Our Dog-Friendly Interrail Adventure Around Europe
- fajndogwear
- Feb 18
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 11
Introduction
We recently embarked on a month long Interrail adventure across Europe with our whippet, Nora, and wanted to share our experiences with anyone dreaming of travelling with their four-legged best friend. This blog isn't a step-by-step guide or a set of rules to follow—every trip is unique—but we hope it provides useful tips, a bit of reassurance and maybe even some inspiration if you're planning your own European adventure with your pup.
From navigating our way from England across the Channel, along endless train journeys to finding dog-friendly activities, restaurants and bars, we've learned a lot along the way. While every dog's needs and personalities are different, we’ll share what worked for us, the surprises we encountered, and the things we wish we knew before setting off. If you’re wondering whether traveling with your dog is doable (or worth it), we can confidently say: absolutely.
We won’t get too stuck into where we stayed or even specific recommendations in this blog but we will signpost you to our city-specific blogs where we give you some of our favourite dog-friendly activities, parks, restaurants and pubs. Andie is also vegetarian, so if you are looking for veggie-friendly places that welcome dogs, we've got you covered.
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation...
Things to consider in advance:
Journey Across the Channel.
Finding Pet Friendly Accommodation
Preparing for Border Crossing
Figuring Out Dog Food
Understanding Train Rules
With four weeks of annual leave booked and a list of places we wanted to visit, we (mostly Andie…) started planning our trip months in advance. The logistics felt quite overwhelming at first- figuring out which ferry to get, researching potential train routes, purchasing our Interrail tickets and booking accommodation.
Interrail Pass and Ferry Booking and Route planning
Our first step was booking our Interrail passes and planning our route. To cross the Channel we opted for Hull to Rotterdam route with P&O ferries who offer dog friendly cabins.
A crucial thing to note: Eurostar does not allow dogs. The only way to cross the Channel is via a Ferry or the Eurotunnel, but this requires a car or taxi.
For researching routes, we relied heavily on The Man in Seat 61 and the Interrail app to check train connections. We’ll go into more detail on train travel later, but these were our go-to tools in the early planning stages.
Accommodation
Booking pet-friendly accommodation turned out to be surprisingly easy! We used Booking.com, which has a 'dogs allowed' filter, making the search super quick and easy. We also chose flexible booking options, just in case we needed to adjust our plans along the way.
Preparing for Border Crossing
One of the biggest admin tasks was sorting out Nora’s travel documents. Since Brexit, UK pet passports are no longer valid for EU travel. Instead, you need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC), which must be issued by a vet within 10 days of travel. This certificate confirms your dog is microchipped, vaccinated against rabies (at least 21 days before getting the AHC). It was all relatively straightforward but we quickly found that some vets charge an astronomical amount of money just to write the AHC (£250+!). We shopped around and went with ‘The Cheshire Travel Vet’.
We highly recommend Gabe if you’re in the Manchester/Cheshire area! He came to our house, sorted the AHC, and gave us all the info we needed for the return journey.
For re-entering the UK, we also had to book a vet in Europe (Amsterdam, in our case) in advance to administer a worming treatment. This must be done 24 hours to 5 days before returning to Britain.
Figuring out Dog Food
Sorting Nora’s food was another challenge. If she could eat anything, it would have been easy—but she’s allergic to most proteins (beef, chicken, pork, lamb... the list goes on) and is also an incredibly fussy eater. We switched her to a kibble that was readily available in every country we planned to visit a few weeks before departure. The downside? We still had to carry an 5kg of kibble at the start of our journey in the backpack!
Important! You cannot bring pet food (including treats) containing meat or meat derivatives into the EU from the UK. However, we were never asked to declare Nora’s food at border control, and it’s unclear whether fish-based food counts as ‘meat’. Vegan dog food could also be an option.
Train Rules
We spent weeks researching train rules for each country—muzzle requirements, dog tickets, carriage restrictions—everywhere has different policies. We’ll break these down in more detail later in the blog!
Finalising the Itinerary
After months of research, everything was logged in Trello to keep track of bookings, recommendations, and places to visit. Finally, we were ready to go.
Packing Essentials
A lot…and maybe some unnecessary things in the end but lets start off with what was essential for us (other than the obvious collars and leads)!
