Short answer: Paignton's best things are free: the pier is free to walk onto, Paignton Sands is flat and free, and Fairy Cove behind the harbour costs nothing. The zoo and the steam railway are where a £50 budget goes quickly — pick one or neither.
Paignton is the family end of Torbay, and a surprising amount of it costs nothing. The pier is free to walk onto. Paignton Sands is long, flat and free, with the tide staying close so small children do not have far to go to the water.
Fairy Cove, tucked behind the harbour, is a hidden shaded cove with clear water and rock pools — free, and most visitors never find it. It is down steep steps.
Paignton Zoo and the Dartmouth Steam Railway are both genuinely good and neither is cheap for a family. With £50 you can do one of them, or neither and spend it on food and the arcade. Paignton Zoo's own nature reserve, Primley Park, is free and open twenty-four hours.
The one cheap-but-not-free thing. A handful of coins in the penny pushers and grabbers is a proper holiday memory for children and costs a fraction of any attraction. Set a limit before you walk in.
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.
Costero Lounge by the Festival Theatre is comfortable and orders by QR code. Harbour Light is the best-rated pub in Paignton and priced like a pub rather than a restaurant. The Spinning Wheel Inn does a proper carvery.
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