Travel options to Dartmoor from Exeter Airport

Travel Options to Dartmoor from Exeter Airport

Dartmoor National Park is a picture-perfect escape from city life. Abandoned medieval structures and Bronze Age stone circles are surrounded by forests, rivers, unique rock formations and wetlands, transporting you back to the Middle Ages. There are plenty of ways to travel to the towns in Dartmoor, whether you’re coming from Manchester or outside of Europe. Of course, the quickest way to get to Dartmoor if you’re coming from out of town is by flying, with the closest aviation hub to the moorland being Exeter (EXT). A few holiday operators cater to Exeter, including Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines, but the company with the most comprehensive flight schedule would have to be Flybe, since it currently has a crew base at EXT.

As Parking4Less indicates on their dedicated page for Exeter Airport, the hub is accessible to passengers from all over the UK, as well as international destinations like Paris and Amsterdam, which serve as a connecting port to the rest of the world.

Because of the frequency of bus and train services to the national park, the most convenient way to travel from the airport is by car. In any case, here are all your options to get to Dartmoor:

By Car or Taxi

If you can’t pre-book your car by phone, you can head straight to Apple Central Taxis at the Arrivals Hall. Exeter has a couple of choices in terms of car hire companies. Travellers have a choice of taking either the A30 to Cornwall or the A38 to Plymouth, exiting at Whiddon Down and Bovey Tracey, respectively. One thing that drivers should be wary of is the 40mph speed limit, which was purposefully set up to protect the wandering cattle, ponies and sheep. Alternatively, you can just book a taxi with the airport taxi company.

By Bus and/or Train

From the airport, you will have to travel to central train and bus stations via Lines 56 and 56A, which travels 5 times a day and takes about 20 minutes. From Exeter Central or Exeter St. Davids, you should take Line 23, since it's the bus that runs through the park. However, it only runs once a week, so you’ll want to consider taking the trains towards the boundaries of the park (unless your travel plans align with the Line 23 schedule). Trainline shares that there are three main stations between Exeter and Plymouth, which are Newton Abbot, Ivybridge and Totnes. These are near the southern edge of Dartmoor National Park and are connected to the local bus railway networks.

Safe travels to Dartmoor!