Plymouth sits at the edge of Dartmoor, a short ferry ride from Cornwall, and within easy reach of the Tamar valley. Most day trips require no car — the ferries to Cawsand and Cremyll are a Plymouth institution.
Cremyll and Cawsand
Take a boat from Plymouth to Cawsand, a scenic crossing past Drake's Island and along the south Cornish coast through Mount Edgcumbe Country Park. The twin villages of Cawsand and Kingsand have small beaches good for rock-scrambling at low tide. From Cawsand, take a bus to Cremyll and return to Plymouth on the Cremyll ferry (passengers only) across the Tamar to Stonehouse Quay — a much more scenic return than the Torpoint car ferry. Nearly every Plymouth local has done this trip; many visitors miss it.
Onto Dartmoor
For a single attraction within easy reach, Buckland Abbey sits on the moor's southern fringe near Yelverton — a 13th-century Cistercian monastery turned Tudor house, once home to Sir Francis Drake and now a National Trust museum. It also makes an easy outing from Tavistock, the old stannary town just to the north.