Get a feel for this friendly university city, with its designer shops, historic buildings and underground passages, before heading out to explore the surrounding area.

Car hire in Exeter is essential if you want to see more of Devon. Both the north and south coasts are within easy driving distance and there is plenty to see inland. Because TravelSupermarket goes the extra mile to bring you the widest choice of travel deals, including low-cost car rental in Exeter, you don’t need to go anywhere else to get on the road at the right price.

After exploring the attractions of central Exeter, drive towards the port town of Exmouth (30 minutes by road), with its quaint architecture and great opportunities for water sports and bird watching.

From Exmouth, journey along the coast to reach Sidmouth, a seaside town and the start of Britain's Jurassic Coast – a World Heritage Site and important conservation area. Summer is very musical in Sidmouth; every August the town hosts a well-known folk festival while the local brass band holds concerts every Sunday evening in Connaught Gardens.

On the other side of the River Exe is the popular seaside resort of Dawlish (30 minutes from Exeter). It has the sheltered Lyme Bay beach, a dramatic coastline and some beautiful black swans.

Keep heading west to Teignmouth, a fashionable holiday resort in Georgian times and home to a thriving summer folk festival.

If you want to book car hire, Exeter Airport (EXT) is a well-stocked rental location and highly convenient for visitors arriving by air. You could be on the road within minutes after breezing through arrivals at this small and friendly airport. A taxi journey between the airport and the city can cost from £14. So with daily rates on Exeter car hire starting at less than a one-way taxi trip, it’s not hard to see that car rental is a great investment in your Devon break.

Finding your ideal car at the right price is easy, because TravelSupermarket searches wider to bring you top car hire deals (so you don’t have to).

It pays to search wider, plan smarter and Travel Super in Exeter with TravelSupermarket.

Further along the coast from Teignmouth is the Torbay area, where the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham gather around a natural harbour. Its mild climate and numerous leisure activities have made it a popular tourist area, from which you can head back to Exeter along the A380 or carry on along the coast to Plymouth, the site of Western Europe's biggest operational naval base.

Plymouth and Cornwall can also be reached along the A38, which skirts Dartmoor National Park. Access to the park can be gained through the towns of Bovey Tracey or Buckfastleigh. The latter is the site of Brook Manor House, inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.

Alternatively, a trip northeast along the M5 will take you towards Tiverton, an historic town at the confluence of the rivers Exe and Lowman, and on to Barnstaple, a north-coast seaside town of architectural interest. Explore the harbour town and modern art centre of Ilfracombe, the surfing paradise of Woolacombe, or head to Lynton, the setting for the Victorian novel “Lorna Doone”.

Further west along the north coast of Devon is the super quaint, privately owned village of Clovelly, which features views over the Bristol Channel and a cobbled main street that is populated by donkeys and is so steep that deliveries have to be made by sledge!

With so much do, make sure you arrange Exeter car hire to enjoy the sights.