Insight - pet budgeting and travelling abroad this summer

As summer sets in, Brits are looking forward to spending their time abroad with foreign travel back on the cards, but for an estimated 14 million UK pet owners, this poses a worrisome problem.

Research conducted by Hoo, the hotel toom offer platform, has provided some insight into exactly what requirements holidaymakers have to adhere to in order to take their pet abroad, and how much it’s going to dip into their holiday budget.

Animal Health Certificate

If you have plans on travelling from the UK to EU countries then you will no longer require a pet passport, but rather an Animal Health Certificate (AHC). This will need to be finalised 10 days prior to your departure and you will be able to add up to five animals to your animal health certificate.

An AHC will cost you £180, making it the most expensive pre-travel cost incurred and the certificate needs to be issued and signed off by an official veterinarian. This documentation will detail information about your pets’ vaccination history and other relevant medical data.

Your pet’s animal health certificate will be valid after the date of issue for:

• 10 days for entry into the EU or Northern Ireland

• 4 months for onward travel within the EU

• 4 months for re-entry to Great Britain

Jabs and microchipping are a must

In order to take your pet to an EU nation, it is compulsory for it to be microchipped, which will cost around £15 for cats and dogs and is luckily a once-off expense. Their rabies vaccination, which costs an average of £63 and is renewed every three years, also has to be up to date in order to travel.

Dogs will have to receive standard booster and kennel cough vaccinations at a cost of around £83 with additional treatment for tapeworms that will amount to around £25, and cats must be given FeLV and booster vaccinations which total cost is just over £50.

The pre-travel cost of taking your pet abroad runs up to £652 for dogs and £603 for cats in total, and as a pet owner, you will have to ensure that your furry friend receives all mandatory jabs at least 21 days before you embark on your travels.

Bon voyage 

For the last few steps in preparation for your holiday, you will need to locate a pet-friendly hotel that will charge you an additional fee which will cost an average of £43 per night extra for your little critters to enjoy the facilities.

Additional costs may also include the price of pet plane tickets, ranging from £12-£350 depending on the pets’ size and the airline, as well as pet insurance and a travel carrier (£20-£100). Some pet insurance packages will cover foreign travel though, so it’s worth checking to see if you can cut costs.

Quarantine nations

There are a number of countries that insist pets spend time in quarantine upon arrival. This will cost additional money and could mean the pet cannot enjoy a large part of the vacation, so owners looking for a shared summer holiday would be wise to avoid these countries altogether. Quarantine nations include:

• Australia

• Iceland

• Japan

• Malaysia

• New Zealand

• Singapore

• Taiwan

Choosing to remain in the UK this summer holiday would mean that you and your pet will avoid all these additional travelling costs and requirements. The most popular UK staycation destinations include Brighton where 37% of hotels are listed as pet friendly, followed by the Cotswolds (36%), Cornwall (34%), Devon (34%), the Lake District (34%), the Peak District (29%), and lastly Snowdonia (29%).

“For some pet owners, the idea of holidaying without their four-legged friends is simply not an option. But there’s no denying that pets make the whole experience a little more complicated and expensive,” hoo co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented.

“The good news is that pet-friendly hotels are becoming more and more prevalent and there are a wealth of popular UK holiday destinations that will provide pet-appropriate accommodation.”

“While these are likely to cost you a premium, the savings versus a foreign holiday is still going to be substantial.”

He concluded: “However, with widespread travel disruption likely to deter many from heading abroad again this summer, demand for UK staycation hotspots is likely to remain high. So you might want to book sooner rather than later, particularly if you require accommodation for both you and your pet.”