Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Exmouth
Wondering what to do in Exmouth? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.
Showing museums, aquariums and attractions with indoor areas — the ones that work whatever the forecast.
🎟️ This weekend near Exmouth
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 19:00
Greenish Day - A Tribute to Green Day - Torquay
The Foundry Torquay, Torquay · 12.0 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 19:30
Forbidden Nights
Babbacombe Theatre, Torquay · 10.7 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 22:00
A.M.C + PHANTOM, GINO + more | 13.11.26 | Move Exeter
Move Exeter, Exeter · 8.5 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 19:00
Greenish Day
The Foundry Torquay, Torquay · 12.0 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Aquariums
Museums & Galleries
0.1 mi from Exmouth
Exmouth Museum
Exmouth Museum & Heritage Centre is a volunteer-run museum telling the story of Exmouth, from its days as a fishing village to becoming the largest town in Devon. Inside you'll fin...
✓
4 mi from Exmouth
Fairlynch Musuem
Fairlynch Museum is a volunteer-run museum housed in a thatched cottage in Budleigh Salterton, covering local history, archaeology, geology, costumes, lace and toys, plus a dedicat...
✓
4.6 mi from Exmouth
Topsham Museum
Topsham Museum occupies a group of late 17th century buildings overlooking the Exe Estuary, with furnished period rooms in the original Merchant's House and exhibits in the Sail Lo...
✓
✓
5.4 mi from Exmouth
Countryside Museum
Countryside Museum sits within Bicton Park Botanical Gardens in Bicton, East Devon, and traces how village life, farming, horticulture and rural crafts changed during the early 20t...
7.2 mi from Exmouth
Bishopsteignton Museum
Bishopsteignton Museum, run by Bishopsteignton Heritage, is a small local history resource in Bishopsteignton, Teignbridge, Devon, where you can search an archive of stories about...
8.6 mi from Exmouth
Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum
Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum sits in a beautifully converted chapel on Chapel Street, right in the heart of Sidmouth's shopping area, and is a good choice if you're staying nearby...
8.6 mi from Exmouth
Sidmouth Museum
Sidmouth Museum sits in the heart of Sidmouth, East Devon, housed in a historic building with two floors of beautifully curated displays telling the story of Sidmouth and the Sid V...
8.8 mi from Exmouth
Exeter's Underground Passages
Exeter's Underground Passages take you through medieval vaulted tunnels originally built to carry clean drinking water into the walled city, with tales of wars, sieges and plague a...
✓
8.9 mi from Exmouth
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Museum and art gallery in Exeter, Devon, England, UK
✓
9.5 mi from Exmouth
The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is a free public museum and academic research facility holding one of Britain's largest collections on cinema and moving image history, built around...
✓
10.3 mi from Exmouth
Whimple Heritage Centre
Whimple Heritage Centre is Devon's only cider museum, telling the story of the famous Whiteway's Cyder factory that once stood at the heart of this East Devon village. Run by enthu...
✓
✓
✓
10.9 mi from Exmouth
Newton Abbot Museum
Newton Abbot Museum sits in a restored Victorian church, Newton's Place, and tells the story of the town through more than 17,000 collected items, from prehistoric finds to railway...
✓
✓
✓
11.8 mi from Exmouth
Torquay Museum
Torquay Museum tells the story of 400 million years of Torbay's heritage through hands-on, family-friendly exhibitions, including a popular Agatha Christie display with original co...
✓
11.9 mi from Exmouth
Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre
Housed in a restored old railway station, Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre tells the story of the town from medieval times to the present. You'll find archive material, photographs and...
✓
✓
12 mi from Exmouth
Dinosaur World
Dinosaur World is an indoor exhibition in Torquay harbour where you can walk among life-size dinosaurs such as a Triceratops and Dimetrodon, explore scaled scenes, dig for fossils...
✓
✓
12.8 mi from Exmouth
Kelly Mine
Kelly Mine is a disused metalliferous mine situated on the eastern flank of Dartmoor near the village of Lustleigh in Devon, England. It was intermittently operational from the 179... — Wikipedia
✓
✓
Theme Parks
5.8 mi from Exmouth
Crealy Adventure Park
Crealy Theme Park & Resort is a family theme park near Exeter in Farringdon, East Devon, with over 60 rides and attractions, including the South West's only inverted ride and the S...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
17.8 mi from Exmouth
Diggerland
Diggerland is a hands-on theme park where you can ride, drive and operate real diggers, dumpers and other full-size construction machinery, alongside more than 20 rides and drives...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
21.5 mi from Exmouth
Woodlands Family Theme Park
Woodlands Family Theme Park is Devon's largest theme park, offering water rides, a zoo farm with reptiles, meerkats and parrots, and one of the South West's largest indoor play are...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Zoos & Wildlife
11.9 mi from Exmouth
Theden Animal Park
Trago Mills is a chain of four department stores in south Cornwall, south Devon in England, and south Wales. It owns a site with an amusement park and some independent businesses,... — Wikipedia
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
+2
15.3 mi from Exmouth
Paignton Zoo
Paignton Zoo is an 80-acre zoological park in Torbay, Devon, home to more than 1,800 animals including Sumatran tigers, western lowland gorillas, Bornean orangutans and Rothschild'...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
+1
26.6 mi from Exmouth
Foxdown Childrens Farm
Foxdown Children's Farm is a small family-run working farm set high in the Marshwood Vale, West Dorset, with views towards the Jurassic coastline. Here you can wander at leisure, p...
