Short answer: The beach is free, and at low tide the walk across the sand to Burgh Island is free too. When the tide covers it, the sea tractor costs about £2 with under-tens free. Bring cash — the car park app rarely works.
Burgh Island sits just offshore, joined to the mainland by a sandbar. At low tide you walk across for nothing. When the tide covers the sand, a sea tractor on tall stilts drives you through the water for about £2, with children under ten free.
It is the most memorable two pounds on this coast.
Bigbury Beach is wide, flat and sandy with RNLI lifeguards, an accessible ramp, toilets and a café. It faces west, so the sunsets are the best in the South Hams — and free. On the island, walking right round and up to the ruined chapel costs nothing.
This is also a budget point. The tide comes in from both sides and cuts the causeway faster than people expect. Plan around it and you walk both ways for free; get it wrong and you pay for the tractor back.
The main car park pays by app and the phone signal is poor. The lower car park has a cash ticket machine. Budget for parking before anything else.
The single biggest saving on any Devon day out is lunch. A picnic on a free beach or in a free park turns a £50 day into a £25 one, and the money you keep pays for the one thing actually worth paying for.
Venus Cafe in the lower car park has sea views and a varied menu. The Pilchard Inn on the island is a 14th-century pub worth a drink rather than a meal — it is priced for the location, and outdoor drinks carry a £2 cup deposit.
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