Taking a dog from the UK to Europe, especially after Brexit, requires quite a bit of planning. However, Leia, my dog, is very anxious and does not take well to boarding. So, when we travel as a family, we have to take her with us.
After going on multiple continental road trips with her, I feel like I have learnt quite a lot - including from my own mistakes.
Dog with a view © Wix
Planning to take your furry friend to Europe from the UK? Here is what you need to know.
I have tried to condense my learnings into a 10-point list. It captures the basics of the post-Brexit pet travel bureaucracy. as well as my practical tips on how to travel through Europe with a dog from the UK.
Life is a beach © Pietro Battistoni/Unsplash
Tip #1 - Forget about trains and planes
Let's start with the negatives, decluttering our thinking, so we can focus on what is feasible.
At the time of writing, the Eurostar does not take dogs. That means, you cannot leave the UK by train with your pet.
I will not get into detail because I specialise in flightless travel, but planes are not a viable option either at the time of writing.
Officially, some airlines accept dogs. but UK airports are not equipped to handle dogs arrivals. In practical terms, that means, you can fly your dog out of the UK but then you cannot come back by plane.
Tip #2 - The easiest way to take a dog from the UK to Europe is...Le Shuttle
Le Shuttle (formerly Eurotunnel) is the fastest and easiest way to get to Europe with your dog. The channel crossing takes 35 minutes, and the dog stays in the car with you.
Le Shuttle try hard to make a dog owner's pre-departure experience as simple as it can be. Both at Folkestone and Calais, Pet Reception is in a well-signposted designated area before the boarding lane. Personnel scans your dog's chip to confirm their identity, reviews the paperwork, and then issues you a boarding pass.
Before boarding, you can take your dog for a walk in the parking area or shopping mall, as well as in the designated outdoor dog exercise area.
There is a surcharge of £22 each way for travelling with a dog.
Fun fact. Le Shuttle has carried over 4 million pets since 2000.
Dog on a road trip © Wix
Tip #3 - Can your dog handle long journeys? There are dog-friendly ferries to Europe
If you are planning to travel to the Netherlands, or to Brittany/Normandy, you may prefer to book a ferry trip as it would reduce your driving time.
Depending on your destination, there are some pet-friendly ferry options that can take you and your dog to Europe.
Dog-friendly ferries to the Netherlands
I have travelled with Stena Line a few times without a pet, and their ferries are clean and efficient, with pleasant facilities. If you travel at night, you fall asleep as the ship leaves England, and wake up in the south of Holland the next morning. The daytime crossing is a beautiful afternoon of day-dreaming with views of the sea.
I have not yet taken my dog across on Stena Lines, so I am simply summarising the information on their website.
Your dog can be booked into an on-board kennel or a dog-friendly cabin. Numbers are limited so regardless of the option you choose you should book well in advance.
A Brittany Ferries ship © Victor Forgacs/Unsplash
The dog-friendly cabin would be my favourite option - my dog suffers from separation anxiety. But every time I try to book the cabins are all snapped up. I am a bit of a last-minute booker, and they only have a few pet-friendly cabins, so do not be discouraged.. My key message here is to do better than me and book well in advance!
Also, be aware that your dog will need to wear a muzzle on the journey from the car to the cabin, and is not allowed in the restaurant and communal areas. There is also no exercise patch on the ship.
To travel to the Netherlands from the north of England, you can use DFDS, which operates the Newcastle-Amsterdam route. Like Stena Line, they offer pet-friendly cabins and a Pet Hotel (ie kennels), and the same rules about communal areas apply.
Their website is particularly helpful, it describes in detail the type of cabin you will get, and how to behave in it. It even gives the measurements of kennels! They do offer an exercise patch.
Dog-friendly ferries to France (and Europe)
If you are planning to travel to or through France, there are 2 main operators to consider.
DFDS operates routes from Dover to Calais and from Newhaven to Dieppe. With DFDS, your dog can stay in the car or be booked into a kennel.
Brittany Ferries operates connections from Portsmouth to Saint Malo (Brittany), and Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg (Normandy); from Plymouth to Saint Malo and Roscoff (Brittany); from Poole to Cherbourg (Normandy).
Brittany Ferries also offers services to the north of Spain, although you need to be really quick to snap up a cabin on that route.
I found them the best ferry option for nervous dogs. They offer both pet-friendly cabins and kennels. They also have an exercise patch for dogs. For detailed information visit this page.
Just chilling © Wix
Tip #4 - Engage with your UK vet as soon as you can
Your dog will need to have a valid anti-rabies vaccination to be allowed to leave and enter the UK. So before booking your trip, ring up your vet and check that the vaccinations are in order.
The vet will also need a bit of notice to prepare the 14-page post-Brexit Animal Health Certificate you now need to produce to take a UK-domiciled dog to the continent.
The vet will charge you to issue the certificate every time you travel, so it is financially far more painful than travelling with an EU Pet Passport.
If you were in the UK temporarily and your dog is registered as a resident in Europe, you are in luck. You can still use a pet passport!
Before or after the vet completes their part of the 'Animal Health Certificate,' they will email it to you to complete some fields and sign it - in blue pen only, don't ask why!
Once the Animal Health Certificate is completed, the vet will also give you an in-person appointment, a few days before you travel. At the appointment, the vet will check the dog's microchip, go over the report with you to make sure there are no mistakes, and give you a physical copy of the 'Animal Health Certificate.'
