13-08-2026
5 min
Plan your trip
Travelling with a pet changes the way you organise a holiday. It is no longer enough to choose a destination, book accommodation and pack a suitcase. Other questions appear: how should they travel in the car? How often should you stop? What documents do they need? Can they go onto that beach? What do you do if they get travel sick? And perhaps the most important question of all: will the trip you have planned for yourself work for them too?
The good news is that travelling with a pet can be much easier than it seems. It can even become one of those experiences that makes the trip more memorable.
The key is to shift your perspective slightly: it is not simply about taking your dog or cat on holiday, but about designing part of the trip around the way they experience the world.
These tips combine essential precautions with a few small tricks that do not always appear in travel guides and can make a big difference once it is time to hit the road.
One of the best tips for travelling with a dog by car happens, curiously enough, while the car is still parked.
If your pet hardly ever travels in the car, making their first experience a four-hour motorway journey is rarely the best introduction.
In the days beforehand, take a few short trips: five minutes, fifteen, half an hour… and finish some of them somewhere pleasant for your pet, such as a park or an area where they can go for a walk.
That way, the car stops meaning only “vet” or “something strange is happening”.
It can also help to place the carrier or restraint system at home beforehand so your pet can investigate it without pressure. A blanket they already use regularly can make the space feel much more familiar.
It is a small but important detail: animals do not understand the itinerary you have prepared. They understand smells, routines and associations.
The more familiar things they find within a new situation, the less new it will feel.
That dog with its head out of the window may look great in a photograph. As a way to travel, it is another matter.
In Spain, the driver must maintain freedom of movement, a clear field of vision and constant attention while driving. The animal must also travel in a way that does not interfere with the driver.
Depending on its size and the vehicle, systems such as carriers, specific harnesses or dividers may be used.
Beyond the regulations, there is an obvious reason to do it properly: in heavy braking or a collision, anything travelling unsecured can be thrown forwards.
That is why, when planning a holiday with pets, think about your pet’s place in the car just as you would think about the seat of any other passenger.
They should have a defined, stable and safe place.
And attaching the animal directly with its normal lead is not a substitute for a restraint system designed specifically for travel.
When we travel on our own, we usually choose where to stop for very human reasons: fuel, coffee, the loo and speed.
When you take a trip with your pet, it is worth adding another variable: what will your pet find when you open the door?
A service station surrounded entirely by tarmac, traffic and cars coming and going can be a fairly uncomfortable stop for a dog.
Before setting off, look at the route and identify a few shaded areas, places where you can walk for a few minutes or green spaces close to the road.
On long journeys, it is advisable to take regular breaks so your pet can walk, drink water and relieve itself.
But there is an even more important trick when you stop: do not open the door until your pet is under control.
After several hours in the car, some animals try to get out immediately. And opening a door directly onto a busy car park is a combination best avoided.
Lead or restraint first. Door second.
That two-second sequence can be more important than any accessory you have in the boot.
Everyone knows not to leave a dog shut inside a car in the sun.
But there is another less obvious problem: the heat that remains inside the vehicle when you return to it.
The steering wheel, seats, carrier, dark surfaces and load area can retain a huge amount of heat even after you have just switched on the air conditioning.
After leaving the vehicle parked in the sun, do not rush to put your pet straight back inside.
Open the doors, ventilate the cabin for a few minutes and check the surface where your pet will be travelling with your hand.
Do the same with the ground when you stop.
In the height of summer, tarmac can become much hotter than the air. A stop that feels pleasant to a person may be very uncomfortable for a dog’s paw pads.
A simple check is to touch the surface with the back of your hand for a few seconds. If it feels unpleasantly hot to you, it is probably not a good place to start a walk either.
On summer trips, the best solution is often not to take more things.
It is to travel earlier.
Setting off early can mean less traffic, milder temperatures, better stops and a much calmer start for everyone.
One common mistake when travelling with animals is to store all their things perfectly neatly… underneath four suitcases.
Then comes the first stop.
And the water bowl is somewhere in the boot.
Prepare a small bag containing only what you may need during the journey:
Also add something that takes up virtually no space and can be extremely useful: a recent photograph of your pet on your phone.
We do not mean the 2,700 photographs you probably already have.
Choose one that clearly shows their body, size, colour and distinctive features.
If they get lost somewhere unfamiliar, that image will be much more useful for showing other people or quickly creating a missing-pet notice.
It is also worth checking before the trip that the contact details linked to their identification are up to date.
It is one of those jobs that seems unimportant… until the day it suddenly matters.
For a domestic journey, preparing the car and checking your pet’s relevant documents may be enough. But if your holiday with pets crosses borders, start by checking the official requirements of your destination.
There are specific requirements for travelling between European Union countries with dogs, cats and ferrets.
In general, requirements may include identification by microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and an EU pet passport.
Some destinations also apply additional health requirements.
There is one detail that is particularly easy to overlook: depending on the animal’s age, vaccination status and the country you are travelling to, there may be waiting periods before you are allowed to cross the border.
That is why this is not something to check the night before departure.
