Taking your dog camping in France, Spain and Portugal: the rules

Leaving from Great Britain: an animal health certificate, not a pet passport

If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you cannot use a pet passport to take your dog into the EU, even one issued in an EU country. You need an animal health certificate (AHC) from your vet instead, and you must travel within 10 days of it being issued.

• it is valid for 10 days for entry into the EU;
• once you are in, it covers onward travel within the EU for 6 months, so you can drive on from France to Spain and Portugal;
• it is also valid for 6 months for coming back into Great Britain.

On the way home, a vet must treat your dog for tapeworm no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days (120 hours) before you arrive in Great Britain. Dogs coming from France, Spain or Portugal are not exempt: the exemption only covers dogs coming directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway. Plan a vet visit near your last stop before the ferry or the tunnel.

The basics in the EU: microchip, rabies vaccination, documents

To cross from one EU country to another with your dog, Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 sets three requirements, the same everywhere:

• a microchip (or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011);
• a valid rabies vaccination: a puppy must be at least 12 weeks old on the day of the jab, and a first vaccination only counts after 21 days. Keep the boosters up to date: if the vaccination lapses, it counts as a first vaccination again, with another 21-day wait;
• the EU pet passport, issued by an authorised vet, which records the microchip and the vaccinations (or, from Great Britain, the animal health certificate described above).

The regulation limits travel to five pets per person, except for competitions, shows or sporting events.

Restricted breeds: check before you reach the border

This is the point that ruins the most holidays. Each country keeps its own list of dangerous dogs, with its own rules. If your dog is one of the breeds concerned, check before you leave:

In France, bringing in a category 1 dog carries up to 6 months in prison and a €15,000 fine. In Portugal, a dog brought in without following the rules is sent back to its country of origin. A campsite can also refuse these dogs: ask when you book.

Dog friendly campsites: finding one and fitting in

Not every campsite takes dogs, and those that do set their own conditions in the site rules: number of dogs, breeds, leads, no-go areas, a charge per night. On Campernest, the Pets allowed filter only keeps the campsites that welcome them, and the campsite page repeats it in its summary. If the information is missing, add it on the page: other Nesters travelling with their dog will thank you.

• Keep your dog on a lead around the site, even if it is calm: not everyone likes dogs.
• Do not leave it alone on the pitch all day: a barking dog soon becomes the talk of the campsite.
• Always pick up after it, and find the dog area on arrival if there is one.

Heat: never alone in the vehicle

A motorhome, campervan or car in the sun turns into an oven in minutes, even with the windows open a crack. Spain spells it out: its 2023 animal welfare law bans leaving an animal alone in a closed vehicle exposed to temperatures that put its life at risk. Elsewhere, it is common sense. Bring water, find shade and drive in the cooler hours.

Beaches and forests: where a lead is compulsory

• In French forests: from 15 April to 30 June, the wildlife breeding season, dogs must be kept on a lead off the forest tracks (order of 16 March 1955). The rest of the year, a dog that strays more than 100 metres from its owner is treated as a stray.
• On beaches: Spain has no national rule; local councils decide, and the law encourages them to open beaches to dogs. In France and Portugal too, read the signs at the entrance to each beach: the rules change from one town to the next, and sometimes with the season.