I never travel without Wynston. He’s always by my side, and in the future I have plans to be traveling with him full time. For now I’m currently living in Arizona where I’m used to having constant access to dog-friendly businesses such as stores, restaurants, parks or popular tourist attractions. In your local area you may know which places welcome dogs and which don’t, but what about when you travel? I’ve learned first hand how to seek out dog-friendly establishments wherever I’m at. I won’t leave Wynston behind at a hotel, so I take him everywhere. Now I’ve come up with a helpful list of 6 ways to find dog-friendly places when you travel.
6 Ways to Find Dog-Friendly Places When You Travel
Ask good ol’ Google!
“Dog-friendly restaurants/stores/attractions near me” is an effective Google search when traveling. Depending on the state, many restaurants allow dogs on their patios. I would go through the list of suggestions that pop up, and if one looks/sounds good, call them to see if they allow dogs. If that particular restaurant does not, ask the person on the phone if they know any dog-friendly food establishments in the area. You can do the same for hotels, restaurants, parks and veterinarians.
Check BringFido.com
BringFido is a helpful website but it isn’t completely reliable, especially when researching small cities and towns. The point of the website is to recommend dog-friendly hotels, restaurants, events, activities and services in any city. If you’re looking into a big city like Phoenix, you’ll find a plethora of options. But if you’re searching in a no-name small town, don’t expect to find much.
Search Instagram
A great way to find beautiful tourist attractions is by searching Instagram. Type in a hashtag such as #NewHampshire, #MountRushmore, #SanDiego, etc. You’ll be sure to find endless, gorgeous photos that can potentially lead to discovering sites for you to visit. You can also search hashtags such as #dogfriendly or #dogswelcome. You may have to search for a bit, but I bet you won’t be disappointed with what you find! If anything, maybe you’ll come across fantastic accounts to follow! I actually found one of my bucket list cities on Instagram – Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It’s one of the most dog-friendly cities in the country!
Visit Ranger & Tourist Stations
If you’re traveling through a new place and see a tourist station, stop to see what kind of information they have to offer. Typically the employees and volunteers are well-educated about the state and local area. If they aren’t familiar with dog-friendly attractions, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
Inquire at Your Hotel Desk
The locals at your travel destination know more about the area than anyone (typically). It’s important that hotel guest services can give some recommendations for fun things to do near the hotel, so ask them about dog-friendly options! And if they don’t know, I’m sure they do know where you can find out.
Ask Friends
Ask your friends if they have ever visited the destination you’re traveling to! Whether they’ve been with or without their dog, they can probably make offer some excellent suggestions. Make a Facebook post asking for activity or location recommendations!
When you’re traveling with your dog, how do you go about finding dog-friendly parks, stores, restaurants and other establishments to visit?! I’d love to add to this list!
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