Preparations for a vacation abroad with your pet can be a stressful experience when all of the necessary arrangements are not planned ahead of time. As a pet owner, you only want the best for your dog or cat. Anything less than that is unacceptable. A vacation abroad should, ideally, provide the most enjoyable experience for you and your pet. In order to achieve this goal, make sure that all the basic and finer details of the trip are taken care of. To help with your vacation preparations, here are some tips:
If you are booking your trip with a preferred airline carrier, always check their policies on travelling with animals. Most of the airline carriers only allow pet travel via cargo if the destination is more than 6 hours away. Checking-in your pet requires it to be housed in a container that has IATA-approved specifications. An acclimatization certificate is a requirement during the colder months to prove that your pet can travel via cargo.
If you want to choose an airport where such facilities are available then Breckenridge Airport is one of the first that immediately comes to mind because they have certain facilities where your pets can travel along inside your cargo but they also have certain restrictions because travelling with a pet isn’t an easy task that is made all the more difficult if it is across the globe where you have to spend minimum 20-22 hours within the flight that may be too much for pets to handle.
If you are allowed to bring your pet with you, do not forget to bring a leash and a dog collar. Aside from the IATA approved carrier, you will need to bring these items to guide your pet during the screening, boarding and disembarking procedures. If your pet is traveling via cargo, you might have to bring it to the facility for proper loading.
Before heading out to the airport, make sure that your pet has an identification tag with your name, contact information, and destination contact numbers. International destinations require a pet microchip and a veterinary certificate bearing the numbers encrypted in the chip. Travel regulations require that the pet should be at least eight weeks old to be allowed to travel.
If you are traveling to an international destination, always check for the local quarantine laws before booking a trip with your pet. Many countries require the owners to present an International Health and Certificate Form, signed and approved by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In the UK and other locations, a PET Travel Scheme allows dogs, cats, and ferrets from select countries to enter without passing though quarantine. There are a set of rules that the owner needs to comply with to qualify for the travel scheme.
When traveling abroad for a holiday or vacation, book accommodations in a pet-friendly hotel. Before doing a final reservation for your stay, compare several hotels by looking at their pet-friendly policies and amenities. By looking at the content of the policies, you can determine the extent of allowable and non-allowable arrangements for your pet. Some hotels have restrictions on the number of pets per guest, others permit pets of a certain size and type.
Also check for additional fees and hidden charges. Some hotels may charge an extra fee for clean-up; always ask for the details first. The hotel amenities should also address both of your needs. Do they have activities that you can indulge in together, like an in house spa and massage treatment for owners and pets? Always check for the extra services since this will definitely add to the excitement of your vacation.
