Dogs Allowed-Pet Friendly Trips for Your Entire Family

Our dogs were great friends with our great-aunt who lived in the country. Partly because she kept a pet-friendly house and partly because she was still close enough for us to take a road trip with the dogs instead of having to fly. But whenever we had to go out of country we’d have to leave the dogs – it was such a wrench! If your family keeps pets then you’ll have some idea of how easy it is to get attached to your furry and feathered companions. They become a part of the family and vacations just seem that little bit emptier without them.

It’s likely your holiday plans this year don’t necessarily involve flying to some glamorous location and that can easily mean a fur-friendly vacation! If you’d have had to pay for their kennel or housing while you were away in any case, why not take them along? And of course, if it’s in the country or the beach, that means plenty of run-around room for the four-legged one and a chance for your entire family to forge a stronger bond and create fond new memories.

This does require, however, a certain amount of forethought and planning related to your means of transport and accommodation. If you do not own your own caravan or motor home then it’s worthwhile to look into hotels that allow favoured fur-balls. Many hotels have a no-pet policy that keeps their guests happy but keeps you on the road. So a good place to start your search is the market niche of pet-friendly Bed & Breakfasts and hotels in the UK. These B&B’s and hotels will either let you keep your pet with you in your room or they’ll have a designated kennel/living area for the little one. There are even some rental cottages that can house your whole family, pets included, and mean you get your own space to live and run around in – as does your pet!

In any case, since most hotels now state quite clearly whether they are pet-friendly or not, it will be an easy enough search to find suitable accommodation in your preferred holiday location. It’s common sense that countryside retreats are more likely to have pet-friendly policies than urban sites, as are popular hiking locations such as the Lake District in Cumbria, Devon and Wales. Here is common practice for pet-owning families to bring their furry companions along for a change of scenery and exercise.

Really, with the rise of pet-friendly accommodations across the board and if you’re paying for someone to ‘pet-sit’ your dog anyway, there’s more reason than ever to plan vacations with every family member in mind! Your pet will certainly love you for it once they’re splashing around in a stream or barking up the right tree (for once!). So go ahead – start planning that next vacation at a ‘Dogs Welcome’ location!