The nation’s pet-friendly hotspots for a summer staycation

With foreign travel back on the cards this summer, Brits are once again setting their sights abroad. For pet owners, of whom there are an estimated 14 million in the UK, this brings the return of a common and often worrisome problem – what am I going to do about my furry (or other) friend?

Some will choose to leave their animals at home in the care of friends or family, a kennel or increasingly common ‘pet hotel’. But what about those of us determined to bring them along for the ride?

hoo, the hotel room offer platform, has looked into exactly what holidaymakers have to do in order to take their pet abroad, and how much of their holiday budget they’ll have to put towards doing so.

Pre-travel pet costs

There are a number of long-standing pet travel rules that owners need to abide by and one big change to these rules comes as a result of Britain leaving the EU.

When travelling from the UK into EU countries, pet passports are no longer required, instead they’ve been replaced by the Animal Health Certificate (AHC). An AHC costs £180, making it the largest pre-travel cost incurred and must be issued by an official veterinarian. It contains all of the pet’s details, including vaccination information.

To travel to non-EU countries, individual national rules will apply, such as completing pet blood tests and so it’s advisable to research these before committing to plane tickets and hotel bookings.

To take a pet to an EU nation, it must be microchipped, which costs around £15 for dogs and cats, and they must also have an up to date rabies vaccination which costs an average of £63 and must be renewed every three years in order to travel.

Dogs must also receive standard booster and kennel cough vaccinations at a cost of around £83, and cats must be given booster and FeLV vaccinations for just over £50. Dogs must also be treated for tapeworm at a cost of around £25.

All jabs must be given at least 21 days before travel and in total, the pre-travel cost of taking your pet abroad runs up to £652 for dogs and £603 for cats.

This is a substantial additional cost to consider for those who picked up a pet during lockdown and may be contemplating their first trip abroad with them. The good news is that microchips are a one-off expense and rabies vaccinations are only required once every three years, so after their first holiday, the costs do fall.

Additional costs – insurance to hotels

As well as the pre-travel pet expenses to consider, there are a number of additional costs that can come when travelling.

These include the price of pet plane tickets, ranging from £12-£350 depending on the pet’s size and the airline, a travel carrier (£20-£100) and pet insurance which, while not mandatory, can offer a very valuable sense of security and reassurance. Some pet insurance packages will cover foreign travel though, so it’s worth checking to see if you can cut costs.  

Finally, there are hotel surcharges – money that pet-friendly hotels will charge in order to allow the critters to enjoy the facilities. This will cost an average of £43 per night extra.

Quarantine nations

There are a number of countries that insist pets spend time in quarantine upon arrival. This will cost additional money and mean the pet cannot enjoy a large part of the holiday. Cost and duration changes from one nation to another, but owners looking for a shared summer holiday would be wise to avoid these countries altogether.  Quarantine nations include:

• Australia
• Iceland
• Japan
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• Taiwan

Staycation

Of course, those who want to holiday with their pets but also want to avoid all of these additional rules and expenses can choose to stay in the UK this summer and enjoy the ever-popular staycation.

The UK’s most pet-friendly popular staycation destination is Brighton where 37% of hotels are listed as pet friendly, followed by the Cotswolds (36%), Devon (34%), Cornwall (34%), the Lake District (34%), Snowdonia (29%), and the Peak District (29%).

hoo Co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented:

“For some pet owners, the idea of holidaying without their four-legged friends is simply not an option.But there’s no denying that pets make the whole experience a little more complicated and expensive.

The good news is that pet friendly hotels are becoming more and more prevalent and there are a wealth of popular UK holiday destinations that will provide pet-appropriate accommodation.

While these are likely to cost you a premium, the savings versus a foreign holiday is still going to be substantial. However, with widespread travel disruption likely to deter many from heading abroad again this summer, demand for UK staycation hotspots is likely to remain high.

So you might want to book sooner rather than later, particularly if you require accommodation for both you and your pet.”