Every year, thousands of people travelling from the UK and Ireland to France and Spain by ferry, often on their way to Portugal. And, many of them decide to take their pets with them.
Yes, pets (dogs, cats, and even ferrets) can travel on ferries. Some ferries have pet-friendly cabins, some have kennels, and others only allow you to leave your pet in the car.
Here’s a breakdown of all the different options.
Note: There are only a limited number of pet-friendly cabins and they tend to get booked months in advance, so be sure to book as soon as you know your dates.
Ferries to and from France
Even though there are lots of different ferry companies that operate between the UK and France, the only company that seems to offer pet-friendly cabins is Brittany Ferries.
- Portsmouth to Le Harve (Brittany Ferries’ Etretat): Has pet-friendly cabins.
- Portsmouth to Caen (Brittany Ferries’ Normandie): Has pet-friendly cabins.
- Portsmouth to St Malo (Brittany Ferries’ Bretagne): Has kennels.
Note: All of the above routes are operated by Brittany Ferries. To get a pet-friendly cabin, we recommend booking directly [link] rather than using a comparison site.
Eurotunnel
You can take your pet with you on the Eurotunnel. The journey only takes 35 minutes, and you stay in the car with your pet.
Ferries to and from Spain
UK to Spain (and back again)
Because there are only a limited number of ferries between the UK and Spain, things are much simpler.
- Portsmouth to Santander (Brittany Ferries’ Cap Finestre): Has pet-friendly cabins and kennels.
- Portsmouth to Bilbao (Brittany Ferries’ Cap Finestre): Has pet-friendly cabins and kennels.
- Plymouth to Santander (Brittany Ferries’ Pont-Aven): Has kennels (cats can stay in the car).
Note: All of these routes are operated by Brittany Ferries. To get a pet-friendly cabin, we recommend booking directly [link] rather than using a comparison site.
Ireland to Spain (and back again)
And for Ireland, it’s simpler again. There are pet friendly cabins on both the Brittany Ferries’ Connemara and Kerry which go between Roscoff and Bilbao.
Note: Both of these ferries are operated by Brittany Ferries. To get a pet-friendly cabin, we recommend booking directly [link] rather than using a comparison site.
Have you managed to find a walk on ferry, Chloe? We encounter the same issue as we speak… Thank you!
Hello all! I want to travel with my dog from Spain or Portugal to Tenerife (Canary Islands) on a ferry. Ideally, I want a ferry with a pet friendly cabin or, if we can’t have that, find a ferry that will let me stay with my dog in my car or on a dog friendly deck (neither ideal, but I don’t want to leave my dog in a cage). Any suggestions? All thoughts appreciated!
The ferries between Spain and the UK/Ireland are all car ferries anyway. There may be some walk-on ones between France and the UK/Ireland.
Do you need a car to book every pet friendly ferry? Is a walk on booking possible?
That’s UK not Ireland… So English ferries that are pet friendly none for Ireland to Europe…
We are wanting to bring our cat to Mallorca from UK, Our plan is to drive to Barcelona and then take a ferry but we cant find a ferry from Barcelona to Palma with pet friendly cabins, our cat is an old lady and would not want to be left in a cage away from us.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
At present there are no pet friendly cabins. We travelled last year on Trasmediterránea. We were allowed on this particular ferry to sit on the dog deck with him as I refused to put him in a cage. The cages were not very nice and he is a rescue dog. I have read that Balearea ferries are going to introduce Pet friendly cabins soon on certain ferries, but there doesn’t seem to be an option for this on the website at the moment. Balearea DO NOT let you stay with your pets. It may be worth phoning them directly and asking. It’s a stressful trip for pets and Pet friendly cabins will help them considerably.
Taking the DFDS ferry to Amsterdam (pet in the cabin with you) or the Hook of Holland to England is pet friendly also.
We are wanting to bring our cat to Mallorca from UK, Our plan is to drive to Barcelona and then take a ferry but we cant find a ferry from Barcelona to Palma with pet friendly cabins, our cat is an old lady and would not want to be left in a cage away from us.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
At present there are no pet friendly cabins. We travelled last year on Trasmediterránea. We were allowed on this particular ferry to sit on the dog deck with him as I refused to put him in a cage. The cages were not very nice and he is a rescue dog. I have read that Balearea ferries are going to introduce Pet friendly cabins soon on certain ferries, but there doesn’t seem to be an option for this on the website at the moment. Balearea DO NOT let you stay with your pets. It may be worth phoning them directly and asking. It’s a stressful trip for pets and Pet friendly cabins will help them considerably.
We want to travel with our dog December 2020 from St Malmo to Portsmouth