king-size bedroom with en-suite facilities. Ascend the stairs to the open-plan living area with a wood-burning stove for those chilly evenings. Outside, you'll find a private garden and a communal picnic area. The nearby village of Colyton offers a range of shops, tearooms, and conveniences, while the East Devon National Landscape invites walkers to explore its scenic network of footpaths, bridle paths, and green flower-filled lanes.

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  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Cycling Holidays
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Farm Cottages
  • Remote Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
Exterior of a 2-storey cottage with 1st-floor bay windows overlooking a shrub-filled garden.
Magnolia Cottage @ Littlecourt
Sidmouth
Devon
England
Sleeps
6
Bedrooms
3

Littlecourt Cottages offers five luxury cottages with Wi-Fi. Magnolia, a charming holiday home in Sidmouth, sleeps up to six guests, just a short distance from the town centre and beaches on the South Devon coast.

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  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Coastal Cottages
  • Independent Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays
View interior and exterior photos of Abbots Manor, a large East Devon holiday cottage in Combe Raleigh.
Abbots Manor
Combe Raleigh
Devon
England
Sleeps
18
Bedrooms
8

Surrounded by lush green fields, Abbotts Manor is a gorgeous Grade II listed Georgian manor set in an AONB in Combe Raleigh. The large, pet-friendly cottage in East Devon offers beautiful views, elegant detailing, a children’s play area, a campfire area, a games room, an open fire and style.

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  • Active Holidays
  • Child-Friendly Cottages
  • Cottages With Games Rooms
  • Countryside Cottages
  • Dog-Friendly Holiday Cottages
  • Large Holiday Cottages
  • Luxury Holiday Cottages
  • Short Breaks
  • Walking Holidays

Torbay Seaside Cottages

To the south of the County are the bustling Victorian seaside resorts of Torquay, Paignton, Exmouth and Teignmouth, these days offering much more than a traditional bucket and spade holiday (although buckets and spades are still essential holiday must-haves). It's a haven for superb family theme parks such as Diggerland, an adventure theme park with a real emphasis on DIGGERS! An invigorating construction experience for adults & children. It is highly recommended!

Sleepy East Devon Cottages

To the southeast corner of Devon are the charming and genteel Edwardian resorts and villages of Sidmouth, Beer, Branscombe and Budleigh Salterton. Here, a perfect day can be spent chuntering around Lyme Bay in a self-hire boat, and catching mackerel to BBQ back at your holiday cottage in the evening. For delightful views of the River Ax estuary - and the chance of a Devonshire Cream Tea in Colyton, enjoy a sedate ride on restored trams at The Seaton Tramway that runs from Seaton along the estuary to Colyton. 

Idyllic North Devon Holiday Cottages

North Devon is much wilder and quieter than the south but just as welcoming to visitors. Here are the extensive sandy surfing beaches of Croyde, Woolacombe, Westward Ho! and Saunton Sands (perfect for beach cricket and sandcastle building when the tide is out). Tiny coast-hugging villages such as Lee Bay or Clovelly delight visitors at any time of the year. The principal coastal towns of Barnstaple and Bideford provide all the services and supplies you need to enjoy a self-catering holiday in a rural or seaside holiday cottage. North Devon also has the occasional geographical claim to fame, such as the biggest village in England (Braunton) and the longest High Street in England (Combe Martin). For visiting walkers and cyclists, the superb Tarka Trail offers more than 40 miles of level cycling on old North Devon railway lines that follow the river valleys and estuaries of the Taw and Torridge. There are plenty of bike hire shops along its route if you don't have space to bring your bikes.

Coastal, Countryside and Moorland Holiday Cottages in Devon

For many visitors, renting holiday cottages in Devon is the most enjoyable way to experience this charming County. Here are beach apartments overlooking wide sandy bays from Woolacombe in North Devon to Slapton Sands in the South Hams. Discover thatched cottages in quaint coves such as Beer, Lee Bay, Blackpool Sands and Ladram Bay, with clear waters backed by lush green Devon countryside. 

Stay in a thatched Devon holiday cottage in the heart of the countryside to explore deep flower-filled lanes or the wild moorland landscapes of Exmoor and Dartmoor. The many picturesque and historic towns and villages from Clovelly to Budleigh Salterton scattered across Devon offer a fine choice of self-catering accommodation. 

Find quaint thatched cottages in sleepy villages, stylish barn conversions on working Devon farms or waterside apartments in converted fishing lofts and harbourside warehouses on the South Devon coast. Devon's mild climate makes the County a popular choice for self-catering cottage holidays all year round, as Christmas Day surfers on the North Devon beaches at Croyde and Saunton will testify. At the same time, wild daffodils and primroses appear in the hedgerows as early as February, adding colour to winter and early spring walks in the countryside.

Find Cottages in Dartmoor and the Heart of Devon

Inland Devon is equally inviting to visitors. Quiet thatched villages such as Broadhembury, Coleford, Sampford Courtenay or Chittlehampton can be found at the end of slow drives down deep Devon lanes (all replete with excellent pubs and idyllic holiday cottages). Exeter's city centre is well worth at least one day's visit to see the magnificent Cathedral (picnic on Cathedral Green) followed by a trip down to Exeter Quay on the River Exe, full of craft shops, bars and restaurants. Hire a bike and follow the ship canal towpath through Starcross to the coast. Make it past the enticing pubs such as the Twin Locks, and you'll find yourselves collecting sea shells and nibbling seaside candy floss on the beach at Dawlish Warren before a leisurely ride home to your holiday accommodation.

Devon's centre is the wonderful Dartmoor National Park - offering picturesque wild walks and drives across the moors. Visit Widecombe and Princetown - the latter now earning a reputation as an artistic centre as well as being the location of the famous prison. Above all, find and climb a tor - there are hundreds from which visitors can choose. Dartmoor is also home to England's 'newest castle'. Now wonderfully restored by the National Trust, Castle Drogo, designed by Edward Luytens just outside Drewsteignton, was built in the early 20th Century and is a fascinating place to visit.

South Devon Coast and Countryside Cottages

Devon's maritime heritage and traditions can be discovered in the south coast ports of Dartmouth. Taking an Edwardian paddle steamer upriver to Dittisham past Greenaway, Agatha Christie's house, is now open to the public. Discover more of Devon's scenic heritage by water at Salcombe or Plymouth, where a boat trip visiting all the historic maritime naval yards along Plymouth Sound will provide an entertaining history lesson.

For steam train lovers, occasional mainline rail excursions to and from Exeter, steam a-plenty can be found within an easy drive of many holiday cottages. In the popular (and idyllic) South Hams region in Devon's southern corner, ride the South Devon Railway from Buckfastleigh to Totnes or from Paignton to Kingswear (and then by ferry to Dartmouth). In North Devon, discover the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, which operates a mile or so of scenic track from Woody Bay Station - combine this with a clifftop walk along the South West Coast Path between Woody Bay and Martinhoe and you have the perfect day out!

Family-Loving Devon

With so much on offer in Devon and, it's not just the large attractions that appeal to visitors. In North Devon, visit The Gnome Reserve, where over a thousand gnomes add colour and enchantment to a woodland walk. The Reserve was once nominated for a Turner Prize. If not Gnomes, they try sheep: The Big Sheep in Bideford has everything from baby lambs to feed to roller coaster rides - all year round! It is no wonder that many of Devon's self-catering holiday cottages and seaside apartments welcome the same visitors year after year!

Devon Destinations