Travel with Dogs

After my trip to Wales with my mum, sister and my mum's dogs, I got to wondering what impact travelling with animals has on what you can do on a holiday.

The simple conclusion is that it really doesn't need to have much impact, providing you take a couple of things into account.

Point 1: You're probably going to be outside most of the day. Unless you can find a dog friendly shopping centre, museum or other attraction, you're going to have to find outdoor things to do.

Such things include the obvious: walking. Dogs love walking, right? My mum's definitely do - considering how short their legs are, they'll quite happily do 5 miles or more. And all that walking's good for you too. Grab yourself a good pair of walking boots and get out there.

Point 2: If it rains, you could end up stuck inside all day. Obviously, this depends how tolerant you and your dogs are of bad weather. Me, I'll go for a walk in the rain, at least for a while, without too much bother. Mum's dogs on the other hand... well, they won't even go outside to do their business if it's drizzling.

I've been on two holidays with Mum and the dogs now and they've been brilliant. We've had lovely long walks in the morning (when the weather's been good) and then a nice relaxed late afternoon/evening once we're all tired out.

Good for exercise, going on holiday with dogs. No choice but to get out walking because a) the dogs need it and b) there aren't many other options.

You get to see some gorgeous views, too. Aside from the cute dogs, obviously! And quite honestly, there are few more relaxing things than taking a nice long walk and then collapsing on the sofa afterwards with a sleepy dog curled up next to you.

Point 3: Consider your destination carefully. I think we can safely say that city breaks aren't suited for dogs for anything much more than a couple of days. Where are you going to take them? I doubt you're going to find much in the way of dog-friendly shops and museums. Parks are a good option, I suppose, but personally I'll take the open countryside over a park most days.

You're going to want to find dog-friendly accommodation too. Some providers like Forest Holidays (who we stayed with in November) have cabins especially for those with dogs and many holiday lets will allow well-behaved pets. Our cottage in Wales, on a little farm called Berth Fedw, was through Brecon Beacons Holiday Cottages, but there's plenty of other providers.

Basically, to end this slightly rambling post, having dogs with you shouldn't stop you from going away. Find a nice place to stay and enjoy the surroundings. Seriously, check out this view from Berth Fedw above Talgarth.

I think the ultimate sign of a good holiday with dogs is the fact that the dogs clearly enjoyed themselves. Even if they were knackered when we got back...