Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Ardennes and Belgian Coast

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Beach rule: Knokke-Heist

From 15 March to 15 October dogs aren't allowed on the beach between 10:00 and 20:00. Outside those hours, and all day from 16 October to 14 March, dogs can be on the whole beach off the lead under supervision. The one all-day, year-round exception is at Het Zoute, from east of Surfers Paradise near Appelzakstraat to the Dutch border, where dogs can be off the lead at any time. Since May 2026 dogs on a lead are also allowed on the terraces and in the bar areas of the town's beach bars.

Beach rule: Blankenberge

Blankenberge has three zones, and Zone 1, from the Westerstaketsel (the west harbour pier) to the De Haan border, is off-lead all year. Zone 2, the central beach from the Oosterstaketsel to the J. Gadeynehelling, is closed to dogs from the Easter holiday to 15 September and on-lead the rest of the year. Zone 3, from the J. Gadeynehelling towards Zeebrugge, is on-lead from 15 March to 15 October and off-lead from 16 October to 14 March. There are two fenced dog runs, one of them near Sea Life.

Beach rule: De Haan and Wenduine

From 1 June to 15 September, between 10:00 and 19:00, dogs aren't allowed in the five lifeguarded beach zones, the dunes there or the sea. Outside the guarded zones dogs can be on the beach almost any time. At two bathing zones, Vosseslag and Harendijke, you can cross with a dog on a short lead of 1.5 m to reach the dog areas. Keep to a short lead in the Duinbossen woods, and note that the Zandpanne reserve is closed to dogs.

Beach rule: Ostend

From 1 October to 31 March dogs can be on the beach at any time. In April, May, June and September it's before 10:00 and after 18:30, and in July and August before 10:00 and after 20:00. Three stretches take dogs all year at any hour: from groyne 5 on the Oosteroever to the Bredene border, the Klein Strand between the Westerstaketsel and the western breakwater on the lead, and from Westlaan in Raversijde to the Middelkerke border on the lead. There's also the Hondenbos, an off-lead woodland path near Karperstraat.

Beach rule: Koksijde

The lead is required everywhere in Koksijde, Oostduinkerke and Sint-Idesbald, the beach included. From 16 September to 31 May dogs can be on the beach at any time. From 1 June to 15 September they're allowed before 10:30 and after 18:30, and during the day only in three marked dog zones: about 350 m at Sint-Idesbald by the De Panne border, about 1,170 m at Koksijde from Elisabethplein to G. Scottlaan, and about 1,625 m at Oostduinkerke from F. Timmermanslaan to Paardevissersweg. Dogs are never allowed in the lifeguarded zones.

Coast tram and trains

De Lijn buses and the coast tram carry dogs free: small animals on your lap, bigger dogs on a lead and on the floor. A muzzle is only required if the dog could be a danger to other passengers, and the driver can refuse an animal that could endanger, dirty or bother them. On Belgian trains a small pet travels free in a carrier no larger than 30 x 55 x 30 cm, and a dog on a lead needs a EUR 3 Pet Supplement. A muzzle isn't compulsory on the train but the attendant may ask for one, and pets can't use the seats or tables.

Dogs at meals

Hotel Britannia in Knokke takes dogs in the breakfast room and the restaurant, and Casino Hotel in Koksijde takes them in the breakfast room. Hotel Atlanta Knokke allows dogs in the restaurant on the lead and under the table, away from the buffet. C-Hotels Andromeda in Ostend and Golden Lakes are a clear no at breakfast. On the Ardennes side no hotel says yes to dogs at breakfast in writing, so the terrace at Maison Pal'Ange, Manoir de Lébioles or Bütgenbacher Hof is where your dog joins you.

High Fens and the Caves of Han

The Hautes Fagnes-Eifel nature park accepts dogs on a lead across most of its territory, and the few closed zones are signed on site. The detailed zone map around Botrange, Baraque Michel and Mont Rigi is not confirmed here, so read the boards at the trailhead. At the Caves of Han dogs are allowed in the cave on the Cave Discovery visit only, on a lead at all times, and not in the Wildlife Park, even carried in a bag. There's no kennel on site, and whether dogs can ride the tram up to the cave entrance is not confirmed.

Best walks

On the coast, the off-lead stretch at Het Zoute from east of Surfers Paradise to the Dutch border, the Zegemeer lake loop at Albertstrand, the beach west of Blankenberge's harbour pier towards Wenduine, the Fonteintjes dune ponds running towards Zeebrugge, the Duinbossen woods behind De Haan on a short lead, Ostend's sea dyke west towards Mariakerke with the Klein Strand by the harbour mouth, and the Hoge Blekker and Doornpanne dunes at Koksijde. On the Ardennes side, the forest tracks straight off the Lébioles estate above Creppe and the open moorland of the Fagne de Malchamps south of Spa, the path of roughly 10 km around the Bütgenbach lake, the Semois riverbank below Bouillon and the Tombeau du Géant viewpoint at Botassart, the woodland tracks along the Plate Taille lake at the Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure, and the dolmens and menhirs at Wéris.

When to go

For the coast, autumn to spring is the easy season. Dogs have the whole Knokke-Heist beach off the lead all day from 16 October to 14 March, Ostend's beach at any time from 1 October to 31 March, and Koksijde's on the lead at any time from 16 September to 31 May. Summer is harder work. Knokke-Heist keeps dogs off the beach between 10:00 and 20:00 from 15 March to 15 October, Blankenberge's central beach is closed to dogs from the Easter holiday to 15 September, and De Haan's lifeguarded zones are closed during the day from 1 June to 15 September, so a July or August stay means early mornings, evenings and the year-round dog zones. On the Ardennes side the terrace is the only place a dog joins you at the table at Maison Pal'Ange, Manoir de Lébioles and Bütgenbacher Hof, so go when you'd be happy eating outside.