First aid kit (make sure there are Antihistamines!);
Cooling products (bandanas, cooling vest etc) if travelling in the warmer months;
Poop bag
Food and lots of treats and chews;
Blanket (for sleeping!)
Travel mat (essential for the many trips to restaurants and bars);
Collapsible travel dog bowls
Portable water bottle (we have Pancho the Pooch which is stainless steel to keep the water cool)
Muzzle - although we didn't end up using it on trains, it was required for some cable car journeys.
Raincoat
Jumper
Tracker
GPS tracker
We also packed a few things we thought would be useful but barely ended up using- like a life jacket. Turns out, Nora hates water and refused to swim, even in the sweltering heat! You might also notice in some photos that she’s wearing a "Do Not Approach" sleeve on her lead. Initially, we weren’t sure how people in Europe would react to dogs on trains and in public spaces, and we wanted to avoid Nora getting overwhelmed by unwanted attention. However, after just a few days, we ditched it. Most people in Europe were respectful and don't touch dogs without permission (unlike in England!).
Getting to Europe!
When it comes to crossing the Channel with a dog, there are only two realistic options:
Driving - which would have meant taking a ferry or the Eurotunnel, but then we’d be stuck driving around Europe instead of doing an Interrail trip.
Taking the ferry as foot passengers - which allowed us to travel without a car and keep the Interrail experience intact.
Unfortunately, the Eurostar doesn’t allow pets on its UK route (though they’re permitted between mainland European destinations), so that was off the table.
Hull to Rotterdam
We opted for Hull to Rotterdam ferry as foot passengers. It’s a much shorter and more convenient journey from Manchester than trekking all the way down to the south coast for other ferry routes. Once we arrived at the port - just a five-minute taxi ride from Hull’s train station—we checked in and were escorted to our cabin.
Choosing a Dog-Friendly Cabin Over the Kennels
As a foot passenger with a dog, you have two options:
Book a dog-friendly cabin- a private room with beds, a shower, a toilet, and easy access to a small "dog exercise area" (essentially a fenced-off deck with a fake tree for toilet breaks - not as grim as it sounds!).
Use the onboard kennels—where your dog stays crated for 12+ hours, and you’re only allowed one brief visit during the trip.
For us, the choice was obvious - why would you leave your dog in a kennel with barely any access when they could just stay with you for almost the same price? Walking past the kennels and hearing the dogs barking only confirmed we’d made the right call.
While dogs aren’t allowed in the main areas of the ferry, that wasn’t a big deal for an overnight trip. Andie and I took turns wandering around, grabbing food and drinks, and stretching our legs while Nora relaxed in the cabin.
Stranded in Rotterdam... Almost!
After a surprisingly smooth 12-hour crossing, we were escorted from our cabin just before arrival and were first through passport control—so far, so good! But then we hit an unexpected problem.
We’d read in advance that P&O Ferries don't allow dogs on their bus transfers (even though they allow them on the ferry… go figure). We assumed there’d be taxis waiting at the port, but when we stepped off the ferry—nothing. No public transport, no taxis, no Ubers, no Bolts. We were stranded and miles away from the city centre.
After some panicked searching, Andie managed to sweet-talk the coach driver, who was happy to let us on with Nora. He even convinced the ticket officer to sell us a ticket—without that stroke of luck, I have no idea how we would have made it to Rotterdam! Something to consider...
Travelling by Train with a Dog!
Before committing to Interrailing, we did plenty of research to figure out if it was even possible with a dog - checking whether certain countries banned dogs on trains, whether we’d need a special ticket, or if Nora would be required to wear a muzzle.
For most European countries, the official guidance was that larger dogs (or any dog not in a carrier) require a ticket or an additional fee. Some countries also technically required dogs to wear a muzzle on board.
Reality vs. Official Rules
In practice? Nobody cared.
We initially bought dog tickets for Nora, but after multiple journeys without a single conductor asking for one, we stopped bothering. The first time anyone even mentioned it was in Switzerland, where the conductor simply advised us to buy one in the future- no fines, no drama.
As for the muzzle rule? Not once was it enforced. To be honest, most of the time, staff and passengers didn’t even notice we had a dog - Nora just curled up on the floor and slept through nearly every journey (we’re incredibly lucky that she loves trains!).
