13.5 Month Europe & UK Tour With My Dog - Flight From Singapore to Paris With Dog in Cabin

 

Hello everyone! So my pup, Snuffles, and I left Singapore on 15 June 2022 and we travelled around Europe and the UK for 13.5 months. We just got back on 2 August 2023 and I thought I would do up this post since I know how everyone wants to travel with their pups! Here’s everything you would potentially need to know, I think, and if you have any questions, you can DM me on Instagram @kimberleyyeo or drop me an email at kimberleyyeo@gmail.com 

 INFORMATION ABOUT SNUFFLES :

Breed : Maltese 

Age on 15 June 2022 : 3.5 years old

Weight : 4.8kg

Medical conditions : None

Flight preparation : none (Snuffs has been flying since he was 8 weeks old, so he does really well on the plane)

Airline : Singapore Airlines (he's my emotional support animal). We flew with Singapore Airlines thrice (twice in business, and once in suites)

 

IATA APPROVED BACKPACK WE USED :

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 
Best Dog Backpack

-super sturdy, foldable/collapsible/easy to keep, very breathable, expandable

-very comfortable for Snuffles - he can take naps on his back, or just lie down and watch through the clear portion, sit up and pop his head out

-Not too heavy

-good and adequate support for my back — I can carry him for hours 

-fits under seat of airplane

 

DOG FRIENDLY AIRLINES YOU CAN CONSIDER:

Air France

KLM

Lufthansa 

Note : check if their business class seats allow dogs because you will definitely need the space

 

FLYING TO PARIS FROM SINGAPORE WITH A SMALL DOG IN CABIN :

PROCEDURE/DOCUMENTS REQUIRED- website

1) Pup must have microchip before rabies vaccination (which has to be taken at least 1 month before export)

2) apply for export permit($50) with AVS (within 30 days of export)

3) Get EU Health Certificate (here) filled up by licensed veterinarian, and obtain an animal health certificate stating pet has been checked on a specific date - we went to Doctor Elaine at Pets Avenue Upper Thomson

4) Get EU Health Certificate + Health Certificate Submission Checklist endorsed by Official Vet/AVS - Make an online application via the GoBusiness Licensing Portal and note your application number as it is needed during the submission of the completed health certificate template and subsequent collection of the endorsed certificate. Drop off original completed VHC, original vaccination records, your application number, health certificate submission checklist at AVS Drop-off box (Level 1, JEM Office Tower (next to security counter))

5) a written declaration completed by the owner or an authorised person regarding the non-commercial nature of the movement (here)

6) all original vaccination records + microchip record

 

ROUTE WE TOOK

Singapore - Paris - UK - Europe - UK - Singapore

QUARANTINE  

No quarantine going from Singapore to Paris

No quarantine coming back from the UK as we spent 6 months in the UK. 

 

LEAVING SINGAPORE + ENTERING PARIS

At Singapore customs, we had to present the export permit. While going through the security/baggage checks, I went through first, before returning to bring Snuffles through the scanner, and his carrier is sent through the xray machine. When we arrived at the airport in Paris, there were no checks even though the staff knew I had a dog in my bag so we just walked straight through. 

ENTERING THE UK WITH DOG WITHOUT FLYING 

You can’t fly with your dogs in the cabin INTO the UK but you can fly OUT of.

So the best way to avoid putting Snuffles in the hold is to enter the UK via France (ferry/LeShuttle at the eurotunnel) 

Possible routes :

• Ferry from dieppe (the only route that doesn’t require passenger to have a car) 
• Ferry from Calais
• LeShuttle / Eurotunnel
• Ferry from Rotterdam

All routes apart from the ferry from Dieppe will require passengers and dogs to be travelling in a car. The ferry route between Dieppe and Newhaven is the only one that allows foot passengers onboard with their dogs. Foot passengers have to leave their dogs in the kennel onboard (only 3 available) so make sure you make a booking prior. The crossing is about 4.5 hours long. Once you get to Newhaven, you can take a train straight to London
 

MISHAPS WE MET 
1) Animal Health Certificate from vet in Brussels not accepted at French customs

We touched down in Paris, spent a week there before going to Belgium for 5 days, and then we booked a bla bla car (like grabhitch) which would take us onto a ferry across into the UK. Since the animal health certificate from Singapore is only valid for 10 days, we needed to get an AHC in Belgium, and also a mandatory deworming pill.

