Brittany Ferries & Dog walk area/ cabins

 I did with my two Great Danes. 

The area was smaller but fine. 

We haven't travelled with a dog but hope to next year. We thought the doggie cabins would. be on lower decks but no on deck 7 so can even have cabin with a window. They only have 24 cabins for dogs so hard to book. Exercise area looked good. Hope this helps

We travelled on it last year. I guess it depends on the dog you have. The area is very small (no bigger than the ground floor of an average house) so for our dog, who is very active wasn't good at all but for some it would be fine.  That said, it's only one day so you could always walk the legs off them before you get on if you have an active dog.

Personally this year we are going via the channel tunnel and spending the extra night on the road. There are lots of dog friendly hotels on the way and it's a more relaxing drive. Horses for courses, Hooe it goes well whatever you decide. 

Thanks for you reply Chris, it’s good to get others opinions. We actually travelled from Portsmouth to Bilbao a week past Sunday, but it was a two night sailing, left Uk at 9.30 pm & arrived in Bilbao on Tuesday 8 a,m. I was not looking forward to this but admit our 12 year old Border Terrier coped very well- including “ toilet time”. Yes the dog walk area is small & needs many trots up & down to be successful. Having had 7 years twice a year travelling on Cap Finistere with its super long dog area the Galicia was only a quarter size! The dog cabin was booked12 months in advance.

Last year we drove ( we have a  5 hours drive through the UK to Portsmouth) through France down to Mazarron but when costed it out, including tolls, fuel, food, accommodation & dog hotel charge & car park charge etc it worked out at around £900 one way, almost the same as a return trip on Brittany Ferries. 

Just to mention also if anyone usually has a night stop over just south of Madrid— Arganda Del Rey— the Ibis has changed to.B&B hotel & we weren’t sure what standards they may have changed?? This time we stayed a few minutes up the same road in the Sercotel Arganda, only 2 € more than Ibis, it was clean and comfortable,small dogs, under 10KG allowed for €10 but must not be left alone in the room- this was a bit of a problem at breakfast time, we ate out at a tapas bar the first evening, a few minutes up a side road. Anyway hopes this may help a few other travellers heading for this lovely this sunny place. Haz

Hi Marieanne, thanks for your comments, I have just posted a reply to Chris re travelling with a dog & you may find the post if interest, please message me if you have any other questions I could help with. Thanks Jaz

We have done it a few times and the dog is content with just a small area for toilet rather than exercise if given a good walk before boarding