susheela

We're planning a trip to South Devon this summer. I'll be traveling with my 2 children and my parents, and prefer not to drive from London right after arriving from the US (but also don't want to spend time in London). Any recommendations on how best to reach Devon by air or train? It appears there are no flights to Exeter from Gatwick. Thanks!

Kayb95

If you are arriving at Gatwick, you should be able to take the train to Exeter and rent your car from there. If you are arriving/departing on a weekend, keep in mind that the non-airport car rental offices often close at 1PM on Saturdays and are closed on Sundays.

We were going to take the train to Exeter for our upcoming September trip, but the rental office hours aren't going to work for us. So we are renting our car from Heathrow and driving out (stopping at Stonehenge on the way out, and Longleat or Stourhead on the return trip.)


You can check train times here: www.thetrainline.com

Elizabeth_S

Another option is the coach (bus) - we took the coach from Plymouth to Heathrow after a lovely stay in Tavistock.....here's a link to the National Express site - it looks like there's a coach from Gatwick to Exeter via Heathrow.....don't know if this is more convenient than the train but it was a very comfortable trip - and easy to book online.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home/hp.cfm

GeoffHamer

There are hourly trains from Gatwick to Reading where you can change for Exeter and beyond. That will be much simpler than going into London.

obxgirl

Air Southwest flies from Gatwick to Plymouth four times daily. You can drive or take the train to Exeter from there. It's a little over an hour to drive between the two places.