On the Water | Salcombe Cottage Holidays

Learn to sail in Salcombe

Salcombe has a proud maritime history, once trimming the ocean waves with its famous fruit clippers and home to such classic designs as the ‘tenacious’ Salcombe Yawl. Every year, hundreds of sailors drop anchor in Salcombe Harbour, many participating in the town’s annual regattas and exciting summer racing schedule.

If you’re keen to learn the ropes, Salcombe Dinghy Sailing is a Royal Yachting Association accredited training centre offering expert tuition and seamanship skills for both adults and children.

With its prominent position overlooking the harbour, Salcombe Yacht Club provides a social hub for sailors and also runs a variety of courses alongside a busy calendar of sailing events on the beautiful estuary waters.

Another longstanding sailing association in Salcombe is the Island Cruising Club with a benevolent tradition of helping landlubbers find their sea legs. Where better to embark upon your sailing careers than the clear, open waters of Salcombe.

Boat hire & yacht charters

Setting sail with your hand on the tiller or sitting back and relaxing with an experienced skipper at the helm, there’s no right way to explore the enchanting backwaters and sweeping channels of the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary, only your way.

Found on the bustling waters of Whitestrand Quay, Whitestrand Boat Hire’s self-drive fleet has a vessel to suit all your needs. From its CAP 400s, perfect for beach hopping and mooring alongside pub pontoons, to its Krüger Cuddys ideal for ocean goers and mackerel fishing, it’s time to explore these majestic waters.

It’s an opportunity to charter the iconic Salcombe Yawl and meander the gentle estuary wends, mooring up upon secret beaches and alongside pretty waterside inns. Built from pitch pine, the eighteen-foot traditional harbour launch known as ‘Ibis’ and the ‘Taylor Maid’ Y61 thoroughbred racing boat are also available via Yawl & Launch Hire Salcombe under the expert tutorage of renowned Salcombe seaman, Bill ‘Scratch’ Hitchen.

Operating from its small pontoon near Salcombe’s historic Island Street, Boat Hire Salcombe is a family-run business with a tidy fleet of new Whaly 435s equipped with outboard engines ideal for pootling around the estuary and day trips to the white sandy beaches of neighbouring East Portlemouth.

Enjoy some quality time with your loved ones on board a luxury yacht, complete with skipper, when you book a Sailfunk Yachting experience. A great way to spend those special occasions, you’ll be wined and dined on deck as you cruise the stunning South Devon coastline enjoying brilliant sunsets and such memorable sights as dolphins playing in the wake water.

Anyone who enjoys the exhilaration of a full throttle outboard engine will be in their element when they saddle up with the Salcombe Powerboat School and learn how to handle some serious horsepower and trim. For another white-knuckle experience the whole family can enjoy, head to Sea N Shore to book a thrilling RIB ride around the majestic South Devon coast.

Stand up paddle boarding (SUP)

It’s the fastest growing watersport in the UK, offering both young and old the opportunity to glide along tranquil creeks at their leisure or take their chances mastering the surf. Stand up paddle boarding is an extremely popular pursuit for holidaymakers visiting Salcombe providing a watersports activity the whole family can enjoy.

Based at Port Waterhouse and surrounded by white sandy inlets, Salcombe Paddleboarding allows you to take full advantage of Salcombe’s peaceful estuary waters set in the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Further along this precious waterway lies the picturesque market town of Kingsbridge, and it’s here, at the end of the flower-adorned promenade, that you’ll find Waterborn; a thriving SUP company operating from the Crabshell Inn. Under the watchful eye of one of its BSUPA qualified instructors, you and your holiday party can enjoy the freedom of the estuary.

If you’re in the mood for an outdoor spiritual escape, a SUP yoga class courtesy of Simply Soulful combines the tranquillity of the creek with ancient breathing techniques and energising postures.

Kayaking, coasteering, wakeboarding & scuba

There’s a wealth of watersports in Salcombe to choose from, all of them led by adventure experts who know every last crag of the local coastline. From kayaking expeditions and the thrills and spills of coasteering, to diving sunken shipwrecks and adrenaline-fuelled wakeboarding sessions, Salcombe has it all!

Follow the Cliff Road out of town to the sheltered shores of South Sands, home of Sea Kayak Salcombe. This popular adventure paddling centre offers a variety of expeditions from bay and coastal tours to rock hopper trips and gentle creek paddles. Bespoke packages are available for groups, be it parties of friends, family gatherings, stags, hens or corporate get-togethers.

