TIPS TO TRAVEL TO BELGIUM WITH A DOG

If you have a small pet weighing less than 8 kg, you can fly to Belgium. Brussels has two airports, but we recommend that you always travel from Brussels (BRU) rather than Charleroi, which is further away. Flights are not cheap at all, as you won't be able to travel with a low-cost airline like Ryanair or Easy Jet, but you will have to travel on airlines like Iberia, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, etc.

If, on the other hand, you have a large dog, our recommendation is to travel by caravan or car, or any vehicle other than putting the dog in the hold of an aeroplane.

If you are from the European Union, you do not need a visa to enter Belgium, you can simply enter with your ID card or passport. If you are from a foreign country, you will have to consult the country's embassy for the documentation and requirements for entry. Currently, there are no medical access restrictions.

For dogs, if you are travelling from an EU country, you will need your dog to be microchipped, over 6 months of age and carry its passport with an up-to-date rabies vaccination.

On the other hand, if you are travelling from abroad, you will most likely need a veterinary certificate of good health, including rabies vaccination, deworming and the dog's state of health.

As we always tell you, travel insurance is ESSENTIAL, especially when travelling with a dog because if something happens to it, going to a vet outside the country and in an emergency can be very expensive and can make your trip more difficult.

In this case, if you're european, you can use the European Health Insurance Card, but you have to take into account that there are things that this card doesn't cover. On a trip you may have an infinite number of unforeseen events that may not be directly related to health, such as lost luggage, cancellation of the trip, expenses arising from hospitalisation for accompanying persons, and many other examples.

We work with IATI Seguroswe work with iati insurance, because they offer the best coverage not only for us, but also for our pets with the modality IATI Escapadas. Plus, you get a 5% discount just for being a reader of travelling with a dog.

It is relatively easy to get around Belgium by train, as dogs are allowed on payment of a ticket. But for this section, we prefer to explain it in more detail in the post about transport in Belgium with a dog.

This is one of the most difficult things when it comes to organising a trip with a dog because you have to take many things into account: location, price, whether pets are allowed, the supplement per night, etc.

We decided to sleep only in Brussels and spend the day in the different cities because, as we were travelling with a dog, we didn't want the trip to be chaotic for him. In 5 days it was a hassle to spend 1 night in each place and to be loaded with suitcases, backpacks, Snow and its accessories. For the hotel we were looking for a hotel near the Grand-Place, as it is supposed to be the centre and also for security reasons. Brussels is a rather insecure city (paradoxical, isn't it?) and there are a lot of knifepoint robberies in the streets, especially at night. For this reason, we wanted to avoid hotels in train stations and other troubled neighbourhoods.

In terms of prices, Belgium is an expensive country, with 4-star hotels costing around €200 a night, some with breakfast and some without. And finding a centrally located pet-friendly hotel at a good price is even more difficult. But there are some, not cheap, but at least they are good hotels. You have a post explaining which are the best dog friendly hotel chains in Belgium (affordable hotels, not luxury hotels).

The official currency is the Euro, if you are travelling from Spain you will have no problem, and it will be very comfortable, if you visit the country from outside Europe you will have to exchange money. 

Prices in Belgium are somewhat higher than in Spain, especially in restaurants, where a hamburger costs 18 euros, or a single bus ticket costs 2.50 euros.

Here are some of the reasons why you should always carry some cash on your travels.

It is a country with a very high rainfall rate, so a mackintosh should always be in your luggage and a jacket as well, as even if you go in summer, the minimum temperature is usually 10 degrees Celsius.

We went in December and the temperatures were between 0 and 6 degrees Celsius, but it was very humid, so the wind chill was lower.

As for your furry friend's suitcase, keep him warm, buy him something thermal (if you have a husky or a dog like that, you don't need to). We bought him a good coat, and it was a game changing because in Bruges it rained a lot, and he didn't get cold or wet, only his paws.

We liked it a lot more than we thought we would, and we had high expectations. The fact that dogs can travel on public transport by simply buying a ticket seems to us to be a total success, as this way you can train your dog to behave in places like this. In Spain, large dogs are only allowed on a few journeys, but let's face it, that's not dog friendly.

Also, the amount of activities you can do with them, except for the ones by bus, where the dogs would have to go in the luggage compartment with the suitcases and a carrier. But we have seen that this is not only the case in Belgium, but in many, if not all European countries. There are also some activities where pets are still not allowed, such as at religious monuments (whereas in the UK there are dog-friendly churches and cathedrals).

We liked the restaurants the best of all because you didn't have to ask if they allowed dogs or not, you could just walk in. Normally, the places that do not allow dogs already have a sign on the door stating that they do not allow dogs. Even so, we always recommend you to ask or have a look at our post about dog friendly restaurants in Belgium.