Campervaning around Europe with kids plus dog. Anyone done it? Any tips?

[Gardeningnovice99]

We want to do a big campervan trip around Europe with our kids plus dog. Not sure of the practicalities of taking our dog along! But don’t want to leave him behind. We’re at the very very beginning stage of planning a 3 month trip.

Has anyone done it? Do you have any tips on where to go and where to avoid?

Dog will need a pet passport, and I think you will need to arrange some vet stuff before returning. Brexit may affect current arrangements.

Current government advice: www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/pet-passport

Ahh Brexit is going to make a pet passport complicated! Ok thanks for that. I better start now. I didn’t realise it would take four months.

Would love to hear any country tips or any other tips from anyone who has campervan’d Europe with their dog?

I wouldn't take a dog if you're planning to go somewhere hot. We went to southern France one year in June in our camper and hit an early heatwave and it wasn't fair on the dogs. It was too hot for them to be out during the day sightseeing and too hot to leave them in the van. We headed north to cooler areas because they were suffering.

You don't say what you're interested in, but many historical sites won't allow dogs in, so one of you will have to sit in the shade with the dog while the other takes the children round. I don't think many dogs appreciate hour after hour of trailing around cities on leads –mine don't, anyway. Lots of beaches don't allow dogs and anyway, beaches are hell for dogs in high summer. No shade, no fresh water... Lots of restaurants and cafes don't allow dogs so even on wet days or cool evenings one of you will have to sit outside. Lots of camp sites don't permit you to leave your dog in your camper van alone and insist dogs are on leads or even muzzled on site. You may be able to find places that are dog-friendly and more relaxed but they will dictate where you go and what you do.

I'd leave the dog at home for the dog's sake and yours too.

I've done this. Dog was fine even in very hot weather - I found France very geared up to having a dog with you. Honestly though - the camper van was a nightmare. Not the oasis of family time I thought it was going to be. We had a huge one (6 bed). You can't drive it very fast so it takes hours to get anywhere. One memorable day the kids spent three hours shoving the table into each other as we drove along sweltering at about 50mph.

You have to pack the bastard thing up before you can drive on anywhere.

Cleaning out the toilet is rank. You end up using the campsite washing up facilities anyway as there isn't enough room with kids. Kids just trample sand everywhere. The free camping sites are sketchy so you end up spending a fortune on campsites with facilities anyhow. We were away 3 weeks and I would say it cost £6k. I wish we had rented a nice villa somewhere. I much preferred the previous year when we took a tent - it felt like much less work and we could just take the car if we wanted to go anywhere for the day without needing to pack up everyone's bed.

Cant say about the dog but we did a trip around europe in a small campervan using free or nearly free campervan stop areas and we all had a great time. No toilet in our van so we were limited to find places with toilets, other then that no problems. Moat cities will have free or very cheap park and ride then you can take train/tube and visit the city centres.

We’ve driven round Europe with kids and dogs in a camper van and have very happy memories of it. France is very dog friendly, Spain and Portugal also good. The only issue I remember was when the kids wanted to swim in the pools at the campsites as one of us had to stay with the dog. I don’t remember dogs on beach being a problem but it was 10years ago and we’re used to looking for dog friendly beaches in the UK anyway. We are planning to take another trip this year (provided the pet passport scheme still exists in one form or other) but kids are grown up now so will just be the two of us and DDog. We did have a problem one year when the French vet put the wrong date of the worm/tick treatment on her pet passport which caused problems when trying to board the train in Calais - double check the stamp in the passport before you leave the vets!

Definitely pay for breakdown recovery

Look at the rules about what you need to carry in each country like emergency triangle, hi viz vests, breath test kits, first aid kit

Find websites for free camping places

An alternative would be to inter rail and pack lightly

OP, I'm presuming you already have a campervan? If not, get one and go for a two week trip around the UK with the dog and children and see how it works out.

Some good advice is to try it in the uk first. WE haven't but a few friends have, its not about travelling hundreds of miles just potter about and see where you end up. Remember towns its best to stop on a site nearby and cycle / bus in to the town as often you can't park

Yup, and an increasing number of places have diesel-free zones and low emission zones. How will you manage children and the dog on public transport? Not saying it can't be done, just think you need to try it for a fortnight over here to work out your coping techniques.

What someone upthread said was also very true. You may have images of yourselves camping idyllically in some leafy little pull-in off a country lane or sneakily staying overnight in some out-of-the-way church car park, even if it has a no camping sign. What you often discover is that the leafy lane is a late night/early morning cut-through for locals and that the out-of-the-way car park is on a dog-walking route and they all want to know when you're going to be moving off. It's rarely quite as idyllic as you think it's going to be.

We did this and had a great time - if it got hot we headed to the mountains or lakes. And we had a small inflatable paddling pool for children and dog to cool off in after some driving. Most places were dog friendly in France, especially the pavement cafes. Our camper is quite small so we could park in town centers which made it easier and we loved the freedom.

Are you meaning a campervan or a motorhome or bigger? Someone mentioned a 6-bed which would definitely be more comfortable than a 2+2 campervan. Unless you are erecting an awning at every stop there will be no space for anyone or stuff in a campervan based on my own experiences! Like the idea but space is everything on a long trip