There is a very informative section on the Le Shuttle website, with a checklist of the pre-travel requirements.
Dog at the vet © Wix
Tip #5 - Find a vet in Europe who can see your dog between 1 and 5 days before you re-enter the UK
To re-enter the UK, you will need to make sure your dog receives a tapeworm treatment from a vet in Europe. The European-based vet will need to fill in the relevant section of the Animal Health Certificate recording the medicine administered, stamping it, and signing it. The vet will need to enter the date and time of administration. This is very important.
The medication needs to be administered between 24 and 120 hours before re-entering the UK. If you have it administered in the last 24 hours, or earlier than 5 days before your planned return, your dog will be refused entry.
This is the most stressful bit about travelling with your dog, but if you do your enquiries in advance and speak to a vet in the country where you are likely to be between 3 and 4 days before you return, you will be fine.
In my personal experience, it makes sense to ask a vet in advance how much they will charge for the service. I have a vet in Italy that I have used multiple times and he charges a very reasonable 15 euros for the service.
A Dutch vet I used last summer refused to administer the treatment without a pet check up and charged me 70 euros. The same happened to me in France this summer, and I had to pay 50 euros.
Making themselves at home © Wix
Tip #6 - Use Expedia group websites to identify pet-friendly accommodation
All main booking engines allow you to filter dog-friendly accommodation. However, working out the extra charges for your pet is very time-consuming.
Of all the booking engines, I found the Expedia group websites, such as Expedia and hotels.com to be the most helpful if you are travelling through Europe with a dog. They clearly state the pet supplement in their Fees and Policies section, so you immediately know what your total room cost will be.
Booking.com does not state the pet fees in a specific section, and sometimes they just state 'Supplements may apply.' So you end up having to check with the hotel directly, and in the meantime the room deal you want may be gone.
Basking in the sunshine © Wix
Tip #7 - Check the tourist boards of the locations you are visiting for pet-travel suggestions
Many destination tourist boards have or are developing pet-friendly sections. They may be very basic and just indicate local legislation and rules of behaviour, or they may be quite sophisticated and list pet-friendly accommodation and eating places, or even special deals for people travelling with pets.
These websites are also useful starting points to check if dogs are allowed inside specific attractions, although I recommend you double-check on each attraction's website.
Sightseeing dog © Sylwia Bartyzel/Unsplash
Tip #8 - Find out in advance if the attractions or eateries you want to visit admit dogs
As per previous tip, tourist boards' websites are starting to target people travelling with dogs with helpful information. They can be useful starting points to check if dogs are allowed inside specific attractions. However, their information is not necessarily up-to-date, So it always makes sense to double-check admission rules on the attraction's website.
This is important as it will affect your planning.
If one of you wants to visit, say, a museum that does not accept dogs, but someone else in your party is not interested, they can take care of the dog and go on a walking tour around the city, for example, or even just relax at the hotel. If everyone wants to visit that attraction, you will need to see it in turns.
As far as eateries are concerned, in general in Europe dogs are quite welcome in budget and mid range restaurant. You won't be allowed into a Michelin-starred establishment, but you will be able to take your dog to a pizzeria or a brasserie.
Fancying a gelato © Tommaso Pecchioli/Unsplash
I have had boulangeries, patisseries, and coffee shops telling me the dog was welcome but we had to sit outdoors. This is because hygiene rules are quite strict. But once you agree to sit outside they will be welcoming and helpful.
Tip #9 - Use your dog walks to explore your destination
Dogs need to be walked, and enjoy sniffing and discovering new areas. So, use the dog's love of exercise to explore on foot. Go on an early morning journey around a city centre, before it gets busy, or follow a path along a riverbank, or explore a park. Instead of seeing the animal's exercise as a chore, turn it into an opportunity for enriching your journey!
A walk in Venice© Eugene Zhyvchik/Unsplash
Tip #10 - Once in Europe, you can travel by train too
Lastly, I said at the start of the blog that you cannot use a train to get out of the UK. This is because at the moment the only train connection between the UK and the continent is the Eurostar, and they do not accept dogs - nor bicycles. Europe is liberalising train travel to encourage competition on the same routes, so it may be that things change very soon.
While we wait for some good news on that front, I can report that once you are in Europe you will be able to take your dog on a train. So if, say, you are driving to a small place but want to explore a large city nearby, or even far away, without the stress of parking your car, you have the option of trains.
In continental Europe, dogs are admitted on local, regional, and even high-speed trains, although on high-speed train unless your dog is a very small size you will be expected to pay a reduced-fare ticket to accommodate your dog.
Dog on train © John Crozier/Unsplash
Your dog deserves a road trip to Europe too!
With the tips I have shared above, you have what you need to start designing your pet-friendly European journey, either by Eurotunnel or by ferry.
A final thought before I wrap up. There are advantages to travelling without your dog. The journey is easier, you do not pay pet supplements or vet fees, and you are generally freer.
However...Dogs do love an adventure, and going to a different country, where everything looks and smells different, is exciting for them. I treasure the memories of my road trips through Europe with my dog. They are a wonderful way to bond with your my furry friend, and I don't have to worry about how she is coping with boarding!
Dog at Brienzersee Switzerland © Thiago Andrade/Unsplash
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