Jet set pooch - Vita’s travel tip on taking your dog for holiday

Taking your dog out of Europe after Brexit has become much more complicated, but it is still possible. I caught up with Vita and her two amazing fur babies, Goku and Bella, about travelling with your pooch in Europe.

Here’s some highlight and travel tips from Vita. 

First thing first, where have you taken Bella and Goku?

I have done a few trip with them. They love travelling with me. I have been to:

  • France - Paris

  • Spain Barcelona

  • Portugal - Porto and Lisbon

  • Italy - Rome, Florence and Venice

  • Belgium - Brussels and Bruges

And any tips on getting the Animal Health Certificate before you travel?

You need to get an Animal Health Certificate from a local vet before you travel. AHC should be issued within 10 days of your travel date.

You need to come back within 4 months with tapeworm treatment within 1-5 days of arriving in the UK.

You need to apply for AHC each time going out of the UK.

I did it via Travel pet. TW19 6BW. (near Heathrow airport). You need to make an appointment (via email is fine)

They will ask for

  1. Eurotunnel booking confirmation 

  2. Microchip no.

  3. Proof of rabies vaccine (need to be 21 days prior travel). You can ask my vet to send me the proof. 

Once you’ve sent them to info via, you show up with your dogs, they will issue the AHC straight away. It takes around less than 30 min. You would need to also book dog tickets in advance for Eurotunnel.

When Snoots Vets in Islington open in end June, I can just get it from them anytime I want to travel directly as the monthly fee covers unlimited AHC certs issue. I really can’t wait!

How do you usually travel?

We usually drive from London to Paris via Eurotunnel and from Paris, I will either fly or take the train to my second and next destination. I will leave the car at the Paris airport carpark.

Which airlines have you taken? 

I flew with both Bella and Goku in the cabin with me a few times. Some of the airlines I have flown are:

  1. Air France (€55/dog): one dog per passenger, 8kg incl. carrier

  2. Tap (€70/bag, within EU): multiple dogs per passenger, total 8kg incl. carrier (each dog need to have enough space)

For both airlines, you have to book your human tickets before adding on pets (process is like how you add extra luggage online).

Tip: book flexible / open tickets so it allows you to change with ‘free of charge.’ There are limited no. of dogs allowed in each plane. There is no tracker on the ‘dog space’ left when you book the human tickets. If you cannot add on pet tickets, likely there is no more ‘dog space’ and you will be forced to change your own tickets. 

Does your dog have to be in a carrier bag the whole time?

Depends on the flight attendants. Officially, dogs need to be in the carrier at all times during the flight.  My experience so far..

Air France

  • Paris to Italy (Air France) they are super chill. Dogs were out on the lap during the flight (not take off and landing).

  • Dogs are allowed to walk in the CDG Air France lounge. 

  • From Venice back to Paris, the entire Air France team was so strict- from check in to all the way on the plane. Dogs need to be inside the bag on the floor. 

TAP

  • From Paris to Porto and Lisbon to Barcelona 

Both of the crew members were super chill and my dogs were able to sit on my laps during the flight (not take off and landing)  

What about train? 

I have travelled on train in France on SNCF. It is relatively easy to book your ticket on their official website.

For domestic train in Italy, you can purchase tickets from the train station, add no. of dogs on your tickets. You are only allowed to take economy class only. There is no fee for dogs and dogs do not need to be inside the carrier. 

For domestic train in Portugal, it is free for small dogs. There is no need to add ‘pet’ in the ticket. Officially small dogs need to be in the carrier and large dogs need to wear a muzzle. Reality, no one checked. People rather prefer a quiet journey than a crying dog inside a carrier. My dogs were sitting on my lap during the journey.

Any hotel recommendation on the places you been to

  1. Barcelona - Ocean Drive Barcelona (€35/dog/night cleaning fee)

  2. Paris - Tsuba Hotel (no dog cleaning fee)

  3. Paris - Chouchou Hotel (no dog cleaning fee)

  4. Lisbon - Tivoli Hotels (€25/dog/night cleaning fee)

Tip. Should you use a booking website like Agoda or Booking.com. The filtering option is not 100% accurate. It happened to me when I booked a hotel and when I turned up, they told me it wasn’t not doggy friendly. Double check with the hotel before booking. 

What about coming back, what did you have to do?

You would need to get Tapeworm treatment, 24 hours before arriving in the UK and up to 5 days. Here’s the two vets that I got the tapeworm from:

  • Barcelona - Hospital Veterinari Balmes. Speak English. Super chill. 22 euro per dog. Appointment required

  • Paris - Clinique veterinaire La Boetie does tapeworm treatment - around 35 euro per dog. Speaks English

Tip: tapeworm treatment needs to be signed by the vet on AHC. A separate tapeworm treatment proof of paper is not allowed.

Your dog will require a new Animal Health Certificate for each trip to an EU country, or Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

For further information, you can check Defra’s website. 

There is also a VAT Refund at Calais terminal

Duty free shops open from 7:30-23:30. Not sure if the tax free counter is the same. All the tax refunds from France can be scanned by the machine then mailed out. All others (outside of France) needed to be stamped by the counter then mailed out. The mailbox was a super tiny yellow box on a pillar outside of ticketing service office.

More info about Animal Health Certificate:

The certificate will need to be signed by an official veterinarian.  Your dog’s Animal Health Certificate will be valid after the date of issue for:

  • 10 days for entry into the EU, or Northern Island

  • 4 months for onward travel within the EU

  • 4 months for re-entry to Great Britain