We are going back to the Westcountry in June with the dog. We would like to make a holiday of it and travel through France to either Roscoff or Cherbourg. Has anyone got any recommendations of the route bearing in mind that it is not a case of getting there as quickly as possible but rather to enjoy the trip. Also is there a dog friendly hotel chain.

I'd say you want to be heading North

But if you find some decent hotels on this link, maybe you could plan your own route?

http://www.hotdogholidays.com/ENG/Countries/Spain.htm

Thanks for that. Want to travel more in France than Spain for a change of scenery. Perhaps I should post also in the French site too.

You will need to have you dog ticked as well, no less than 24 hours and no longer than 48 hours before arriving in UK. So you may need a vet as well up in France who can do the vac.

Hello Glynis,
We stayed in a Formule 1 "hotel" in France (near Caen) when we drove from the UK to Spain.
We used them primarily because we had our dog with us, and they accept one dog per room.

Here's the link to their site
http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html

This is NOT luxury accommodation, mind you!
It's very cheap, but also very basic.
Approximately 30 Euros for the room (including the 1.50 charge for the dog!)

Our room was clean and comfortable.
The toilets and showers are shared by all the guests, but are cleaned automatically after each use (lots of wet floors!)
However, the water was hot in the shower

The downside to these sort of places, is that they can be quite noisy.
The one we stayed in was obviously used by a lot of people who were working late at night and early in the morning, so there was a fair bit of coming and going.

I think we were so exhausted from a long day's travelling, that we were just relieved to have somewhere to get our heads down!
If you arrive after Reception has closed, you can just book a room by using a credit card and a machine that issues you the room number.

I must say the breakfast was good value at less than 4 Euros each - a decent enough choice, and you could have as much as you wanted.

I definitely wouldn't say it was first class accommodation, but they were certainly dog friendly.
They were even "human friendly" when I knocked a glass of juice all over the floor at breakfast time!! Lots of smiles, and assurances not to worry!

Hope you enjoy your trip!

By the way, where did you live in Torquay?
I lived in Paignton as a child, Torquay as a teen and then Newton Abbot!
It's a small world, isn't it!?

All the best,
Sam(antha)

Same site but French hotels, if you google "dog friendly hotels france", there are quite a few candidates?

http://www.hotdogholidays.com/index....otels/idctry/2

I used the Portsmouth / St Malo last time and enjoyed it. Came through the Pyranees, stopped on the way at Bordeaux, and also at Royan on the coast which was lovely. Can't help you with Dog friendly hotels I'm afraid, we use Kyriad Hotels who have an exstensive network so it might be worth checking with them. Around 55 euros a night. http://www.kyriad.fr/?l=en

What a good question, and some helpful links, thanks!
Mercedes, please what do you mean by "ticked"? Is there a link with this info?
Thanks again,
Carol

Thanks everyone for the info. This latter problem could give us some food for thought about taking the dog even as I can´t imagine us wanting to drive around France trying to find a vet.

Basically the dog needs to have a tic injection before entering UK, but can't be apparently done before 24 hours and no later than 48. So apart from the passport it also needs this done as well, everytime you re enter UK. So if driving back it may be a good idea to find a vet in France nearer to point of exit.

You vet should also be able to advise, the other thing of course is making sure that the rabies shot isn't even a day over the date, apparently otherwise you have to go through the whole 6 month process again. This was told me by my kennels after I got my passport for the dog. The date is important.

Hope it helps.

This tick thing is going to be a real bummer. Might just leave the dog behind with friends but will still be driving back. Want to visit some different parts of Spain and France. Thinking of going to Zaragossa and then through the Pyrennes and up near Toulose and Burgundy.

Thanks for the explanation, Mercedes!
Carol

I thought that too when I was going to drive back, plus the different climate, being winter and central heating. I was worried she would get some English bugs, as I often do when I go back.

Hi again,
Have been looking at this site, too:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quar...ucountries.htm
Carol

Have you looked at this site.....for planning your route.

http://www.uk.map24.com/