The 2026 season ends on Thursday 29 October. Five sailing days remain from 15 October, and the company has not yet announced its 2027 dates.
2026 Dartmouth–Totnes boat timetable (PDF dated January 2026) and the operator's day-by-day timetable page, both read on 15 October 2026; they agree on every remaining date. The season ends on 29 October 2026. Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Co — 2026 Dartmouth–Totnes boat timetable (PDF) · 2026-10-15
Ninety minutes, about nine miles, £20 one way. That is the boat between Dartmouth and Totnes, run by the Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Company along almost the whole navigable length of the River Dart. It is sold above all as a return cruise with commentary, yet a one-way ticket exists, and the trip works perfectly well as transport between the two South Devon towns.
What it does not have is a regular timetable. The river is tidal right up to Totnes, so the company sails only on dates it lists in advance, each with its own times. In October 2026 those dates fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the season, which began on 31 March, finishes on Thursday 29 October.
It is also not the short ferry over the river mouth to Kingswear, a five-minute crossing that links Dartmouth with the steam railway. This boat heads inland instead.
A single costs £20 per adult, while children aged three to fifteen pay £14. The return cruise is £23 and £17, so sailing back as well adds just £3, and a family return for two adults with a maximum of three children is £72. A dog pays £3.
The one-way fare is sold through a separate page on the operator's site and is printed in its 2026 leaflet, even though the main ticket menu lists only the return. For a round trip without the same boat twice, the Round Robin (£43 for an adult) adds the steam train between Paignton and Kingswear, the passenger ferry across to Dartmouth and the bus between Totnes and Paignton.
| Adult | £ 20 |
| Child, 3–15 | £ 14 |
| Adult | £ 23 |
| Child, 3–15 | £ 17 |
| Family (2 adults, max. 3 children) | £ 72 |
| Dog | £ 3 |
| Round Robin, adult | £ 43 |
| Round Robin, child | £ 27.50 |
| Round Robin, family | £ 125 |
2026 prices from the operator's ticket pages and its 2026 leaflet, read on 15 October 2026 Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Co — Dartmouth to Totnes river cruise tickets · 2026-10-15
Upstream from Dartmouth the boat passes under the Britannia Royal Naval College, which has trained naval officers on the hill above the town since 1863, then the riverside villages of Dittisham and Stoke Gabriel, Agatha Christie's Greenway estate and the wooded slopes and vineyards of Sharpham before the river narrows towards Totnes. The operator describes the trip as covering nearly all of the navigable Dart, and the crew keep up a commentary on the way.
The company's blue-topped kiosks stand along the North and South Embankment, beside the river in the middle of Dartmouth, and that is where tickets are sold and the river boats board. It has no car park of its own: it suggests the Park and Ride at the top of the town on the A3122, opposite Sainsbury's, or the three-hour short-stay car park facing the Embankment, which belongs to South Hams District Council.
From the bottom of Totnes town, cross the bridge and take the first right, signposted Steamer Quay. The two car parks there take all-day parking but charge, and the kiosk staff cannot give change for the machines. At low water passengers may have to climb as many as 13 steps to reach the boat; the company marks in blue the high-tide sailings when the climb is shortest.
The Dart is tidal up to Totnes, so the company works around the tide and publishes a different pair of times for every sailing date.
Passengers who use a wheelchair must be able to walk a few steps at the boarding gate, as crews may not lift occupied chairs; motorised chairs and scooters cannot be carried on the river boats.
Well-behaved dogs are carried on all the company's trips for £3 each.
The Round Robin bus between Steamer Quay and Paignton bus station operates solely on Dartmouth–Totnes sailing days.
Not permitted on any of the company's trains, boats or stations.
Paddle steamers once worked this stretch as everyday transport. According to the company, Kingswear Castle, built in Dartmouth in 1924, carried almost 500 passengers at a time between Totnes and Dartmouth until 1965; she is back on the river today, but on the shorter circular cruises from Dartmouth rather than the run to Totnes.
Half way up, the boat passes the village of Dittisham, where a small boat called by ringing a bell crosses to Greenway; the Dittisham ferry is the way across the river there, and it runs well beyond the end of the Totnes season.
Yes: £20 per adult, £14 per child. It is easy to miss: the main ticket menu shows only the £23 return, but a separate booking page and the 2026 leaflet both carry the single.
The company plans the Totnes sailings around the tides and in October lists only Tuesdays and Thursdays: 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29 October. The 29th closes the 2026 season, and next year's calendar is still to come.
About 90 minutes. On 15 October, for example, it leaves Dartmouth at 10:00 and arrives at Totnes Steamer Quay at 11:30.
No. That is a five-minute crossing of the river mouth to Kingswear station. The Totnes boat sails about nine miles upstream instead.
At Steamer Quay, TQ9 5AL, where two South Hams District Council car parks offer all-day parking for a charge. The kiosk cannot change notes for the meters.
Yes, well-behaved dogs travel for £3 each on all the company's boats and trains.