Short answer: The ferry down to Dartmouth Castle is around £3.50 a head and is the best value thing here. The town itself, the quay and the coves cost nothing to walk. Café Alf Resco and Dudley's both do good food at fair prices, and Bespoke is the cheapest good coffee in town.
It has the reputation of an expensive town, and the restaurants at the top end will happily prove it. But the ferries are cheap, the walking is free, and the best breakfast places are priced normally. A family day here for fifty pounds is realistic in a way it is not in Salcombe.
The little ferry down to Dartmouth Castle costs around £3.50 per person for a fifteen to twenty minute trip, and reviewers describe it as very good value. It gives you the best view of the castle on the approach and saves driving the narrow road out. You can walk back along the water's edge afterwards for free.
The Kingswear ferry across the river is cheaper still and connects to the steam railway if you want to spend more, or just to a walk on the other side if you do not.
The town itself is the attraction — narrow Tudor and Georgian streets behind a working quay, the Bayard's Cove area, and the Embankment along the river. Sugary Cove is a three-minute walk from the castle or half an hour on foot from town, with warm clear water for an afternoon swim.
If you want a proper walk, the coast path east towards Brixham or west past Blackpool Sands has secluded bays along it and costs nothing beyond the parking.
Bespoke, tucked off the main streets, does the best coffee in Dartmouth with fresh toasties and almond croissants at competitive prices — it is genuinely small, so not one for pushchairs. Café Alf Resco is the institution and reasonably priced for the quality, open from seven with a covered courtyard.
Dudley's on Lower Street has an extensive gluten-free menu and crab sandwiches at café rather than restaurant prices. The Dartmouth Arms does pizzas and Tex-Mex at sensible prices with a river view.
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