Until last month, I had always hired a dog sitter to stay at my house while we went on family vacations. One of my dogs gets car sick, while the other is rather sickly in general. Plus, neither of them is well behaved. They are oh-so cute, but are very bad dogs. Last month, we visited Isle of Palms near Charleston, South Carolina for a few days and took the dogs with us to have some fun at the beach. I learned that vacationing with dogs can be a little tricky, but it’s something I now highly recommend.
Ample preparation is key when traveling with pets. I first had to locate a beach in Georgia or South Carolina that allowed dogs. I did a lot of web searches and visited many pet blogs. Since my dogs Winston and Lilly were a part of this trip, I did most of our vacation planning on the couch using my Acer C720P Chromebook. That way they could snuggle up and weigh on on the decisions.
(Planning our trip.)
The Acer C720P Chromebook, powered by Intel technology, is the perfect device for doing your vacation planning – from anywhere to anywhere. It’s small, it’s fast, and it’s light. It also has the same very cool touch screen feature that I have on my larger Intel AIO device. Many thanks to our sponsor Intel AIO for providing us with the Acer C720P Chromebook to review.
Once we narrowed down our location to a couple of dog friendly beaches, the hunt began for a dog friendly hotel. When searching for a dog friendly hotel, it’s a good idea to read the hotel’s pet policy in full. I thought I had found the perfect beachfront resort, only to learn they had an 8 pound weight limit for pets which wasn’t going to work for my 25 pound pups. Also, expect to pay a non-refundable pet fee. The typical range for this fee is $100-$200.
(An evening walk with the dogs on the beach.)
Traveling with dogs requires a lot of extra gear. Once the car was loaded up, I realized that dogs had at least as much gear as the people going on our vacation. Being in new surroundings with different smells and sounds can be scary for dogs, so it’s important to bring things like your dog’s favorite toys and blankets – even their bed if trunk space permits. It’s difficult for my dog, Lilly, to walk some days so we even had to pack her fancy pink dog stroller.
(A walk around the Charleston Battery.)
Hotels use the same rooms over and over for families traveling with pets, so it’s a good idea to bring a can of disinfectant spray and a couple blankets or sheets to cover furniture, if necessary. Pack plenty of food and treats for our dog. If you’re visiting the beach or a park where your dog is sure to get dirty, bring your dog’s shampoo along as well.
(A fun day at the beach with the dogs.)
Expect to get little or no sleep your first night in the hotel. Most hotels have their pet friendly rooms located in the same area of the hotel, so expect to see and hear lots of other dogs. My dogs were alert to every sound that first night, but by the second night they slept well from sheer exhaustion.
It’s important to have a well fitting harness or collar for your dog, while on vacation. You never know what might set your dog off. Since this was a dog friendly beach, there were many other four legged friends on the beach. Winston and Lilly quickly claimed the beach as their own and wanted to chase all the other dogs away.
My Acer C720P Chromebook came in very handy while on vacation. One of my dogs had a chronic illness flare up while we were at the beach, and I had to find a place for my Vet to call in a prescription. By the time we got home, she was starting to feel better.
(My Acer Chromebook came in very handy while on vacation.)
It’s true that vacationing with dogs is a lot more work, but it’s something I would do again in a heartbeat. I know my dogs are miserable when left with a pet sitter, and it was so fun seeing them play at the beach. They had a blast and so did I.
Have you ever taken your pets on vacation?
#spon: I am in a partnership with Intel. Through this partnership I gain access to content, product, or other forms of value.
These are such great tips. I didn’t realize some of the restrictions about traveling with dogs. Thanks for this info!
I know not all hotels are the same, but my mother ran one for a while and their policies for cleaning after a pet were pretty intense, even though a pet would be staying there the next night. But a can of disinfectant never hurt anyone.
We don’t have any pets, just a cat. But when we do have a dog we will include him/her everywhere we go, or at least try to.
This looks like a great way to vacation with your dogs. I am glad you were able to find accommodations.
I live an hour from Charleston. I would have loved to have met you both in person! It looks like you had a great time. If you decide to come back and want to meet up shoot me an email. (I live five minutes off of I-26 too.) 😉
Ah yes, Crystal! I’m sure we’ll be making the trip again. It would be great to meet up.
Aww. I love that you have a stroller for little Lilly. Now that is devoted puppy parenting.
My dog is bad as well but he loves to travel.
That is so cool! Those doggies are gorgeous!
I normally leave the cat at home. I think traveling with dogs would be more enjoyable. Looks like they had a blast at the beach
Your dogs are so cute and they look like they had a fantastic time on vacation. I love the photo of the dogs on the beach,