A dog-friendly trip through the Netherlands
marieke koenders
Dog-friendly travel expert, Lottie Gross, presents her dog-friendly, slow travel itinerary, bookable through our support team. This itinerary is for a minimum of 10 days, from £1,400 per person.
Know before you go:
Travelling by train through the Netherlands is easy but you will need to purchase a dog ticket (or “dagkaart hond”) at approximately 3.30 EUR for each travel day. These must be purchased at the train station or online by you. More information here.
The Netherlands is a really dog-friendly country and you’ll see pooches out with their owners in restaurants and cafes in cities and rural areas. There are some rules you need to know though:
Dogs generally need to be leashed in public unless in a designated off-lead space (such as a park or dog-friendly beach). If your dog is off-lead outside of these spaces you can be fined up to 90 EUR.
Dog mess must be cleared up; fines of up to 150 EUR may be handed down to those who don’t clean up.
The itinerary
Lisa van Vliet
Travel: London to Harwich
Good to know: Your journey from London Liverpool Street takes you directly to the ferry terminal at Harwich.
Travel: Harwich to Hoek van Holland
You can board from around 8.30pm to have dinner on the ship, but be aware that dogs aren’t allowed in the public spaces on the ferry so they will have to stay in your cabin. You can ask to have your meal as a takeaway and eat in the cabin if you wish to keep the dog company. There is a pet deck for toilet breaks, but for a final wee stop before you board there’s a small green space on Station Road just 10-minutes’ walk from the train station (use What3Words to find it here: ///marzipan.steamed.compacts).
Travel: Hoek van Holland to Rotterdam
Welcome to the Netherlands! Your first adventure is just a 30-minute metro ride away. You can buy tickets on the platform which is located opposite the ferry terminal. Don’t forget your dog ticket!
Top tip: If you want to exercise the dog before you head into the city, hop on the metro and travel one stop towards Hoek van Holland Strand and let them loose on the beach at the end of the line. It’s dog-friendly all year at its very southern tip alongside the estuary. You can then get directly into Rotterdam on the metro going towards Rotterdam Eendrachtsplein.
John Cameron
Stay: Rotterdam
Suggested hotel: Hilton Rotterdam
Exploring this dynamic Dutch city on foot with the dog is a real pleasure, and there are plenty of lovely parks and gardens for your four-legged traveller to explore – head to Het Park for a little English-style landscaping and plenty of plants to sniff (off-lead allowed), or strike out to the northeastern edge of the city to walk around Kranglise Plas, a five-kilometre lakeside trail. Ons Park, located in the island neighbourhood of Noordereiland, has an off-lead area for dogs.
Don’t miss dog-friendly dinner or drinks at Rotterdam Markthal, where Asian, Mediterranean and Caribbean food vendors cook up a feast. There are dog-friendly harbour tours in the city with Spido, but also consider a day trip to see the waterways and windmills of Kinderdijk using the waterbus (line 21) from Erasmus Bridge.
Top tip: From Rotterdam, you can take a day trip to gorgeous the historic city of Gouda – so old it predates both Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Its history is laid out in its medieval streets and buildings. Wander the city centre with the dog, admiring the stained-glass windows on the Sint-Janskerk church, or stopping in parks like Houtmansplantsoen on the banks of the Hollandsche IJssel or Van Bergen IJzendoornpark outside the train station.
The weekly Gouda cheese market is the biggest highlight here (from April through August), but don’t miss a boat tour of the city’s storied waterways with dog-friendly Bootje Kaas (spring/summer only). For dinnertime, lean into the city’s cheesy roots with a melt or some traditional Dutch bitterballen from dog-loving Lunchcafe Juuls.
Travel: Rotterdam Central to Haarlem
Julian Tong
Stay: Haarlem
Suggested hotel: Hotel Lion d'Or
The little city of Haarlem is vastly overshadowed by its neighbour, Amsterdam. But this pretty urban sprawl is a brilliant base for dog owners looking to explore the Dutch coast or venture into the capital. It has canals for aimless wandering, pretty narrow streets (Korte Houtstraat is probably its prettiest) for window shopping, and the vast Frederikspark with its own dog park (Hondenlosloopgebied Haarlemmerhout).
Cafe culture is strong here – expect to sip excellent coffees and indulge in great pastries and cakes. One of the best, and most dog-friendly, is Ti Bisou Crêpes Boutique, where you can enjoy French crêpes and galettes.
From Haarlem, you could day trip into Amsterdam to roam the vast Vondelpark with the dog, or even better, head out to the coastal Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, where there are specific areas where dogs can be walked amid the rolling dunes.
Travel: Haarlem to The Hague
Martijn Vonk
Stay: The Hague
Suggested hotel: Moxy The Hague
Famous as the home of the International Court of Justice, The Hague is so much more than a political centre. The city is exceptionally green, with huge parks like the hundred-hectare Haagse Bos where the dog can run off lead through thick forest (signs indicate where you can let them run free), while its coastal neighbourhood Scheveningen enjoys a vast, sandy beach that has dog-friendly sections for summer (look out for the signage on the waterfront around the pier); the entire beach is dog-friendly throughout the period between October 1 and May 15. The Pier and enormous Ferris Wheel are both dog-friendly here, too, and dog-friendly cargo bike hire is available from Black Bikes.
In the city centre, the Hague’s dog-friendly dining scene is quite exciting, with tasting-menu restaurants like Publique allowing well-behaved dogs to watch their owners feast on fine-dining creations. For something more casual, head to the outdoor market – the largest of its kind in Europe – where fried fish and baked goods are sold alongside washing machines, antiques and jewellery.
Top tip: Don’t forget, to return to the UK your dog needs to have a worming treatment administered by a vet and have their passport or Animal Health Certificate signed. This must be done between 120 and 24 hours before you arrive into the UK; in The Hague, Dierenkliniek Scheveningen (+31 70 355 5531) is a reliable practice and charges around £35 for the treatment.
Travel: The Hague to Rotterdam
Don’t forget your dog ticket!
Travel: Rotterdam to Hoek van Holland
Don’t forget your dog ticket!
Travel: Hoek van Holland to Harwich
Board the comfortable Stena Line ship to Harwich for an easy, overnight journey back to England. The boat doesn't leave until late evening but you can board from about 7pm to have dinner before settling into your cabin before an early arrival in Harwich. Remember, the dog isn’t allowed in public spaces on the ship except on the pet toilet deck.
Top tip: Give the dog a good runabout on the beach at Hoek van Holland Strand. It’s dog-friendly all year at its very southern tip alongside the estuary, and is located just one stop beyond the ferry terminal on the metro.
Travel: Harwich to London
To book Lottie's itinerary to the Netherlands, please contact our support team to enquire.
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