And if you are travelling with another type of animal, do not assume the rules work in the same way. Conditions may vary depending on the species and destination country.
Before crossing a border, always check the latest official requirements.
The best travel document is the one you discovered you needed three weeks earlier, not the one you discover you needed at the border.
Some dogs hear “shall we go?” and appear next to the car before their owners do.
Others start panting as soon as they see the keys.
When someone looks for information about travelling with my dog, travel sickness often appears as one of the main concerns.
It can show up as restlessness, excessive salivation, yawning, nausea or vomiting.
And sometimes the problem is not purely physical: an animal that has previously been travel sick may begin to associate the car with that unpleasant experience.
That is why the short acclimatisation journeys mentioned at the beginning work so well.
It can also help to avoid a large meal immediately before departure and to drive smoothly, avoiding unnecessary braking and acceleration.
If the problem is recurrent or severe, speak to your vet before the trip.
What you should not do is give your pet human medication on your own initiative or try a new product immediately before starting a holiday.
Your co-driver does not need bravery.
They need predictability.
Sand, running beside the sea, shade beneath a parasol.
Few images capture a beach holiday with a petbetter.
But remember that a dog-friendly beach does not automatically make the whole day suitable for every dog.
Before you travel there, check the local rules and the specific access conditions. Some beaches allow animals only in certain areas, seasons or at particular times.
And once you are there, pay attention to four things that often receive less attention: salt water, sand, paw pads and ears.
Do not let your dog drink seawater and take plenty of fresh water.
At the end of the day, rinsing salt and sand out of the coat with fresh water can help prevent discomfort.
It is also worth checking the ears, especially after swimming, as moisture and sand can remain inside them.
There is another very simple trick if you are travelling with your dog to coastal areas: take a towel just for them.
It will not only be useful after swimming.
It can also become a familiar surface inside the car, protect the upholstery, remove sand before getting in and provide a recognisable place when you arrive at new accommodation.
Four uses, one item in your luggage.
Two adults, two suitcases and a dog may seem perfectly compatible with almost any car.
Until you add:
the carrier, bed, water bowl, walking bag, towels, parasol, food, toys and that blanket without which sleeping apparently becomes impossible.
When planning a trip with animals, calculate the space with all that invisible luggage in mind.
Especially when travelling as a family, a few extra centimetres in the boot can make several days on the road considerably more comfortable.
If you are still choosing the vehicle, you can check our guide to which car to hire for your trip or explore our family car hireoptions.
Besides size, think about something less obvious: access height.
For a young dog, it may not matter very much. For a large, older dog or one with mobility difficulties, repeatedly getting in and out of a tall vehicle can be much less comfortable. Sometimes, the best car for travelling with your pet is not the biggest one. It is the one everyone can get into easily.
We have reached the tip that probably changes a trip the most.
Do not fill every day.
When planning a holiday, we tend to optimise: visit this in the morning, drive to that after lunch and arrive in time to see something else before dinner.
Your pet knows absolutely nothing about that mental spreadsheet.
They need to stop, sniff, drink, rest and get used to new places.
So when planning a holiday with them, deliberately leave some time with nothing scheduled.
An early walk.
An hour beneath some trees.
A quiet terrace.
An accessible cove.
A path you discover by chance.
In fact, travelling with a dog can become a wonderful excuse to discover a different side of a destination.
Instead of moving only between monuments and must-see attractions, you start discovering parks, seafront promenades, trails, quiet neighbourhoods, natural areas and small places where you can simply stop.
And you will probably end up getting to know the place better.
Before setting off, you can use our guide on how to plan the perfect trip to organise the route and then leave a few gaps for everything you do not yet know you are going to find.
After several hours on the road, we arrive at the accommodation and want to do exactly one thing: drop the suitcases and go out.
Your pet would probably rather do something else first.
Get to know the place.
Let them explore calmly and quickly create a small point of reference: their blanket, bed, water and one or two familiar objects from home.
Keeping mealtimes and walking times relatively similar can also introduce something familiar among so many new stimuli.
This is especially useful during the first few days of a long holiday.
To you, it may be a beautiful house beside the Mediterranean.
To your dog, for the first ten minutes, it is simply a building they have never smelled before.
If you are preparing for a trip soon, check at least these points:
If you also need a vehicle, you can explore our airport car hire options and organise the rest of your route from there.
When you travel alone, a detour can feel like a waste of time.
When you travel with your dog, that same detour might lead you to the best walk of the holiday.
Perhaps that is one of the best things about doing it.
Pets make us travel a little more slowly. They make us stop. Look for shade. Walk through places that would never appear on a must-see list. Discover parks in cities we thought we would explore only through the centre and small paths we would probably otherwise have passed by.
Preparing the car properly, carrying the correct documentation and anticipating your pet’s needs is important.
But you do not need to control every minute.
Because once the practical side is sorted, travelling with a pet is precisely the opposite: leaving room to enjoy the journey together.
And, quite often, discovering that some of the best parts of the trip were not even on the route.
Author: Wiber Rent A Car
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