Driving uk to Denia with my dog!

I have done the route few times and I am on my way again with the dog Tuesday week. I usually take train  early in the morning (make sure you have all dog documents with you and allow extra time) do one overnight stop in south of France in dog friendly hotel ( cost around £50). Arrive in Denia area in the evening. French motorway services are dog friendly with lots of space for dogs to run around. Spanish not that good, 

If you're talking about travelling before 31 March, be aware that various departments in the mountainous areas of France have strict regulations in place concerning winter tyres for the period 1 November until 31 March.

For people travelling from the UK through France to Spain, the main route to avoid if your car doesn't have winter tyres is the motorway from Clermont Ferrand to Beziers. This is normally popular because it's largely toll free and eventually brings you down to the east coast of Spain.

Hi

We did the journey last week. We overnighted about an hour south of Calais as we’d had a full day to get to the tunnel, at the Best Western, Le Semaphore, 142, Chemin du Petit Bois, Le Champ Gretz for our return. Dog friendly, couldn’t fault it and secure car park.

The next night we stayed at Bordeaux in the Holiday Inn Express on the outskirts of Bordeaux. Great rooms, staff helpful, breakfast included and pet friendly. Also has a very secure car park. It’s just off the E70, Rue Marcel Fourbet, Lormont  France  33310.

It’s about 7 1/2 hours from Calais including a couple of stops. That’ll leave you with a drive of around 8 hours to Denia.

As for the route we came down the east coast side,of France (put the address in the Sat Nav and followed the advice once I’d checked the map) then across past Zaragoza to Valencia. There was a bit of sleet through the mountains, but nothing serious and no tyre restrictions on the route. 

Fill up before French Toll roads as fuel can be expensive.

My main advice is to avoid Paris. We´ve had a couple of nightmares trying to get round the ring road when there´s been accidents. The SATNAV went bonkers. Maybe try Reims then Montpelier. Dog friendly hotels can be filtered on Booking.com.

Hi HJ,

We're going back to the UK next week.  I had wanted to drive, but my husband told me about the requirements you've posted, so we decided to fly:

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/actualites/A14389?lang=en

However, for people who are planning to travel during the remainder of this winter, i.e. until 31 March 2024, it's worth noting that failure to comply won't incur a penalty:

"Warning : Still to allow time to adapt to the obligation to have winter equipment as provided for by the mountain law and its implementing decree, no sanctions will be applied during this winter season 2023-2024. This tolerance must not overshadow the spirit of this regulation: “Continue to improve the safety of road users in winter”."

But we'll need to comply from 1st November 2024, or risk a fine.

Kind regards,

Kim

Just driven back to Scotland. Stopped in San Sebastián and all pincho bars accepted dogs. Then stopped in Tours and no problem with dog In restaurants. Both lovely towns. On way down we did Poitiers and Pamplona which was a good spread of distances. Both routes through tunnel. No need for snow tyres that way. Girona and Dijon lovely stops if you go down East when outwith winter. 2 stops gives plenty time to wander around each city so not rushing and feels more of a holiday. Non resident owners abroad Facebook is very helpful with files on travelling and hotel recommendations. Hotel Illunion are good. Best of luck. Love Denia - friends live there. 

Brilliant, many thanks