Short answer: Parking is a flat £8 whether you stay an hour or eight, so on a budget make it a full day. The beach, the pebble ridge and the surf are all free after that. The arcades and doughnut stands are where the rest goes.
Westward Ho! charges £8 for the day regardless of how long you stay. On a budget, that means one thing: stay all day. An hour here is poor value. A whole day on two miles of flat sand is not.
Two miles of flat sand with good waves for bodyboarding, backed by an enormous natural pebble ridge. Crossing the ridge to the small café at the far end is a proper trudge and free. Children spend hours on the sand.
Arcades, a playground and doughnut stands near the front. Set a limit before you walk past them — that is where a £50 day quietly becomes a £70 one.
Across the estuary, also £8 a day to park — but with a visitor centre, clean toilets, ranger events and a free lending library of beach toys. If you forgot the buckets and spades, go here rather than buying new.
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.
The Guillemot Bar at Latitude 51 does enormous portions at fair prices — order the smaller plates unless you are hungry. The Pier House does a carvery alongside a full menu.
The Big Sheep is five minutes inland and a genuinely good day, but it will take most of £50 for a family on its own. Do one or the other, not both.
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