Short answer: Torquay has a mainline station, which makes it one of the easiest Devon resorts to reach car-free. The harbour and Torre Abbey Sands are walkable from it. The cliff railway handles Babbacombe, and buses reach Cockington, Paignton and Brixham.
Torquay is on the railway, with services from Exeter and beyond, and Paignton one stop further along. That puts it in a different category to Woolacombe or Salcombe — you can be here for a day trip rather than needing to build a journey around it.
Torre Abbey Sands, the main beach, and the harbour and Victoria Parade where the eating and drinking is. That covers the core of central Torquay on foot.
This is Torquay's cleverest bit of infrastructure for anyone without a car. The Babbacombe Cliff Railway has run since 1926, costs a couple of pounds each way, takes four minutes, is fully wheelchair accessible and carries dogs. It connects Babbacombe Downs down to Oddicombe beach.
The road down to Babbacombe is steep with sharp bends — with no car, the railway is not a novelty, it is the sensible route.
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.
About ten minutes from the harbour area and reachable on foot or by a short bus hop. Worth knowing the car park is small anyway, so arriving without one is no disadvantage — book a tour slot in season either way.
Train to Torquay, walk the harbour and Torre Abbey Sands, bus or walk up to Babbacombe, cliff railway down to Oddicombe and back, then eat on Victoria Parade before the train home. No car needed at any point, and it is a full day.
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