4 legged friends
May 11th, 2010, 01:33 AM
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4 legged friends
My partner and I are in London with our 2 small dogs, we moved here from the states. We'd like to get over to mainland Europe with them and not sure what our options are. We like to get to Paris or maybe even Spain. Ferry? Train? Suggestions?
May 11th, 2010, 01:52 AM
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You can't use Eurostar: almost all airlines require dogs to be carried in the hold, if at all - though KLM, I believe, allows small dogs in the cabin.
Most cross-channel ferries require dogs to stay in the car, on the car deck, during the crossing - though I believe some of the long-distance Western Channel ferries have special arrangements for owners to visit their dogs.
The easiest thing from SE England is probably to drive, taking the shuttle through the Tunnel: your dogs just sit wherever they'd be for as trip in England. Once in France, most hotels and restaurants are far more dog-friendly than here: the only real exception is the interior of French motorway service stations, though a number of them - and of the aires without restaurants or petrol stations - have huge grassy areas, of several acres and more, where you can even let dogs off a lead.
Don't forget that they need their passports, and that they need to get anti-tick injections on the Continent less than 48 hrs, and more than 24 hrs, before arriving at the UK border checkpoint (which, for the Tunnel, is in Calais). French vets can be "helpful" about adjusting the timestamp by an hour or two either way - but if you arrive at Calais without a 24 hr-old injection certificate, the dogs will be put into quarantine, or you'll have to rebook.
The Flannerpooch (http://www.fodors.com/community/prof...eflannerpooch/) has filed a couple of trip reports with a bit more information
Most cross-channel ferries require dogs to stay in the car, on the car deck, during the crossing - though I believe some of the long-distance Western Channel ferries have special arrangements for owners to visit their dogs.
The easiest thing from SE England is probably to drive, taking the shuttle through the Tunnel: your dogs just sit wherever they'd be for as trip in England. Once in France, most hotels and restaurants are far more dog-friendly than here: the only real exception is the interior of French motorway service stations, though a number of them - and of the aires without restaurants or petrol stations - have huge grassy areas, of several acres and more, where you can even let dogs off a lead.
Don't forget that they need their passports, and that they need to get anti-tick injections on the Continent less than 48 hrs, and more than 24 hrs, before arriving at the UK border checkpoint (which, for the Tunnel, is in Calais). French vets can be "helpful" about adjusting the timestamp by an hour or two either way - but if you arrive at Calais without a 24 hr-old injection certificate, the dogs will be put into quarantine, or you'll have to rebook.
The Flannerpooch (http://www.fodors.com/community/prof...eflannerpooch/) has filed a couple of trip reports with a bit more information
May 12th, 2010, 06:48 AM
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"How does the ferry work with dogs?"
It doesn't, as far as I'm aware.
I know of no channel ferry that allows dogs to be walked onto the boat. Dover and Calais are both astonishingly busy freight ports - and most of that freight is trucks on passenger boats: foot passengers are DEFINITELY fourth-class citizens (even illegal immigrants get better treatment).
Being a foot passenger is miserable, requiring taxis to the ferry, buses from the terminal, long climbs up to the ship and the whole thing in reverse at the other end. Horrible with luggage: unimaginable with dogs as well, even if tey let you do it.
I'm not infallible: plough your way through the DEFRA site for a list of ferry cos and airlines licensed to bering pets into Britain. Links at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...vel/dg_4000019
It doesn't, as far as I'm aware.
I know of no channel ferry that allows dogs to be walked onto the boat. Dover and Calais are both astonishingly busy freight ports - and most of that freight is trucks on passenger boats: foot passengers are DEFINITELY fourth-class citizens (even illegal immigrants get better treatment).
Being a foot passenger is miserable, requiring taxis to the ferry, buses from the terminal, long climbs up to the ship and the whole thing in reverse at the other end. Horrible with luggage: unimaginable with dogs as well, even if tey let you do it.
I'm not infallible: plough your way through the DEFRA site for a list of ferry cos and airlines licensed to bering pets into Britain. Links at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...vel/dg_4000019
May 13th, 2010, 12:13 AM
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Gosh - thanks! I suppose it's renting a car from this side and driving it over there on the other side of the road. Odd they wouldn't have any way of getting your dog over to the other side of the Channel that doesn't require you packing up a crate for them.
May 13th, 2010, 01:04 AM
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"I suppose it's renting a car from this side"
Car hire companies can be VERY iffy (= charge a whopping surcharge) about taking cars out of Britain
Your problem is that the number of people who don't have cars, but want to take their pets to mainland Europe, is minuscule.
Car hire companies can be VERY iffy (= charge a whopping surcharge) about taking cars out of Britain
Your problem is that the number of people who don't have cars, but want to take their pets to mainland Europe, is minuscule.
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