Short answer: Seafront parking in Teignmouth runs to around £4.60 for two hours, which locals openly complain about. The Back Beach car park on the estuary side is larger, cheaper to reach and within walking distance of the town centre. Use the Shaldon ferry rather than driving round.
Teignmouth has two waterfronts and they are priced differently. The seafront is the postcard one — red-brown sand, the pier, Brunel's railway running along the back of the beach — and parking there is around £4.60 for two hours. Regular visitors say plainly that the cost has changed how often they come.
Round on the estuary side, the Back Beach has a large car park and is the side locals prefer anyway. Working boats pulled up on the sand, the docks operating alongside, food shacks and two old pubs a few steps away. It is sheltered when the seafront is being blasted, and the town centre is a short walk from it.
This is the money-saver. Shaldon is directly across the river and the passenger ferry runs from the Back Beach. Driving round means going up to the bridge and paying to park again at the other end. Walk on instead, and you get the village, the beach, the pubs and the Smugglers' Tunnel down to Ness Cove without a second parking charge.
Ness Cove has two car parks and toilets at the top, with the Smugglers' Tunnel down through the cliff to the beach. Around £5 for four hours. Note that the tunnel and beach are not buggy or wheelchair accessible, so check that before committing.
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