Ferries and the Channel Tunnel With a Dog

For anyone taking a dog between Britain, Ireland and the continent, the sea crossing is the part of the journey that needs the most thought. Planes into Britain carry pets only as cargo and the passenger trains under the Channel do not carry them at all, so nearly every British dog that goes on holiday abroad goes by car, through the tunnel or on a ferry. The good news is that the operators have become much better at this, and on many routes your dog can now stay with you for the whole crossing. The thing to understand before you book is that the same company can offer three quite different arrangements on three different ships. This guide explains the choices, goes through the main operators, and ends with how to make the crossing comfortable. The rules and prices were read on each operator's own website in the autumn of 2026.

The Four Ways a Dog Can Cross

Every crossing puts your dog in one of four places, and which one decides how the day will go. The first is in the car with you, which is only possible in the Channel Tunnel, where you drive onto a train and sit in your own vehicle for the journey. The second is in the car without you. On most short ferry crossings the dog stays in the vehicle on the car deck while you go upstairs, and since the car deck is closed to passengers once the ship sails, your dog is alone for the crossing.

The third is in a kennel on board. Longer routes have kennels, usually on or near the car deck, and on some ships you can visit your dog during the sailing. The fourth is with you on board, in a cabin that takes pets or in a pet lounge. This is the best arrangement for a long crossing and the one that sells out first. So the question to ask about any route is not whether dogs are allowed, because they nearly always are. It is where the dog will be.

The Channel Tunnel

For a nervous dog, or a nervous owner, the tunnel is the easiest crossing there is. LeShuttle carries cars on a train between Folkestone and Calais in 35 minutes, and your dog stays in the car with you throughout. Dogs travel from £24 each way, with up to five pets in a vehicle, and guide and assistance dogs go free. There is no swell, no engine noise from a car deck and no separation, and for many dogs it is no different from sitting in a traffic queue.

You check in at the pet reception building, which is open around the clock, and the company asks you to arrive at least 90 minutes before your departure. Your dog's microchip is scanned and its papers are checked there. There are exercise areas at the terminal so that your dog can stretch its legs before you board. The tunnel does not take foot passengers, so you need a vehicle, though there are taxi firms that specialise in carrying owners and dogs through it.

Dover to Calais and Dunkirk

The short ferry crossings from Dover are the cheapest way across, and on most of them the dog stays in the car. DFDS charges £15 per pet each way on its Dover routes, with the pet remaining in the vehicle. Irish Ferries also sails Dover to Calais and takes pets travelling with motorists. For a calm dog on a cool day, ninety minutes in the car with a window open a little is no hardship.

P&O Ferries offers something more on this route. Pets normally stay in the vehicle, but you can book a place in its pet lounge, for dogs only, and sit with your dog for the crossing. It has to be booked in advance, and check in is 90 minutes before departure. None of the Dover ferries will take you as a foot passenger with a dog. Our guide to taking a dog from the UK to France sets out the whole journey, including the paperwork and the trip home.

The Western Channel and Spain

The longer crossings to Normandy, Brittany and northern Spain are where the choice of ship matters most. Brittany Ferries offers three options depending on the ship and route: a cabin where your dog stays with you, kennels on board, or the dog remaining in your vehicle. On ships with neither kennels nor pet cabins, the vehicle is the only choice, and on an overnight sailing that is a long time for a dog to be alone.

On a crossing to Spain you want a cabin or a kennel, and on three of the company's ships, the Pont-Aven, Galicia and Salamanca, it says you can go to your dog's kennel whenever you wish. Outside the cabin or kennel your dog must be on a lead and muzzled at all times, so pack a muzzle your dog is used to. Brittany Ferries does not take pets with foot passengers, cyclists or motorcyclists, and will not take a pet booking on the day of departure. Our guide to taking a dog from the UK to Spain compares the ferry with the drive through France.

Further east, DFDS sails Newhaven to Dieppe with kennels and pet cabins at £20 per pet each way. It is one of the few Channel routes that accepts a foot passenger with a dog, which makes it useful for anyone travelling by train on both sides. The kennels are few, and the company asks you to bring your own bedding.

The North Sea

The overnight crossings to the Netherlands suit dogs well, because you board in the evening and wake up on the other side. Stena Line sails Harwich to the Hook of Holland with pet cabins and kennels, and takes foot passengers with a pet as long as a kennel or a cabin has been booked for it. P&O sails Hull to Rotterdam, where a pet must be booked into a kennel or one of its dog cabins. DFDS sails Newcastle to Amsterdam with pet cabins and also takes foot passengers with pets.

