Discover the Joy of Travelling with Your Dog

Your Ultimate Guide to Dog-Friendly Holidays

Explore the best tips, destinations, and activities to make your holiday with your furry friend unforgettable.

Explore Our Categories

Dog friendly features

Why we are so great for dogs.

Pet-Friendly Destinations

Top destinations that welcome you and your furry friend.

Traveling with Pets

Advice on how to travel safely and comfortably with your dog.

Dog-Friendly Activities

Fun activities to enjoy with your dog while on holiday.

Dog-Friendly Features

Large field the dog can enjoy

We have a large enclosed field next to the swimming pool where the dogs can run and chase balls. Its very safe and somewhere that the dog can run freely.

Nearby Dog Walks

We can point you in the direction of some great dog walks. We have two dogs ourselves and know all the best places! Where dogs can be off the lead and burn off some of their energy.

Pet-Friendly Beaches

Outside of mid June to mid September, every beach is accessible for dogs and the wide open spaces, shallow water and sand dunes make the perfect spot for your dog to run and have fun.  However, in the summer months a lot of the beaches across the whole of France are ‘interdit’ for dogs.  But we know exactly where to go where the dogs can still access the beach and some of these beaches are the most beautiful.  If you book with us, you will get access to our Guest Guide book where all the best dog places are noted.

Where you can go with dogs....

dog friendly holiday

Restaurants

Restaurants in France are really good with dogs. Most are welcome in all places, but some are better than others.  Our welcome guide has a Doggie section which details all the restaurants where we can happily take our dogs, and the ones where we are less comfortable taking them.

Sightseeing

There are some great nature walks such as the Chaos de Gouet and other interesting things you can take your dog too.  The Velo Rail in Medreac is good for dogs, & Fort la Latte, a mediaeval fort with amazing views.  Walking around Dinan is amazing with lots of dogs and you can even taken the dogs on the motor boats on the Rance.

Grooming

Closeby we have two dog wash stations. These are like car washes for dogs!  They are super handy, good fun and a great way to bath your dog without getting a bad back.

Dogsitting

We are so lucky to have our very own Mary Poppins for dogs, in the form of Veronique who lives in the village.  She looks after dogs for short and long stays. So if you do want to go to the zoo, or go to a particular beach we can always arrange a day for your furry friend to go to Veroniques which is a bit like a dog creche.  She has Lucky, a big dog but a gentle giant and there are normally a menagerie of dogs at Veronique’s place. She has a fully fenced garden and the dogs go in and out of the house as they please.  She is also a fully trained dog behaviourist.

Travelling from the UK to France with Dogs

This section just covers those of you coming the UK with your furry friend.

First thing you need to do after you have decided to come on holiday to France with your pooch is to sort the crossing across the Channel out.  There are a few options – each with benefits and drawbacks:

Le Chunnel

There service for crossing with the dogs is by far the easiest and is really good. There is even a doggy playground at the check in.  They are so organised it is incredible and the dogs stay with you in the car all the way. The drawback is the drive at the french end.  Its a good 5 hours but there are plenty of services to stop at and walk the dog.

Brittany Ferries

This is how most people travel to us. Depending on which route depends on the options available and as they shuffle boats between routes this changes a lot.  So you will have to search the crossings available to see what is on offer.  But you normally have the choice between:

  • A dog friendly cabin – this is our preferred option but they are highly sought after and sell out really quickly. They are great though. The cabin has some treats and things for the dog and there is an outside exercise area you can go to.  You do have to mussel the dog when moving around the ferry and you cannot go anywhere else with the dog other than the cabin and the exercise area.  Musseling our dogs has never worked – they have the mussels off in 2 minutes and they are just hanging around their necks.  No one ever mentions this, but they do check you have the mussels at the check in so don’t forget them.
  • A kennel – these are available on some crossings.  You can go and visit the dogs occassionally in the kennel but we have never used this service so cannot give you much more information really.
  • Leave the dog in the car – this can work well if you have space. We have left our dogs with drinks and food and all went well but we have never done a really long crossing like this.  We have only done the quick crossings.  My parents used to do the overnight ferry with their dog like this and they never had a problem, but they had a massive estate car and no kids in it so they could pile all their luggage on the back seats and let the dog have the whole of the boot space – plus he was only a jack russell so didnt need much room.  A lot of our guests have lots of luggage and baby paraphanalia so I am not sure how you would get on with that.  May come back to find a chewed up buggy!

