Pet Friendly Travel

Should you bring your pet on holiday?

Before you take your pet away on your trip with you, you need to make sure that your four legged friend is suited for travel – especially if you’re going to be flying anywhere. What you’ll need to do is take your pet along to the vets before you jet off, to find out all about any potential illnesses, physical injuries or behaviour problems that might make travelling unenjoyable for them.

The essentials

Of course, the most important thing is to make sure that your destination allows you to bring your pets along with you into a new country. This means finding out all about quarantine laws and restrictions before you fly, otherwise you’ll risk a fine or not being allowed in!

It’s also vital to find out whether or not you need a pet passport for your pet. If you’re heading into Europe, you’ll need one for your dog, cat or ferret, which is a process that you can start with your vet. You’ll need at least three months to do this, so get planning ahead!

You’ll also need to get your pet microchipped if you haven’t already, and find out about rabies vaccinations from your vet.

Check out the government advice on Gov.uk for more information on all of this.

The practicals

If you’re going to be transporting your pet, you need to find a carrier fit for an animal king. It’s essential that you follow the recommendations when it comes to the size of the carrier and make sure that your pet has enough room to lie down, stand up and turn around comfortably. You can find airline approved pet carriers at Pet Planet.

It’s a pretty good idea to give your pet a month or so to get used to the carrier before they need to travel in it, so that they don’t get stressed or freaked out on your trip. What’s more, make sure that you attach a travel label with your name and address (of both your home and your holiday destination) to the side of the carrier, just in case you get separated!

Before you leave, make sure that your pet has been fitted with a secure collar and ID tag, and again make sure that this has both your home address and the address of your destination. You should also make sure to carry a recent photo of your pet with you, to make them easy to identify if you get separated.

Definitely don’t give them any tranquilisers before you travel, unless agreed and prescribed by your vet. If you’re flying, try not to feed your pet for four hours before you fly, but be sure to give them some water during that time. Another thing you can do is to trim your pet’s nails beforehand, so that they won’t get caught anywhere!

And finally, bring a lead with you so that you can give your furry friend a little exercise before the journey, and also so that they can stretch out their legs when you do finally arrive.

Flying with pets

If you’re going to be flying with your pet, make sure to take a look at your chosen airline’s pet policies beforehand. You’ll need to find out whether your airline allows small dogs and cats in the cabin with you, or if they have any restrictions on transporting pets below the cabin. You’ll also need to find out if your airline has any pet health and immunisation requirements, such as a recent health certificate for your pet.

Pets and the Eurotunnel

If you’re driving over to Europe, there’s some great news for the Eurotunnel. At Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, they’re huge animal lovers and will provide a great experience for your pet. Not only can your pet travel in your car with you for just £22, there are also designated pet exercise areas and specially trained staff. Find out more at Eurotunnel Le Shuttle.

Make travel simple

With all the pre-planning that goes into travelling with pets, one thing that’s easy to take care of before you leave is your travel money.

Simply place your order online and you’ll be able to collect your currency in as little as four hours from one of our stores or have it safely delivered right to your home.

When you’re setting up your pet passport, why not try our Travelex Money Card too? It’s a pre-paid card that works exactly like your debit or credit card, and it means that you can load all of your travel money onto one card instead of carrying around cash with you.