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
+2
Where to stay near Exmouth
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Exmouth
Itineraries
Haunted Britain
Exmouth makes a handy base for exploring this part of Devon. Within easy reach of town you'll find a quirky National Trust house, a local museum, a castle, a stately home and a couple of very good options for animal-loving children. Below, we've sorted the standout attractions by type, suggested how to group them into a sensible day, and pointed you towards places to eat with top hygiene ratings.
Family favourites
If you're travelling with children, Crealy Adventure Park is the obvious headline. It's a theme park, so plan for most of a day there rather than squeezing it in around other things.
For animals, you have two quite different choices. Shaldon Zoo (Shaldon Wildlife Trust), listed under Dawlish, suits younger children and shorter attention spans. Paignton Zoo is the bigger outing and works best as a dedicated day. Over in Sidmouth, Mansell Raceway is a theme-park attraction that tends to go down well with older children and teenagers.
Rainy day options
Devon weather can turn quickly, so it helps to have a few indoor plans ready.
- Indoor Fun Pool, Exmouth: a water park option that doesn't depend on sunshine, and a good way to burn off energy.
- Exmouth Museum: a small local museum, right in town and easy to fit around a wet morning.
- Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum: a nostalgic browse for grown-ups and a treat for children who like miniatures.
Many of the heritage properties below are largely indoor visits too, which makes them sound choices when the forecast looks uncertain.
Heritage and historic houses
This is where the area really shines. A la Ronde, a National Trust property, is one of the most distinctive houses you'll visit in Devon and an easy pick from an Exmouth base. Marker's Cottage, also National Trust, is a smaller, more intimate visit.
For something grander, Powderham Castle offers a full castle-and-heritage day out. Killerton House is a stately home that rewards an unhurried visit. Pairing it with Marker's Cottage gives you a contrast between a large house and a modest one.
If you hold National Trust membership, check which properties it covers before you set off. It can make a real difference to the cost of a short break.
Getting outdoors
On a dry day, the zoos and Crealy Adventure Park give you a full day in the open air. The larger heritage properties, particularly Killerton House and Powderham Castle, are also worth saving for good weather, when you can take your time arriving and wandering around rather than dashing between buildings.
Grouping attractions into a day
Trying to cover too much is the easiest way to spoil a day out. These combinations keep travelling down and enjoyment up:
- An Exmouth day: A la Ronde in the morning, then Exmouth Museum. If the weather turns, finish at the Indoor Fun Pool.
- A Sidmouth day: Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum for a calmer start, then Mansell Raceway for the children, with an ice cream stop to round things off.
- A stately day: Killerton House and Marker's Cottage together, giving you two very different homes in one outing.
- A castle day: Powderham Castle on its own, at a relaxed pace.
- An animal day: either Shaldon Zoo (Shaldon Wildlife Trust) or Paignton Zoo. Pick one rather than both.
Where to eat
All of the following hold a 5-star food hygiene rating, so you can eat with confidence:
- Waterside Bistro: a pub-and-inn option for a sit-down meal.
- The Salterton Arms: another pub and inn, good for a relaxed lunch or dinner.
- Krispies: fish and chips, which is hard to beat after a day out.
- The Deli: local produce, handy for picnic supplies before a heritage day.
- Taste of Sidmouth: ice cream, and a natural fit with a Sidmouth day.
Turning it into a short break
There are 94 places to stay on BritStays in the Exmouth area, so you have plenty of choice. A three-night stay lets you do one heritage day, one family day and one flexible day held back for whatever the weather brings.
A sensible pattern is to keep the outdoor-heavy days, such as Crealy Adventure Park, the zoos and Powderham Castle, for the best forecast. Have the Indoor Fun Pool, Exmouth Museum and Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum ready for wetter spells.
Practical tips before you go
- Check opening days and times directly with each attraction before travelling. Smaller museums and heritage houses may keep seasonal hours.
- Book ahead for the bigger attractions during school holidays where online booking is offered.
- Bring your National Trust card if you have one, for A la Ronde and Marker's Cottage.
- Pack a waterproof layer whatever the season.
- Pick up picnic food at The Deli on days when you'll be out for a long stretch.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best rainy day activities in Exmouth?
The Indoor Fun Pool and Exmouth Museum are both in Exmouth itself. Sidmouth Toy and Model Museum is another good indoor choice. Heritage houses such as A la Ronde are largely indoor visits too.
Which National Trust properties can I visit from Exmouth?
A la Ronde and Marker's Cottage are both National Trust properties. Check your membership before visiting.
What is there for families to do near Exmouth?
Crealy Adventure Park is the main theme park. Shaldon Zoo (Shaldon Wildlife Trust) and Paignton Zoo are good for animal lovers, Mansell Raceway in Sidmouth suits older children, and the Indoor Fun Pool in Exmouth is a good wet-weather option.
Where can I eat with a 5-star hygiene rating?
Waterside Bistro, The Salterton Arms, Krispies (fish and chips), The Deli and Taste of Sidmouth (ice cream) all hold 5-star food hygiene ratings.
Is there a castle to visit from Exmouth?
Yes. Powderham Castle is a castle and heritage attraction that works well as a relaxed full day out.
How many places to stay are there in the Exmouth area on BritStays?
There are 94 places to stay on BritStays in the Exmouth area.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Exmouth.