For anyone travelling without a car, these North Sea routes and Newhaven to Dieppe are the way to get a dog across, with trains on either side. The Dutch, German and French railways all take dogs, as our guide to dogs on trains explains, so a journey from the north of England to Berlin or Paris with a dog and no car is perfectly possible with a little planning.

Ireland

The Irish Sea is well served. On Irish Ferries, every ship has kennels on the car deck that are free to use, and on some ships you can book a pet cabin instead. Pets must be declared when you book, with a limit of five on one booking, and check in for the longer sailings between Ireland and France is two hours ahead. Stena Line's kennels are free on its routes from Cairnryan to Belfast, Holyhead to Dublin and Fishguard to Rosslare. Between Cairnryan and Belfast there is also a pet lounge, where your dog travels beside you in its carrier, and on every Stena route the dog may stay in the car.

A dog travelling between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland is crossing an international border and needs the right papers, including a tapeworm treatment, while Northern Ireland has a simpler arrangement of its own. Sort that out before you book the ferry. Our guide to taking a dog between Britain and Ireland explains all three journeys.

Scandinavia

Not every ferry company is as welcoming. Color Line, which sails between Germany, Denmark and Norway, does not allow pets in cabins or in the public areas of its ships. A dog travels in the car or in a crate in the ship's dog room, and on the long Kiel to Oslo sailing there is room for only ten dogs. If you are heading for Norway with a dog, book early, and remember that Norway requires a tapeworm treatment before entry and bans five breeds outright.

Booking

Book your dog when you book yourself. Pet cabins and kennels are few, and on summer sailings they go months ahead. If a route shows no pet cabins, look at a different sailing or a different ship on the same route before you settle for the car deck, because availability varies from one departure to the next. Check the check in time as well. With a pet it is usually 90 minutes before departure, and longer on some routes, because your dog's microchip and documents are examined at the port before you board.

The Papers

The ferry company will not let you board without the right documents, and it is the company's staff who check them. From Great Britain to the European Union, your dog needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination and an animal health certificate issued by an official vet within ten days of travel. Coming back into Britain, a dog needs a tapeworm treatment given by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before you arrive. Our guide to dog passports, health certificates and microchips explains each document.

Brittany Ferries makes a point worth repeating. Many vets in France are closed on Sundays and Mondays, and on bank holidays, so work out when and where you will get the tapeworm treatment done before you set the date of your return sailing. A crossing on a Tuesday morning means a vet on the Friday or Saturday before, and it is far easier to book that from home than to hunt for one on the last day of the holiday.

If Your Dog Stays in the Car

On a short crossing the car is fine for most dogs, provided you prepare it. The operators' own advice is consistent. Leave water in a bowl that will not spill, and bedding that will soak up an accident. Leave the front windows open a little for a flow of air, and fit window grilles if your dog might try to get out. Take everything you need with you when you leave the car deck, because you will not be allowed back until the ship docks.

Heat is the real risk. A car deck in July can be very warm, and your dog cannot be checked on. In summer, choose an early morning or late evening sailing, or choose the tunnel, or pay for a cabin. A flat faced breed, an old dog or a dog that panics when left should not be alone on a car deck in hot weather at all. Our guide to heat and your dog on holiday explains how quickly a dog in a closed vehicle can overheat.

Making the Crossing Easy

Give your dog a good walk and a chance to relieve itself before you board, and do not feed a big meal beforehand. Dogs can be seasick just as people can, and an empty stomach helps. If your dog is a poor traveller in the car, speak to your vet before the trip about what can be given safely, and try it on a short journey first.

On a long sailing with a kennel, bring the dog's own bedding and something that smells of home, and visit as often as the ship allows. In a pet cabin, ask where the exercise deck is as soon as you board. It is usually a small area of outside deck, and it is the only place on the ship where your dog can relieve itself, so take the dog there early and often. Keep it on a lead in the corridors, where other passengers and other dogs appear suddenly round corners.

A Closing Thought

Crossing the sea with a dog comes down to one decision, made at the time you book: where will the dog be? If the answer is beside you, in the car through the tunnel or in a cabin on a ship, the crossing is easy. If the answer is alone on a car deck, keep it short and keep it cool. Choose the route for the dog first and the price second, and the holiday starts well.