holidays with dogs abroad

jsabina

Just getting some information..
I was thinking to go once on holidays with my dogs..
Ideally would be spain, but not easy to reach, so might be France with the ferry.
Anybody did that?
I would go with my car and look for something not crazy expensive, also camping would be good.
Any information / suggestions?

thanks!

Hooked

First up... You'll need a 'pet passport' and to make sure they have the appropriate 'shots' before you travel. And you may need a vet visit in France, before you return. Depending on how long you were there.

I'm no expert - so search the forum for 'pet passport' to get more info!

We camp around Ireland a lot with our two dogs. Having them crate trained makes camping hassle free! And they are great to travel in the car, so this is also something to think about.

jsabina

Thanks,
I've read about the pet passport and shots and they are good in the car.
only I think it would be too expensive to find a place in france to be with dogs

awanderer

A lot of camping sites accept dogs in France. Do you have any idea on which part(s) of France you would like to visit? Would you like to stay in one single place or move daily? Would you like to stay in mobile homes, caravane or tent?

I am not a travel agent but I am French and know several people who used to stay in camping sites with their dogs so it can't be too much of a problem. I'd be glad to help anyway .

jsabina

thanks a lot!
I was thinking to move a bit and stay on the coast..
happy to be in tent but I think with the dogs might be easier caravan or mobile homes.. or anything I am really easy going
Just on campings I've seen prices up to 1000 for bungalow and similar... that are worth if sharing more people

thanks again!

awanderer

jsabina wrote: »

thanks a lot!
I was thinking to move a bit and stay on the coast..
happy to be in tent but I think with the dogs might be easier caravan or mobile homes.. or anything I am really easy going
Just on campings I've seen prices up to 1000 for bungalow and similar... that are worth if sharing more people

thanks again!

No problem. Some breeds are discriminated against in France though so you might have problems if your dogs are from the 2 following classes:

Category 1:

Dogs looking like pittbulls, mastiffs or tosa but who are not pedigree,

Category 2:

- Staffordshire terrier ;

- American Staffordshire terrier ;

- Rottweiler ;

- Tosa ;

- + Dogs looking like Rottweiler (don't ask).

Several camping sites mention that they accept dogs as long as they are not from one of those 2 categories and sadly it seems that there are a lot more rules that apply to the dogs mentioned above.

I hope that this doesn't concern your dogs.

The prices will also vary greatly depending on the date of your planned holidays. Could you maybe give me more info about the date/length of your holidays and the number of people/dogs? Don't hesitate to PM me if you prefer.

jsabina

I was planning to go in July for a week / 10 days.
At the moment would be myself and two dogs, a friend might join.
Jago is a "black setter" mix (bit smaller than setter) and buddy a border collie, so they shouldn't be restricted.

My only concern about the tent is for the "heat".
I hope to get warm weather, but for sure Jago and Buddy are not used to it.
So I believe tent in camping might not be the best for them.
(also if I want to go for a swim I wouldn't know where to leave them)

thanks!

awanderer

jsabina wrote: »

I was planning to go in July for a week / 10 days.
At the moment would be myself and two dogs, a friend might join.
Jago is a "black setter" mix (bit smaller than setter) and buddy a border collie, so they shouldn't be restricted.

My only concern about the tent is for the "heat".
I hope to get warm weather, but for sure Jago and Buddy are not used to it.
So I believe tent in camping might not be the best for them.
(also if I want to go for a swim I wouldn't know where to leave them)

thanks!

I had a look and at first sight you shouldn't have to pay 1000 for any kind of accommodation! I contacted a few places by e-mail and hope to get some answers soon (do not worry, I am not being pushy or working hard for you, I just won't be able to go on holiday this summer myself so it is kind of fun to pretend )

I don't know if you have any specific place in mind but if not, I would recommend something around the Vendee/Charente Maritime area :Les Sables d'Olonnes, la Rochelle, Ile de Re, Ile d'Oleron, Royan... (I am biaised as I love La Rochelle).

Brittany is great (home for me) but the weather can be a bit... Celtic so if you want sun guaranteed I would advise to go more south. The Cote d'Azur (Riviera) one the other hand can be quite madly crowded (and possibly madly expensive as the cheapest places will already have been booked) in July. Tell me if you do have a specific idea though everyone has different tastes and expectations!

jsabina

wow you are being very helpful!!
la rochelle area seems very nice and not too far maybe from the ferry (as I don't have many days)
I am italian so have been around cote d'azur.. and yeah is beautiful and sunny but expensive and crowded I agree!

awanderer

jsabina wrote: »

wow you are being very helpful!!
la rochelle area seems very nice and not too far maybe from the ferry (as I don't have many days)
I am italian so have been around cote d'azur.. and yeah is beautiful and sunny but expensive and crowded I agree!

I never went to Cote d'Azur in the summer. That would be my idea of a nightmare. I went there in April and October and thought it was lovely though.

I do love La Rochelle. I believe that it is a great place to spend a week specially if you have a car and are able to visit Ile de Re from there. In fact, at first glance, it might be easier to find the perfect Mobile home on Ile de Re rather than la Rochelle as there are only 2 camping sites near La Rochelle while there are quite a few (slightly more expensive) in Ile de Re. Ile de Re is also perfect if you want to cycle (which might be tricky with 2 dogs) and is quite a picturesque island. La Rochelle, on the other hand, is perfect if you also want to do more "city stuff" like shopping, visiting museums, have great meals or just a drink outside while watching peoples or boats pass by, and then go for a swim. It is big enough not to get bored but small enough that you can relax and avoid any stress. It seems however that if you want to stay in La Rochelle, it might be handier to rent an appartment in the city center (quite a few seem to accept animals and cost about the same price as a mobile home rental) That way you can enjoy a great meal with the odd glass of wine without having to worry about driving back to a campsite or catching the last bus.

Whatever your choice (after all La Rochelle and Ile de Re are only separated by a small drive on a striking bridge), there seems to be a very big difference between the price of a rental from July 4th to 11th for example and the following weeks. From the 11th, prices get much higher (but still remain very far from 1000 euros ).

I should have more info tomorrow

awanderer

So here is the result of my researches:

Dogs do not seem to be a problem while booking an accomodation in La Rochelle or Ile de Re (so I guess it would be the same anywhere else in France).

I contacted several camping sites and asked if they would have an accomodation for 1 or 2 people with 2 medium sized dogs and none of them stated that the dogs would be an issue. Some charge an extra 5 euros per dog per night however.

The price for a week in a mobile home seems to start at 320 if you decide to stay from July 4th to July 11th (most rent from Saturday to Saturday). It is much more expensive the following weeks (and would have been much cheaper in June:D). Careful! In some places the cheapest options are already fully booked.

I also checked for appartments/houses to rent as it seems that it is sometimes cheaper. There are quite a lot of places accepting dogs and when I contacted them to ask for the availibilities/prices for one person and 2 dogs, they did answer with their rates and availibilities or with invoices which seems to confirm that dogs are not a big deal (even for a small appartment on the third floor for which I enquired)

A friend of mine who stayed on Ile de Re with his dog told me he had booked a very nice house via: iledereloc.com (there is a filter for places that accept animals). According to him, it would be easier to stay on Ile de Re than La Rochelle with dogs as: on the island most holiday homes have gardens, the sea is never much more than a mile away and the island in general is dog friendly.

Hope that helps but if you have more questions or need some translations, don't hesitate to ask !