Short answer: Sidmouth's railway closed decades ago, so it is the bus from Exeter or Honiton. Once you are here it is one of the flattest and most walkable seaside towns in Devon, and the esplanade, the gardens and the shops are all within a few minutes.
Sidmouth had a branch line and it closed. Today it is the bus, from Exeter along the coast or from Honiton on the mainline. It is a slower arrival than Exmouth or Teignmouth, and it is the reason Sidmouth stays as quiet as it does.
Bus timetables in Devon thin out sharply from October and change between summer and winter. Check the operator's current timetable before you plan a day around a connection rather than trusting an old printout or an app that has not refreshed.
This is where Sidmouth repays you. It is unusually flat for a Devon seaside town — the esplanade runs level along the front, the High Street behind it is largely on the flat, and everything you want is within a few minutes of everything else. No hills, no lanes, no parking.
Weston Beach, east of town, is half a mile of near-empty beach reached by a twenty to thirty minute walk down from the clifftop, steep in places, with no facilities. It is entirely doable without a car — it needs no car at all — but it is a hike rather than a stroll.
Beer and Seaton are both east along the coast road and both on bus routes. Beer Quarry Caves are the best-rated attraction in east Devon and are a mile inland from Beer village. Seaton Tramway runs three miles up the Axe estuary and has free parking at the Colyton end — irrelevant to you, but the trams themselves are a good car-free afternoon.
Budleigh Salterton and Exmouth are west along the same coast.
Sidmouth is harder to reach without a car than Exmouth or Teignmouth and considerably easier to enjoy once you have arrived. If you are staying rather than day-tripping, it is one of the better car-free bases in Devon.
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