Places to Visit in the Netherlands With Dogs: Is It Dog Friendly?

Holland, also known as the Netherlands, is a near neighbour of the UK and is easily accessible by ferry or Eurostar. In my experience, the Netherlands 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 ones I have visited with the dog and enjoyed.

Den Haag: An Interesting Place

The first place I visited in the Netherlands with the dog was The Hague. The Hague is a city in the north, 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 palace squares and the lake while walking the dog. Here we also got to enjoy some local food for lunch: some delicious herring.

Uniquely for the Netherlands, the city has a beach in the Scheveningen district. This is dog-friendly from September to May. We enjoyed a lovely walk on the beach and visited a bar overlooking the sea while here. During our visit, we found it pretty dog-friendly, including places to stay. We visited plenty of bars with Henry, and they made him welcome. We also saw others out with their dogs, too.

There were options for places to stay at various 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 Limburg, the Netherlands, with an interesting history and magnificent buildings. The city is famous for the legendary EU treaty, but it 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, including visiting piers, dining out, and walking on the beach.

One draw of visiting The Hague was the beach, since the puppy had never played on one. Scheveningen beach allows dogs from 1st October until mid-May. This beach resort was great fun and was a great first impression of the Netherlands. The whole day was great, especially the visit to 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 euros.

This dog day ticket is valid for 1 day in the county; you can buy it online HERE. However, on trams and metro services, dogs can ride without a supplemental ticket. The dog must sit or lie on the floor, not on the seats. I found travelling with the dog very simple on my visits, with no issues.

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 Limburg, the Netherlands. The hotel is in a very rural location near the Kleine Geul, a small river with pleasant countryside in the surrounding area. Hotel Vue was well signposted, and I found it easily at night using Google Maps and signposts. The hotel is a nice-looking red building with a friendly welcome from the reception staff. The Vue was a pleasant surprise in terms of décor; I was expecting a budget-style hotel, but it was very nice.

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 potty walk in the morning and before bed. There are lots of countryside areas 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 serves delicious food throughout, including a very substantial breakfast. Evening highlights included bread and olives, Zoervleisj, and a well-cooked medium-rare steak on the last night. Zoervleisj was my favourite dish: a sour beef stew, a regional speciality from Limburg.

En Suite Cheap dog-friendly accommodation in Den Haag

We were on a budget for our stay in The Hague. We required somewhere cheap and dog-friendly; a guesthouse, hotel or hostel would be ideal. After scouring a variety of websites and making a few aborted choices following nightmare reviews of 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. We made a phone call and hopped on the tram to meet the owner and drop off our heavy backpacks. They greeted us with a warm welcome and took our rucksacks.

I was happy with the en suite room; it was on the ground floor of a terraced property. The guesthouse is in a leafy suburb near canals and a few local shops. The rooms were spacious, with a big comfy double bed, an 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 Amsterdam, the capital city. Amsterdam appeals to me for its vibrant nightlife and interesting museums and architecture. The canals of Amsterdam also appeal to me, as does the Royal Palace.