Train Comfort & Space Considerations
European trains are generally far superior to those in England- spacious, clean, and more comfortable. That said, if you're travelling with a larger (and less flexible) dog than a Whippet, things might get a little tricky, especially on busier routes where there’s limited floor space. In those cases, booking an extra seat for them might be worth considering.
Ultimately, Interrailing with a dog was surprisingly easy—our oversized backpacks caused us way more trouble than bringing Nora along!
Eating out and dog-friendly activities
When we arrived to our first destination, we were frantically searching Tripadvisor and online reviews for dog-friendly restaurants and bars only to quickly realise that in most of Europe, they’re all dog-friendly.
After our first few stops, we stopped even asking before walking in.. nobody cared. Servers didn’t bat an eye, and in most cases, Nora wasn’t even acknowledged (except by the occasional English or American tourist!). It was such a stark contrast to the UK, where having a dog in a pub often means constantly watching out for people randomly reaching to pet them.
Of course, some places didn’t allow dogs, but these were mostly upscale restaurants or late-night bars, neither of which we were particularly fussed about. Despite that, we still had some incredible food throughout our trip—check out our separate blogs on Munich, Salzburg, Ljubljana, and Lake Garda for our top recommendations!
Did we miss out anything? Not at all!
While some historic sites (like churches and cathedrals) didn’t allow dogs, we were surprised by how many castles, museums, and landmarks did- far more than we expected! Plus, all the best parts of the trip- scenic walks, boat rides, public transport, and city exploring- were completely dog-friendly.
Managing the Heat
During our time in Bruges, Munich, and Lake Bled, temperatures crept close to 30°C, which meant balancing our sightseeing plans while ensuring Nora stayed cool, safe and comfortable.
To manage the heat, we:
Started our days early - getting most of our walking done before peak temperatures hit.
Took plenty of breaks - ducking into cafés, bars, and restaurants whenever the sun got too intense.
Stuck to the shade - or, in Munich’s Englischer Garten where we took a dip in the river!
Kept water on hand - thanks to Nora’s insulated travel bottle by Pancho the Pooch, she always had cold water available.
Used a cooling bandana – which we kept damp to help her regulate her temperature.
Nora - Fussy Eating, Allergies and Mosquitos…
Our Instagram stories and blog posts might make this trip look effortless, but traveling for a month with a dog wasn’t always smooth sailing.
For one, Nora is a notoriously fussy eater, and to make things trickier, she’s allergic to chicken, beef, lamb, and most proteins, meaning her diet is strictly vegetarian or fish-based. To prepare, we transitioned her onto a kibble that we could reliably find across Europe.
For about 75-80% of the trip, she ate fine, probably because of all the walking and hiking we were doing. But as soon as we hit Italy, she decided she was over it. She refused to eat her kibble, and while she would eventually cave after a full day of activity, it wasn’t ideal. We resorted to mixing in wet fish food or even baby food to convince her to eat!
Then came the mosquito incident. While in Lake Como, Nora got bitten, likely by a mosquito, and reacted badly, breaking out in hives and a swollen face. By the time we noticed, everything in Bellano (a small village we stayed in) was closed for the night. All we could do was stop her from scratching and wait for the reaction to settle—which it did, eventually, but not without a very restless night for all of us.
The next morning, we rushed to a pharmacy and got her some antihistamine. And just when we thought we’d learned our lesson… it happened again in Switzerland! On our way to Mount Rigi, Nora had another flare-up, but this time, we’d left the antihistamines back at the hotel. So, off to another Swiss pharmacy we went, paying another small fortune for allergy meds.
Moral of the story? Always carry antihistamines for both you and your dog!
Planning your own trip?
We hope we have helped with some tips and tricks on what to expect when planning a holiday abroad with your dog but if you have any questions just drop them in the comments and we will do our best to help!
I loved reading about your dog-friendly Interrail adventure around Europe! The tips and travel stories are super helpful for anyone planning a similar trip. If you're putting together a video or photo montage from the journey, https://www.movavi.com/learning-portal/free-video-editing-software-for-mac.html are fantastic. They make editing quick and easy, and can really help bring out the best moments from your travels with your dog!