Holland, also referred to at The Netherlands, is a near neighbour of the UK and easily accessible by ferry or on the Eurostar train. The Netherlands, in my experience, is a great place to visit with a dog. There are many options for dog-friendly places to stay, eat out or have a drink. To get to Holland from the UK with a dog, you will need to travel by ferry rather than by train.
Places to visit with a dog in the Netherlands
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I have had some exceptional experiences visiting the Netherlands. These include visiting some fantastic historical sites. The places below are one I have visited with the dog and enjoyed.
Den Haag an Interesting Place
My first place to visit was in the Netherlands with the dog was The Hague. The Hague is a city in the north that is the political centre of the country. Den Haag has palaces, museums, art galleries and other places of interest.
One of the top places to explore in the city was the Binnenhof, a beautiful palace. You can explore the squares of of the palace and the lake while walking the dog. Here we also got to enjoy some local food for lunch, some delicious herrings.
Uniquely for The Netherlands, it has a beach in the city’s district of Scheveningen. This is dog-friendly from September to May. We enjoyed a lovely walk on the beach and visited a bar looking out to sea while here.
During our visit, we found it pretty dog friendly, including finding a place to stay. We visited plenty of bars with Henry and they made Henry welcome. We also saw others out with their dogs, too.
There were options for places to stay at a variety of price points. Also, the city is fantastic for a dog walk, especially the area near the Binnenhof and the beach in Scheveningen.
Maastricht, a Beautiful City
Maastricht is a city in the Limburg area of the country with an interesting history and magnificent buildings. The city is famous for the legendary EU treaty but has so much more to offer.
The countryside of Limburg is unique in the way it is the hilliest part of a flat country. For this reason, it is a sizeable area for walking the dog in the countryside, especially near St. Gerlach just outside the city.
Scheveningen: The Best Place With a Dog Friendly Beach
The Netherlands seaside resort of Scheveningen is on the North Sea Coast. It is one of the most popular beaches in the Netherlands. There are loads of things to do on a visit, including piers, beaches, dining out and walking on the beach.
One draw for visiting The Hague was the beach, as the puppy had never played on the beach. Scheveningen beach allows dogs from 1st October until the middle of May. This beach resort was great fun and was a great first impression of The Netherlands. The entire day had been great, especially visiting the seaside.
Travel With The Dog
Travelling by train, tram or bus with the dog was pretty simple. They permitted dogs with a few rules for each mode of transport. If travelling by train you need to purchase a dog-ticket costing 3.30 Euro.
This dog day ticket lasts a day in the county, these are available online HERE. However, on trams and metro service, dogs can ride without the need of a supplemental ticket. The dog must sit or lie-down on the floor and not the seats. I found travelling with the dog to be very simple on my visits and without issue.
Tried & Tested Dog Friendly Hotels
There are many options for pet friendly hotels in the Netherlands. We found it pretty straightforward to find dog friendly places to stay in Maastricht and The Hague. We found many options on the Booking.com website by using the pets allowed filter.
Hotel Vue In Houthem St Gerlach, Limburg
Hotel Vue in Houthem St Gerlach was the last base we stayed at on our Interrail adventure. This was one of many hotels in the Limburg area of The Netherlands. The hotel is in a very rural location near to the Kleine Geul, a small river with pleasant countryside in the surrounding area.
Hotel Vue was well signposted and found it easy at night using a combination of google maps and signposts. The hotel is a nice looking red building with a friendly welcome by the reception staff. The Vue Was a pleasant surprise in terms of décor because of expecting a budget style hotel, but in reality, it was very nice.
We found a double room; it was very nice and clean with all the essentials. This included a kettle for hot drinks and also a great shower. During our stopover, we enjoyed two quiet nights to wind down after our Interrail adventure.
The hotel was dog friendly, which incurred a small extra charge to cover extra cleaning. This is quite a common charge in most countries. They had a garden which was nice to give the dog a nice potty walk in the morning and before bed. There’s lots of countryside nearby with marked hiking trails. There are places for longer extended walks in rural Limburg, including along the Kleine Geul river.
The Hotel Vue has a fantastic bar and restaurant and served delicious food throughout, including a very substantial breakfast. Highlights from the evening meals included bread and olives, Zoervleisj and a well-cooked medium-rare steak on the last night. Zoervleisj was my favourite dish which is a sour beef stew, a regional speciality from Limburg.
Beer was nice and mainly stuck to Leffe, Hertog Jan Weizener, a wheat beer and also some local draught lagers.
En Suite Cheap dog-friendly accommodation in Den Haag
We were on a budget for our stay in The Hague, The Netherlands. We required somewhere cheap and being dog-friendly, a guesthouse, hotel or hostel would be ideal. After scouring a variety of websites and a few aborted choices after reading some nightmare reviews for other “nice” options, we opted for Ensuite at Regentesselaan 94, Den Haag.
On arrival in The Hague, they invited us to call ahead to drop our bags off before checking in; we didn’t need inviting twice. A phone call made and hopped on the tram to meet the owner to leave our heavy backpacks. They greeted us with a friendly welcome and relieved our backs of rucksacks.
I was happy with the room at En Suite; it was a ground floor room in a terraced property. The guesthouse is in a leafy suburb near to canals and a few local shops. The rooms were spacious, with a big comfy double bed, en suite bathroom and somewhere to sit. More about En Suite…
Netherlands Bucket List
There are many places I would like to visit in The Netherlands, including to Amsterdam, the capital city. Amsterdam appeals because of its vibrant nightlife, interesting museums and buildings. The canals of Amsterdam are appealing to me and the Royal Palace.
