Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Brittany

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Brittany Ferries

Saint-Malo is served from Portsmouth, and Roscoff from Plymouth and Cork. Dogs travel in your car, in an onboard kennel or in a pet-friendly cabin, and which of those you get depends on the ship, so check the sailing in the journey planner. Foot passengers, cyclists and motorcyclists can't bring a dog. Between the car, cabin or kennel and the exercise area, dogs must be muzzled and on a lead, and they aren't allowed in the public areas.

Dogs left in the car

If your dog stays in the car on the crossing, one person can visit for up to 15 minutes at times set by the crew. On Pont-Aven the kennels can be reached at any time with a swipe card.

Coming home

For the return to the UK your dog needs tapeworm treatment from a vet in France between 24 and 120 hours before your scheduled arrival, plus a microchip and rabies vaccination. Plan that vet visit into the last days of the trip.

Beaches

There's no Brittany-wide ban, it goes commune by commune. Dinard, Saint-Lunaire and Saint-Briac take dogs on the beach 16 September to 14 June, and Saint-Briac's Plage du Tertre Pelé allows dogs on a lead before 10.30 and after 18.00 in high summer. Perros-Guirec closes all its beaches 1 April to 31 October but Plage des Arcades by the marina is off-lead all year. Quiberon has dog beaches all year, including Port Puns and Port Maria.

Finistère in summer

Bénodet's tourist office reports a prefectoral order keeping dogs off Finistère's beaches from 1 May to 30 September, which would cover Concarneau and Roscoff. Treat it as reported rather than settled and check the signs at each beach. Bénodet adds its own year-round ban, easing on Plage du Coq and Plage de Saint-Gilles from 31 October to 1 May, and dogs can swim from the town's slipways, such as Penfoul and the Cale du Bac.

Hotel restaurants

Most hotel dining rooms here are a no: Emeria, Lan Kerellec, Ti al Lannec, Les Bassans, Le Celtique and Miramar La Cigale all keep dogs out. Villa Haute Guais is the one that lets dogs into the guest dining room. Bénodet's tourist office keeps a list of restaurants that welcome dogs.

Off-lead areas

Saint-Malo has a fenced 2,800 m² off-lead area at Parc de la Briantais on rue Maurice Nogues, open all year. Vannes has a fenced Caniparc with agility kit, open 8.00 to 19.00 October to April and 8.00 to 21.00 May to September.

Hotels that say no

Some of the best-known names don't take dogs. L'Agapa in Perros-Guirec accepts no animals of any size, and Castelbrac in Dinard doesn't allow pets.

Best walks

The GR34 is the walk. On the Pink Granite Coast, the Sentier des Douaniers runs from Trestraou to Ploumanac'h on a lead all year, and the Vallée des Traouïéro woods give shade on hot days. In Dinard, the Promenade du Clair de Lune follows the water and the coast path carries on round the Pointe du Moulinet. In Saint-Malo, the Sillon promenade runs along the seafront to the walled city. In Trébeurden, walk out to the tidal Île Milliau at low tide. On the Rhuys peninsula, the GR34 wraps from Port du Crouesty to Port-Navalo, and Vannes has its ramparts and the port promenade, with the Conleau woods on the edge of town. On Belle-Île, the cliff path from Port Goulphar leads to the Aiguilles de Port-Coton.

When to go

Mid-September to mid-June if the beach matters to your dog. From 16 September the Emerald Coast beaches at Dinard, Saint-Lunaire and Saint-Briac reopen to dogs, and Quiberon opens all its beaches from 1 November to 30 March. July and August are the hardest months: Perros-Guirec's beaches are closed to dogs, Finistère's are reported closed, and the dog beaches that do open in summer, like La Trinité-sur-Mer's and Lancieux's, only take dogs early in the morning and in the evening. The coast path works all year.