The Best Holiday Cottages and Airbnbs in Totnes
Staying in Totnes itself, rather than out in the surrounding villages, is its own particular kind of holiday. You wake up to the high-street butcher unloading from his van, you walk five minutes to the market on Friday, you wander home from dinner past medieval timber-frames and an 11th-century castle. The town’s holiday cottages and Airbnbs trade on exactly that: short walks, real character, properly independent owners. These are the lets worth booking when the town itself is the trip.
Town-centre studios for two
Primrose Studio
A self-contained apartment two minutes from the high street, beautifully converted in 2021 with slate and wooden floors over underfloor heating, a wood-burning stove, a roll-top bath plus walk-in shower, and a galley kitchen. Around £100 to £140 a night via Airbnb, year-round, no dogs, sleeps two. The kind of place where the photos turn out to be accurate.
The Painter’s Cabin
Five minutes’ walk from the centre and the river, with views to Totnes castle and the Dartmoor hills beyond. A single self-contained cabin for two with a small terrace, full kitchen and wood-burner. Around £90 to £130 a night, year-round, no dogs. Quiet location despite being close to town.
The Artist’s Mews Studio
A central Totnes studio tucked into a mews lane, often in the most-popular Airbnb listings for the town. Around £85 to £120 a night, year-round, sleeps two, no dogs. The mews setting cuts the noise from the high street while keeping you a one-minute walk from the bakery on Fore Street.
Cottages and family-size lets
Garden Cottage
A two-bedroom cottage in a hidden garden setting within Totnes itself: rare for a town this small. Sleeps four, with a small private garden. Around £130 to £200 a night, year-round, dog-friendly by arrangement. Listed both on Airbnb and through local agencies.
Dart View Barn
A converted barn within walking distance of the centre, with views over the Dart Valley and space for up to six. Around £700 to £1,400 a week depending on season, year-round, dog-friendly. Quieter side of town with the river-valley walks straight from the doorstep.
Riverside and quay-side lets
Totnes Centre Charming Flat
A central flat right near the Quay, sleeping two to four, around £100 to £150 a night via Airbnb. Walking distance to both the high-street shops and the river quay. Year-round. Variable on dogs depending on the booking; ask the host.
Steam Packet Inn riverside rooms
Not technically a cottage, but worth mentioning: the Steam Packet on St Peter’s Quay has six rooms with proper river views, around £100 to £140 a night with breakfast. The trade-off versus a self-catering let is that you don’t get a kitchen, but you do get the river outside the window and the conservatory restaurant downstairs.
How to pick a Totnes town let
A few practical considerations. The high street is built into a steep hill, so check where your let sits on the gradient if anyone in the group has mobility issues; the lower town near the Plains and quay is much flatter than the climb up to the East Gate and the castle. Parking is the other thing to confirm: most Totnes lets don’t have private parking and you’ll be using the long-stay car parks at Heath’s Nursery or the Steamer Quay (around £8 to £10 a day). Some Airbnb hosts include a permit for street parking; ask before you assume.
Booking windows for Totnes town lets are tightest around Totnes Festival weeks (late summer) and Christmas. Off-peak weeks in January, February, March and November almost always have last-minute availability with discounts. The local insider tip: ask the host about their favourite breakfast spot. Almost everyone running a Totnes Airbnb has a strong opinion on whether you should head for the Curator, Pie Street, or the Royal Seven Stars for coffee in the morning. They’ll be right, and they’ll be different.
Why a town stay works better than people expect
The temptation when planning a Devon trip is to base yourself somewhere with a sea view, then drive into Totnes for a day. The locals’ tip is to flip that: stay in Totnes itself, then take days out to the coast. The mainline station puts you on an hourly train to Paignton, Torquay or Plymouth in twenty minutes, the bus links reach Dartmouth, Salcombe and Dartmoor without too much trouble, and you’ve got the high street five minutes from the kettle when you get back. A town stay also gives you the evening Totnes: the high street empties of day-trippers, the Bull and the Steam Packet fill up, and you start to see how the town actually lives rather than how it looks on a summer Saturday afternoon.
Combine a town let with a Sharpham vineyard tour, a kayak trip on the upper Dart, an afternoon at Dartington and a day on the South Devon Railway, and you’ve used your stay as a properly central base. The whole Dart Valley unfolds out from the high street in a way that’s much easier to plan than it looks on a map. Pick your let, walk to dinner, and let the town do the rest.