Our Road Trip from the UK to the beautiful island of Sardinia with our dog Olive

 Welcome to our dog friendly Sardinia road trip 2023 

If you plan to take your dog to Europe from the UK in 2023 you should find this guide helpful.

Starting in the UK we will be traveling to Sardinia passing through mainland France, mainland Italy, Corsica and finally Sardinia

Part 1

Getting Olive ready for travel 

There's quite a bit of planning when taking your dog to europe.

Since we left the EU we no longer have the convenient option of a pet Passport.

Your dog will need to:

a. Be Microchipped

     Your dog should already have a chip

b. Have all uk vaccinations and yearly boosters

      If your dog needs her boosters whilst you are away. Seek vet advice you will probably need to get these done early so she is covered while traveling.

c. Have a rabies vaccination 

      This needs to be done at least 21 days prior to travel date and lasts for 3 years (double check this as some countries require a yearly booster) I had this done at my local Vets4pets it cost £78.00

d. Pet travel certificate

      This must be done within 10 days prior to traveling. I have this booked 4 days before we travel at an eye watering cost of £225.75. I did shop around but for us it came down to convenience. If you live down south i found a company called Passpets offering this service for just £99. and it's all they do. This is a good 2.5hr drive from us so we opted for the convenient but way more expensive option 

Keep in mind vets get booked up early at certain times of the year. 

      Also note this is the present information/findings as of April 2023 all is subject to change do your own research i am not a professional this is just my personal experience.

Places for information:

The government website has plenty of up to date information https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad 

Your local vet will also have all the relevant up to date info

Sardinia Here We Come!! 

Sunset at Rena Majori beach north Sardinia

Ok thats the boring official stuff underway now for the fun stuff

Part 2

Packing doggy's suitcase

Include Items that are familiar to your dog to help reduce anxiety of being away from home

• Some favourite toys, we trip involves a lot of water beaches, lakes, rivers so i'll be making sure Olive has plenty of toy that float. I picked up a bunch of cheap floating dog toys in B&M not sure if this is seasonal stock
• Food & water Bowls Cheap plastic ones or if your dog likes to chew the plastic ones Stainless Steel  you can get folding bowls helpful if you are really struggling for space
• I found these by PupFlask on Amazon, I really like the look of them, a bit pricey but i'm definitely tempted  

• Aim to pack enough wet food and kibble to last the duration of your trip, avoid changing your dog's food too much.
• Snacks and treats
• A ground anchor lead, there's nothing worse than trying to keep an eye on the dog whilst trying to pitch the tent and make camp
• Towels
• Dog Bed 
• Suitable pet travel restraint ie seatbelt harness, pet carrier Under Rule 57 of the Highway Code your pet must be suitably restrained in your vehicle.

Don't get too hung up about forgetting items, it's not like we are going to the moon, there are plenty of pet stores and supermarkets with prt sections all over France and Italy, all over Europe in fact.