Now I’ve been a walk on passenger on many trains across Europe, however this was my very first Euro Tunnel Trip by car. So I was really excited to see how it would all work while we cross the channel to the UK.
The last time I crossed the channel, we went via car and ferry. Now the downside of that was I had to stay in the car and my peep had to go above while we traveled and I knew she was probably going to eat something tasty while she was up on deck. The ferry ride also took about 90 minutes, which in dog time is a long time to be in the noisy part of the boat.
Euro Tunnel
- Now the Euro Tunnel takes a zippy 35 minutes to cross the channel.
- You drive right onto the train.
- The best part your peep stays with you for the journey. Now they can step out and use the loo and even stand on the side and look out the window, but really, what are they staring at…we’re in a tunnel underwater!
For Dogs Only
Your peep will need to book you a ticket to travel and come a little early so that you can all go to the special check in for pets. Once you enter the office, which smells a lot like a veterinarian office…phew, head up to desk to one of the attendants. I must admit I was a little nervous, thinking I had to see another vet who was going to poke me. However that was not the case, instead I had a magic wand waved over me to read my microchip. Then my peep handed over my passport to check that I had my tapeworm treatment 24 hours before heading to the UK.
Guess what, we were 40 minutes too early! So they would not let me go until I had officially cleared the 24 hour mark! They told us to come back in a 1/2 an hour and we could check in then. So we decided to head on over to the dog park for a wee sniff, and then we decided to go for a walk towards the dog friendly ibis Hotel located just by the terminal. My peep had a coffee and I shared her croissant, I know I shouldn’t, by hey I was on holidays.
After that we headed back, checked in and my peep picked up a free copy of Dog Magazine. We then jumped in the car and began our journey to London!
We drove slowly to the train
Here’s the train and we’re ready to drive in…
Here we are in the train on the top deck. Notice not a lot of room!
We all stayed in the car and shared a little lunch and water which we picked up at the mini mall near the Euro Train holding area. I was totally relaxed and snoozed right after lunch, which was a good thing due to once we hit the UK, traffic was terrible!
My Euro Tunnel trip was quiet easy for me and my peep and I would be more than happy to do it again! Perhaps next time we’ll pick up a little wine from France to bring home.
All in all there are not a lot of choices from getting to the UK from Europe as a dog. It’s either in a car via Ferry or Train, unless you’re a hand-bag dog. If you’re a larger dog, its impossible for your peep to put you in a carrier for a walk on ferry ride. And for some stupid reason the Euro Train will not let family pets travel at all. You need to be a service dog to Travel on Euro Star. Big drag and silly I think, they got to get with the program, people love traveling with their dog, and not all of them are keen of putting us in cargo on a plane!
A little more information
Websites to check out!
Euro Tunnel – You can book your tickets here, learn more about what you need to do to travel with your dog