There’s no better way to explore Salcombe’s rocky shores and smugglers’ coves than a day spent coasteering. An ideal activity for family groups and large holiday parties, local outward-bound companies such as Adventure South and Salcombe Sea N Shore can guide your merry band of coastal adventurers across exciting rocky terrain to explore hidden caves and inlets, with the added option of exhilarating jumps and plunges. It’s also a unique way to view the fascinating local wildlife. Both these dynamic South Devon outfits run various outdoor team challenges as well as other fun-filled activities such as, wakeboarding, water-skiing, banana boats and doughnut rides.

Maybe you’d prefer to explore what lies beneath Salcombe’s sparkling waters and the shipwrecks that have settled along the ocean floor. With unrivalled knowledge of South Devon’s incredible seabeds, Falcon Diving Charters will guide you through the wrecks, reefs and rock pinnacles that lie submerged in the bays around the South Devon coast. Who knows what sunken treasures you might find?

Surfing holidays

If you’re searching for your very own ‘Endless Summer’ the beaches around Salcombe are sure to be a big hit. South Devon is considered one of the UK’s surfing meccas, its sandy bays and gleaming rollers ideal for all those keen to learn this soulful art. It’s easy to see why surfing remains one of Salcombe’s most popular watersports.

You won’t have to travel far for your first decent break, the sparkling waters of North Sands - only a short, scenic walk from Salcombe town centre - conjuring up some exciting waves peaking on the left and right channels and ‘getting kegged’ in the right conditions and a great place for grommets (beginners) to find their feet. The beach has plenty of parking, a lovely seaside café and picnic area boasting stunning views past Salcombe Bar and is also dog-friendly. There is no lifeguarding service at North Sands, but the sheltered clear waters are considered safe and shallow.

Further round the magnificent headland, following the South West Coast Path around Bolt Tail towards the gleaming waters of Bigbury Bay, lie two of the region’s best surfing beaches. Found at the mouth of the River Avon and backed by rolling hills and sand dunes, Bantham Beach is a surfer’s paradise. It’s here that you’ll find Bantham Surfing Academy whose Surfing GB qualified instructors provide tuition for all levels, beginners through to elite. Further round the bay is Bigbury-on-Sea Beach, a golden stretch that’s home to Discovery Surf School, whose dedicated team of coaches are surfing past masters introducing hundreds of would-be wave-riders to the sport every year. Both these popular beaches have seasonal lifeguarding patrols and plenty of amenities.

A couple of miles inland from Bantham Beach is one of South Devon’s largest surf and watersports shops, Triocean surf, where you can find a huge selection of surfboards, kayaks, wetsuits and surfing hardware.

Ferries, boat tours & fishing trips

A day spent discovering the tranquil creeks and secret beaches of the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary is guaranteed to be a memorable one. Set in the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the sweeping bays and scenic waterways around Salcombe continue to captivate all those who visit.

The East Portlemouth Ferry is a much-loved clinker built vessel that transports foot passengers between Salcombe and the neighbouring rural parish of East Portlemouth. Every year this adorable ferryboat chugs the harbour waters returning holidaymakers from the white, sandy beaches that hug the estuary, providing an invaluable local service.

The long-serving South Sands Ferry is another regular sight on the Salcombe Harbour waters, its dazzling yellow awning and sky blue hull instantly recognisable. Running between Whitestrand Quay and South Sands Beach, this picturesque journey offers a lovely break from the meandering South West Coast Path. Kids will love the chance to ride the famous sea tractor that greets the ferry at South Sands before chugging gently back up the estuary. Private charters are available on request and evening trips to the neighbouring estuary town of Kingsbridge and the pretty creekside village of South Pool often run during the summer months.

Navigating the waterways between Salcombe and Kingsbridge during the busy summer months, the Rivermaid offers one of the UK’s most scenic ferryboat trips, taking in the estuary’s many tranquil creeks and hidden inlets before rounding the deeper, more sheltered waters referred to locally as ‘The Bag’ and wending its way past the pretty headland jut known as Snapes Point. As well as its regular foot passenger ferry service, the Rivermaid also runs a seasonal schedule of pleasure cruises helping to make this iconic double decked vessel one of the area’s most cherished tourist attractions.

If your idea of holiday bliss lies at the end of a rod and reel, you’ll be delighted to know that there are a number of fishing charters running out of Salcombe Harbour. Whether you’re all aboard the Woodpecker for a mackerel fishing day trip under the watchful eye of an expert skipper from Whitestrand Boat Hire, or headed for deeper waters on deck of the Anglo Dawn to enjoy a fishing excursion courtesy of Salcombe Angling - when it comes to landing your catch of the day Salcombe has it hook, line and sinker!