Air France

More and more little dogs are flying on planes.  Air France cater for small dogs and you can fly into Paris with them and then hire a car or catch the train. This is super easy nowadays and I don’t know if it is the same in the UK, but when travelling through European city airports you see more and more dogs as airlines open up this option.  Think they have worked out that they can make money here!  Air France charge a standard 30 euros per dog.

 

 

 

holidays with dogs

Travelling from the UK to France with dogs cont'd.....

The Vets visit

Before leaving the UK, you need to make sure your dogs have 4 things to take her or him into the EU:

  • A micro-chip
  • A rabbies vaccine
  • Tapeworm treatment
  • A pet passport.

This is the expensive part and I have heard stories of this costing £250 for the passport.  You need to leave enought time to do this as it takes at least 21 days to get the first dog passport.  The vet will talk you through the process and explain in what order things need to be done.

To return to the UK, you need to have another Tapeworm treatment done. This is the easy part as we can arrange this for you with our friendly vets in Henenbihen (4 kilometres away).  We can make the rendezvous for you and you just go along with your dog, a few days before leaving and have another treatment done. The vet will stamp the passport and all is sorted. This costs 22 euros per dog.

The vet even speaks English 😉

 

Holidays in Brittany – The pitfalls….

I am often asked and happy to recount, what should people do on their holiday.  I think it is maybe more beneficial to know what you should NOT do on holiday.  Here are the most common mistakes that you can make on holiday with us - avoid them and it should be plane...

read more

Top 10 for pre-schoolers…

Holidays change when you have little children - there is no getting away from it. This list of top 10 things to do with pre=schoolers is here to try to help you have the best family holiday possible with enough choice for everyone to be happy, from toddlers &...

read more

2023 The Story so far

2023 The Story so far....   People say to Simon and I 'you must be so pleased when everyone leaves'.  We smile, but we know we won't be. We miss everyone within about 24 hours of people going. The last Saturday in August, we know we are going to go from a massive...

read more

Book Your Dog-Friendly Holiday Today!

Don’t leave your furry family member behind. Discover our range of dog-friendly holiday homes in Brittany and create unforgettable memories with your entire family. Click below to explore available properties and book your stay today!

Latest Blog Posts

Holidays in Brittany – The pitfalls….

I am often asked and happy to recount, what should people do on their holiday.  I think it is maybe more beneficial to know what you should NOT do on holiday.  Here are the most common mistakes that you can make on holiday with us - avoid them and it should be plane...

Top 10 for pre-schoolers…

Holidays change when you have little children - there is no getting away from it. This list of top 10 things to do with pre=schoolers is here to try to help you have the best family holiday possible with enough choice for everyone to be happy, from toddlers &...

2023 The Story so far

2023 The Story so far....   People say to Simon and I 'you must be so pleased when everyone leaves'.  We smile, but we know we won't be. We miss everyone within about 24 hours of people going. The last Saturday in August, we know we are going to go from a massive...

Holiday Inspiration with Emerald Coast Gites in Brittany

Inspiration for 2023 Want some ideas for when you are staying at Emerald Coast Gites in Brittany. Here are some 'off the beaten track' things to do in the area.  Happy Family Holidays Breizh Wake Park - this place is great but it is quite hard to get up. You can also...

Autumn Inspiration

Just in case you need inspiration this autumn, why not take a break with us in Brittany and see what the region has to offer.  Here is our Top 10 list of things to do.... Walk along the GR34, or at least parts of it!  The GR34 is...

Animals

Well it has been a while since my last blog as we have been open and busy with our guests.  I will post a separate blog with some funny stories from the 2017 summer season later but this post is related to the comings and goings of our animals, mishaps, problems,...

Not a bad day….

So you may think that waking up to the news that Marine Le Pen has made it to the final two in the french presidential race would put a dampner on my day but not at all.  It was completely expected and I fully expect (and hope) her to lose in two weeks time by a...

Becoming French

Well all things considered we have decided to make the move to become French. Several things have lead to this decision.... Brexit, kids schooling and sports specifically, and in general just loving the french way of life, culture and...

Preparing for winter

As the nights start to draw in and the temperature drops, thoughts here at Emerald Coast turn to all the behind the scene work required to make your holidays the best they can be. We’re continually thinking of what will improve the gites whilst remaining true to our...

Getting to us

There are several ways to get to us from the UK and Ireland.  Too many to map!  However, we have endeavoured to map the most common landing points in France on the map below.  This list is not exhaustive but just gives you an overview.  You may have to zoom out. As a...