Remember leaving with that one holiday, when you stood outside in the road waiting for manchester international shuttle and all you can see through the window was your beloved cat mouthing, “Meouw, meouw, meouw”?
With this in mind, we are conscious that you're not keen to depart Tigger the cat, Fido your dog, or Rattex the ferret when then you leave town for any European business or leisure trip. Thankfully, flying with pets may actually be easier than doing this with small and unruly kids. Let's explore the concept.
For starters, first do your research – The guidelines are that you simply travel on a single flight as your pet (cat, dog or ferret), or they travel within 5 days of the travel date. Next up, it's vital that the pet is microchipped; a tapeworm treatment methods are administered from your vet within 5 days of travel; which “Fluffy” is vaccinated against Rabies by a qualified vet (the neighbourhood charlatan will not do), after 12 weeks of age thereby giving validity for A 3 week period after administration.
Make that booking
What with everything we've been through in the last year or even more regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, it's amazing that travel is opening again. Yay! And it's an industry – along with food and beverages – that we should seriously be supporting once we can. TripAdvisor lists an amazing range of inexpensive pet-friendly hotels. Just enter your country associated with preference, price range and dates, and you are “A for away”.
There's also BringFido, where – amusingly – the accommodation venue is rated in bones, not stars! Yes, please. Again, choose dates, number of rooms and/or pets, and you will be accommodated the way you like when a mutt is your favourite travel mate.
Read next: Emerging Trends for Travel in a Post-Pandemic World
Select your destination and hotel
How in regards to a few statistics for anyone undecided around the best county to opt for. According to TravelDailyNews, the nation using the biggest number of pet-friendly hotels is Italy (18 176). Further, it's worth taking into consideration the following countries, in regards to pet-friendly hotels, when you're travelling into Europe with a beloved fur-kid:
- Russia (10 831 venues);
- Poland (8 521 venues);
- Croatia (7 794 venues); and
- Spain (6 945).
Then you will find the top-rated (yeah, five-star) pet-friendly hotel destinations. You'll find these in:
- France (217 venues);
- UK (166 venues); and
- Italy (157 venues).
Essentially, the treatment depends in your priorities (luxury or budget); what you ought to accomplish (from the business or personal perspective); or hope to see (from a tourist perspective).
While there are rather a lot of equations within the mix when it comes to travelling having a pet (including number of adults, kids, and much more) let's, for argument's sake, assume you are travelling to Europe having a small pet dog. Apparently, dog ownership has grown 18 percent since lockdown hit, according to Euronews. Are people researching the benefits?
Whatever the situation, pets – especially cats and dogs – have been shown in numerous studies to “reduce stress, depression and anxiety, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve cardiovascular health”. While in our youth, pets are there to help us in becoming an adult safer and active; in older (retired) adults, they offer valuable companionship.
Apparently, the very best five pet-friendly destinations – when it comes to comfortable “verblyf” (the Dutch for “dwelling in a place”) together with your fur-lined friend – would be the following:
- The 4-star Palazzo Castri 1874, based in Florence, which offers free wifi, breakfast included, air-conditioning, a spa and restaurant. Note: It's only a 17min walk to the Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi Gallery.
- The 3-star Dryburgh Abbey Hotel in Melrose, Scotland, that is focused on the river for all those inevitable “walkies”. It's close to Dryburgh Abbey and Smailholm Tower, which are undoubtedly landmarks for the explorers – – as well as the golfers among us come in seventh heaven. Sign in with your concierge regarding the best courses and how to gain access.
- The 5-star Hilton Vienna Park, that is conveniently located in Vienna's city centre – near to the State Opera and Hofburg Imperial Palace. All guests, particularly those with small pitter-patter footprints in the mix, are keen about this hotel's proximity to trains and buses. All the better for exploring in between meetings, shopping and park “uitstappies” (outings).
- At the 5-star Castille Paris, among the Starhotels Collezione, both Paris Olympia and Comedie-Francaise are significant cultural highlights. Don't miss a visit to Place Vendome and Place en Concorde; Le Trianon for a night out; and La Machine du Moulin Rouge for those with risqué after-hours inclinations.
- The 3-star, but rather grand-looking, Headlands Hotel in Wales can be found near the Llandudno West Shore beach and Great Orme Country park. It really is a location filled with natural beauty and bountiful attractions for individuals who value an excursion using their pet, or perhaps a foray into natural territory.
A note to the travellers: much like your biological kids, fur-kids just want to have you around. So, if you're heading somewhere they are likely to get left – indefinitely – in a hotel room (however accommodating), they may be better off at home with a much-loved pet-sitter.
Read next: The Friendliest Pets to possess – Ranked!
Size matters
While regional air shuttles tend to allow people to travel using their fur-kids within the cabin, such companions need to be teeny-weeny. The only real exempt pets, based on SA's Business Insider, are authorized guide dogs or assistant pets, which are only permitted to travel using their owners in the aircraft's cabin because their owners would not be able to manage without one.
