Days out in Devon for adults

Don’t let the kids have all the fun. If you're planning for a birthday, stag or hen party, or simply searching for an activity to keep your friends entertained on your South West holiday, you'll find excellent entertainment ideas on this list, but you may have a tricky time narrowing it down. Discover these fantastic things to do in Devon for adults and surprise your friends with an unforgettable holiday.

Enjoy fun and games or head out on an adventure while away with your besties. If you’re in a big group, everyone will have a different opinion on how to spend your time, but luckily, this list will appeal to a wide range of tastes ensuring no one is missing out. From the humble game of footgolf to the more extreme activity of flying a plane, you’ll have a great time in Devon.

If you’re looking for a day out in Devon just for adults, we have collated a list of exciting and adrenaline-filled ways to spend your time while down in the West Country. Choose your favourite for a jammed-packed adventure holiday.

Break out of an escape room

Ever tried to puzzle your way out of an escape room? Bring out your inner Sherlock Holmes for a few hours on a city break to Exeter by hunting for clues in the escape rooms at Red House Mysteries.

A great place for hen and stag parties, birthdays, or to simply give your friends a scare, escape rooms provide a whole new experience for groups of adults looking for a day out. Up to six people can play, or for something a little more unique, look through their interactive experiences - they have options to visit other locations or even hire an experience that you can set up in your own home.

If you’d prefer a short break down in the port city of Plymouth, you could try a stint at Escape Rooms Plymouth before heading down to The Hoe or The Barbican for dinner while you unwind after your tension-filled experience. Or spend your time breaking out of Trapped Escape Rooms in Okehampton and stay at a holiday cottage in Dartmoor National Park for the rest of your getaway where there are plenty more activities to get involved in.

Go coasteering as a group

With impossible climbs, leaps of faith and cave swimming, coasteering is a great adventure activity for adult groups looking to experience something a bit different.

Claiming to take their clients to some of Devon’s most remote cliffs, caves, islands, arches and bays, the team at Rock Solid Coasteering are used to taking stag, hen, birthday, family and corporate parties out to the wilds and they can cater for a wide range of ages and abilities. Choose an experience that you think would suit your group and go explore the fantastic English Riviera.

 Play a game of footgolf 

Less of an adrenalin rush than tension-filled escape rooms and climbing rock faces, but still allowing the chance for plenty of running around, high-energy activity and getting muddy, footgolf is another great group activity that's a good reason to get a few mates together. It’s ideal if you have a group of friends who are still getting to know each other as there’s no time to be self-conscious when charging around a field in your shorts.

Head to Bovey Tracey Golf Centre for a nine-hole course of kicking a football into buckets in the ground – suffice it to say the player with the least kicks wins. It might bring out the competitive streak in people you never expected so give it a try and share a meal in the on-site bar afterwards.

Fly an aeroplane

If you’re looking for that catch-your-breath moment, a flying lesson taking you across the incredible Devon landscape or coastline should do it. That rush of racing through the air at remarkable heights would make an incredible adult activity and a memorable experience.

Dunkeswell Aerodrome is located in the heart of the beautiful Blackdown Hills in East Devon near the border with Somerset, so there’s a chance you could fly over both counties in one trip. If flying the plane is too tame for you, another group at the same airfield offers skydiving experiences. You could book a tandem skydive while on holiday or learn to skydive solo.

If your heart's set on a flying lesson, Aviation South West runs lessons and experiences out of Exeter International Airport, making them a great choice if you are staying in Exeter on a city break, while Eaglescott Airfield in Umberleigh offers flights up to the rugged North Devon coast so you can fly over countryside and seascape.

For those less inclined to go soaring through the air but who’d still like to experience the thrill of it, Virtual Jet Centre in Newton Abbot offers virtual experiences, so you can get that feeling of gliding through the clouds while keeping your feet firmly on the ground.

Take the team on a quad bike safari 

An off-the-beaten-track experience, quite literally, in rural Devon yet near its north coast. Jump on a quad bike and drive through a 200-acre site, careering through woodland, speeding over fields and splashing through water with Keypitts Off Road Adventures.

Other activities on-site include the 4 x 4 Land Rover experience, battlezone archery and axe throwing; take your pick or book out the whole day. There are tons of activities to keep a group entertained on an adult activity day at this North Devon attraction.

Catch some famous North Devon surf

Known for fantastic breakers that roll in off the Atlantic, North Devon’s surf scene is rivalled only by the Cornish beaches down the coast. A favourite sport among locals, the South West is a great place to learn to surf. Spend the day at the beach chatting to instructors and running in and out of the sea while you perfect your cutback. Alright, maybe start off by getting your footing on the board.

Top surfing beaches in the area include world-renowned Croyde, Woolacombe, and Westward Ho! but there’s a whole range of smaller hidden beaches you could head to if you would prefer a little more privacy while you practise.

After your group has got to grips with the sport, you can head to a seaside café or restaurant for a well-deserved meal together. Here are a few surfing schools to get you started: North Devon Surf School, Surf Saunton, Barefoot Surf and Croyde Surf Academy.

Run, jump and climb at the Ultimate Adventure Centre 

Can’t decide what to do? Then head to a place that everyone will love. The Ultimate Adventure Centre in Bideford offers a variety of adventure activities including coasteering, an assault course, high ropes, laser tag and water sports and is used to catering for stag and hen groups, team building groups, birthday parties and groups of friends on holiday. Everyone is welcome and you can head to the local pub afterwards for a well-earned lunch.

Activity-filled holidays in Devon

Which of these things to do in Devon for adults would you like to try? Invite your friends along for a fantastic holiday and pick a couple of these activities that everyone will enjoy.

Our list of days out in Devon for adults is only a glimpse of what’s on offer in the West Country, so feel free to keep perusing our guides and see what else is on offer. 

If you’re travelling with a big group, you’ll need a large holiday home to suit everyone’s needs and impress your friends. To find the perfect place to stay while in Devon, browse through our collection of handpicked holiday cottages and find the ideal home for you.