When we were at the customs at DFDS Ferry in Calais to exit France into the UK, our AHC was not accepted because it’s handwritten (?!?!). We ended up being stranded in Calais for the night (our driver was nice enough to send us to a nearby hotel (20 minutes drive at no extra charge, and all passengers missed the ferry). The hotel was in the middle of nowhere with no public transport links at all and the staff at the hotel were not fluent in English but they tried their best to help me with making calls to our vet in Belgium. We faxed over an official UK document to the vet to fill up (which also came back handwritten..) and it was readily accepted along with all our other papers at P&O Ferry customs. We finally managed to get onto the ferry which allowed dogs, out of the vehicles, in their pet lounge on the top floor. We were dropped off in Leatherhead in the UK and took an Uber into London. 

2) European pet passport did not have rabies vaccine on it
We managed to get a EU pet passport in Stockholm. Note that not all vets will issue a pet passport to you because they require proof of residence/citizenship etc. The pet passport was very useful and we used it whenever we had to fly in Europe. The second time we tried to enter the UK, we also booked a bla bla car to take us across (this time via LeShuttle at the Eurotunnel instead of a ferry). At the reception at LeShuttle, Snuffles' EU pet passport was rejected because the rabies vaccine sticker was not on his EU passport (despite the original vaccination certificate). There's no way that we could transfer the sticker from the original certificate to the pet passport (it's illegal to doctor the documents by the way). The staff at the reception told me to go to a specific vet to get it sorted. It was 9am then, and the earliest appointment available was at 3pm. The vet tore off the rabies vaccine sticker from the original health certificate, stuck it onto the passport, signed and stamped it, and charged me 60 euros.

We then had to go back to LeShuttle to beg strangers to drive us across. We begged more than 30 strangers. Some were really nice and really tried to help but they didn’t have space in their cars. We finally met this nice angel, Carla, who took us across to Wimbledon and we took an Uber into London 

DEWORMING PILL REQUIRED FOR
UK, Norway, Malta


AIRLINES WE FLEW WITH IN EUROPE

Stockholm - Tromso : Norwegian
Tromso - Helsinki - Chania(Greece) : Finnair
Athens - Naples : Aegean
Malta - Paris : Vueling

VERY DOG FRIENDLY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 

All European countries are dog friendly if you consider how you can take them on public transport with you or dine alfresco with them almost all of the time. 

But the truly dog friendly countries in my opinion where dogs can travel without a carrier on public transport, and dine indoors almost always are :

France

Germany

Switzerland

Netherlands

Greece (bus on Santorini requires your pup to be in an enclosed carrier, but pups are allowed on all ferries)

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT SO DOG FRIENDLY 

(dogs are not allowed indoors in restaurants and they have to be in enclosed carriers on public transport) 

Spain

Portugal 

Scandi countries

FLYING FROM THE UK TO SINGAPORE WITH A SMALL DOG IN CABIN

PROCEDURE/DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

1) Apply for an import permit with AVS

2) Apply for a dog license with AVS

3) Book inspection for dog at Changi Animal & Plant Quarantine Station (CAPQ)

4) Create an account with DEFRA and have the Export Health Certificate sent to your official vet in the UK

Official Vet we used : Medivet Southwark - Doctor Giuseppe (we paid about 350 pounds for the EHC and the AVS Veterinary Certificate)

5) Bring dog to official vet for checks, endorsement of EHC, internal and external parasite treatment 

6) Have vet fill up AVS veterinary certificate (which is basically the same thing as the document that DEFRA sent to your vet), vet will charge you extra for the filling of the form (click here)

7) Have aircraft captain/staff sign declaration (snuffs wasn't in a tamper proof bag as he sat with me on the seat, and the captain wasn't comfortable with saying that snuffs did not have contact with other animals on the flight. So the captain struck out certain parts of the form, and signed it, without a stamp. Form was accepted by AVS at CAPQ

LEAVING LONDON + ENTERING SINGAPORE

1) Present all papers at airline check in.

2) Security/baggage check - Snuffles was brought to a separate room for his checks

Note : Make sure you have documents / airline boarding pass stating you have a dog with you

3) When you arrive in Singapore, drop your pup off in an IATA approved carrier at the Lost and Found counter, and make your way to CAPQ (around 25-30 minutes drive from the airport) to pick up your pup. All papers have to be presented at CAPQ