Exeter to Bristol Airport is 66.2 miles by road, and almost all of it is motorway. It is the longest of the journeys people regularly make to Bristol Airport, and in one sense the easiest: no Clean Air Zone, no estuary crossing, no city centre. The complications are elsewhere.
The route
Bristol Airport’s own directions for anyone coming from the south are two lines: leave the M5 at junction 22 and follow signs for the A38. That is it. The A38 then takes you north to the airport.
A route planner will also offer a longer alternative via the M5 and the A370 at 69.4 miles, which on our overnight sample was two minutes slower. In practice you are on the M5 for an hour either way and the decision is made for you by whatever is happening at junction 22.
The times, honestly
Sampled overnight on 02/08/2026 in near free-flow conditions, the run took 1 hour 18 minutes. Treat that as a floor rather than a plan. Sixty-six miles of motorway is exposed in a way a short A-road run is not — one incident on the M5 and there is no parallel route worth taking, particularly on the stretch below junction 22.
We have not published a peak-time figure, deliberately. We have not measured one, and a made-up “typical” number is exactly what causes somebody to leave Exeter at 03:30 for a 06:00 flight and regret it. Check a live route on the morning, look at one.network for roadworks the night before — which is where the airport points people — and add a margin you would be comfortable losing.
What this route does not cost you
Worth stating plainly, because it is a genuine advantage of coming up from the south:
- No Clean Air Zone charge. Bristol’s zone has been live since 28 November 2022, but the junction 22 / A38 approach does not go through central Bristol — which is why Bristol Airport attaches its Clean Air Zone warning to the M5 junction 18 and M4 routes and not to this one. The airport is not in the zone either. Northern and Welsh drivers can be paying £9 a day in a non-compliant car; you are not.
- No bridge, no tolls, no city centre. The whole run is motorway and A-road.
If your route happens to take you through Bristol for some other reason, check your registration on the GOV.UK vehicle checker anyway — it takes ten seconds.
Check Exeter Airport before you drive past it
We would rather say this than have you find out afterwards: Exeter has its own airport, and if the route you want is flown from both, a 132-mile round trip and a week’s parking at the far end has to be worth the difference in fare. Compare the two properly — including the drive, the fuel and the parking — before you commit.
Very often Bristol has the route and Exeter does not, which is exactly why people make this drive. If that is you, the journey itself is the simplest in the catchment and the real question is what happens to the car for the week.
Public transport is not really the answer from here
As at 02/08/2026 the airport publishes four Airport Flyer routes — A1 Bristol, A2 Portishead, A3 Weston-super-Mare and A4 Bath — and none of them comes anywhere near Exeter. That leaves rail to Bristol Temple Meads and then the A1 Flyer out to the airport, which the airport’s Flyer page lists at £9.50 adult single or £16 adult return (checked 21/10/2026).
It works, but it is two legs and two sets of timings on top of a long journey. The airport did announce a daily Plymouth coach from 12 January 2026 — that was an announcement rather than a timetable, so check the live timetable before you plan around anything.
The arithmetic that actually decides it
For a journey this long, being dropped off is the option that quietly costs the most. A return drop-off is four legs of 66.2 miles — 265 miles in total — plus Bristol Airport’s drop-off charge at each end, which starts at £8.50 for ten minutes on the airport’s published gate tariff, stated as correct on 13 August 2026. It also requires somebody to make a round trip of two and a half hours at best, twice, the second time at whatever hour your flight lands.
Driving and parking is two legs, one price known at the point of booking, and no dependency on anyone else. Choose Meet & Greet and you also pay the airport’s £8.50 Drop & Go charge once, as you drive out on your return. Check the live price for your dates — it is the only number in the sum you can fix in advance.
Common questions
How far is Exeter from Bristol Airport?
66.2 miles by road — M5 north to junction 22, then the A38 to the airport, which is the route Bristol Airport publishes for anyone approaching from the south. A longer option via the M5 and the A370 measures 69.4 miles.
How long does the drive from Exeter to Bristol Airport take?
Sampled overnight in free-flow conditions on 02/08/2026 it took 1 hour 18 minutes. That is the best the road will do. On 66 miles of motorway a single incident can add a long time and there is no useful parallel route, so check a live route on the morning and build in a real margin.
Do I pay the Bristol Clean Air Zone driving from Exeter?
No. The approach from the south leaves the M5 at junction 22 and comes in on the A38 without going near central Bristol — which is why Bristol Airport attaches its Clean Air Zone warning to the M5 junction 18 and M4 approaches, and not to this one. The airport itself is not in the zone.
Should I fly from Exeter Airport instead?
Check it before you book anything. Exeter has its own airport, and where the route you want is served from both, the 132-mile round trip to Bristol and back may not be worth the difference in fare. Where only Bristol has the route, the drive is a straightforward motorway run.
Is there a coach from Exeter to Bristol Airport?
Not on the airport’s own Flyer network. As at 02/08/2026 the airport publishes four Flyer routes — A1 Bristol, A2 Portishead, A3 Weston-super-Mare and A4 Bath — none of which serves Exeter. The airport announced a daily Plymouth coach from 12 January 2026; treat that as an announcement rather than a timetable and check the live timetable before relying on it.
More on getting there, and on the parking
- Getting to Bristol Airport by car — the full approach guide — including Taunton, which is the same route thirty miles shorter.
- Cheapest Bristol Airport parking in 2026
- What happens if your return flight is delayed
- The other long approaches: Cardiff to Bristol Airport and, much closer in, Bath to Bristol Airport.