Traveling to Italy with Your Dog: Quarantine Rules, Cost, and More
Thinking about traveling to Italy with your dog?
Italy is one of the most dog-friendly countries in all of Europe. Paperwork for traveling to Italy with your dog is also on the simpler side in comparison to countries with stricter import regulations like Norway, Malta, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
There are plenty of outdoor sights to see, pet-friendly restaurants and accommodations, and pet-friendly ways of getting around. This Spring 2022, Sheila and I traveled from the very north of Italy to the bottom of the boot, and into Sicily. Here’s a guide on our adventure.
Blog Guide
- Entering Italy with a Dog
- Places to Take Your Dog in Italy
- Transportation in Italy with Your Dog
- Volunteering in South Italy with Your Dog
- Traveling Back to the USA with Your Dog
- Conclusion: Traveling to Italy with Your Dog
What are the requirements for traveling to Italy with my dog?
Before traveling to Italy with your dog, American pet owners need to visit the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Portal and their Accredited Vet Search Engine.
This is the government-regulated portal for American pet owners to reference for country-specific regulations so that you can be prepared when you visit your vet in preparation for your trip. The search engine allows you to find an accredited vet in your state to issue your USDA Health Certificate.
Pet Travel Fast Resources Guide
🐾 Our Favorite App for Finding Pet Friendly Trains and Planes : Omnio
🐾 Travel Essentials for Your Pet: Amazon
🐾 Best Option for Finding Pet Friendly Accommodation: Booking.com
1. Pet Microchip
In order to travel to Italy your dog, your pet must already be microchipped with a 15-digit ISO 11784/11785 compliant microchip. (All microchips inserted by a vet are compliant!) Italy also requires the pet microchip to be implanted prior to the date of the most recent vaccine for rabies.
2. Rabies Vaccine
A valid rabies vaccine is the single most important vaccine for all dog travel across Europe. Valid rabies vaccines must not be expired. Travel must also take place a minimum of 21 days after the injection. To travel to Italy with your dog, no further rabies testing or vaccines are required for rabies-free countries or rabies-controlled countries.
3. EU Health Cert / USDA Health Cert or EU Pet Passport
If you are planning on traveling to Italy with your dog directly from the United States, you will need a USDA Health Certificate completed by an accredited vet or an EU Health Certificate completed by a European vet.
The best way to travel throughout Europe and the UK, is by acquiring a European Pet Passport. Any European Vet can issue these when a USDA Health Certificate is presented with a valid rabies certificate. Learn more about the European Pet Passport on my blog, Moving to Europe with Your Dog in 2023.
Cost: The USDA Health Certificate for entering Europe is about $340 ($337 in 2022 to be exact). The cost of the European Pet Passport at the European vet, after issuing an endorsed USDA health certificate within 10 days after landing is about $52.
4. Does my dog need to quarantine if we are traveling to Italy?
Thankfully, no quarantine is involved in traveling to Italy with your dog for those that are able to meet the above requirements from rabies-free countries or rabies-controlled countries. Failing to meet the above requirements however could legally result in your pet being exported back to the country of origin, or undergoing a quarantine in Italy.
If your dog is flying in from an unlisted country, they will need a rabies titre test (RNATT) conducted by an approved rabies serology lab at least 30 days after your pet’s original rabies vaccination. Pets have to wait three months from the test date if the title test is successful before entering Italy.
5. Banned Dog Breeds in Italy
While most parts of Italy have no breed restriction, Venice prohibits Rottweilers and Doberman Pinschers from being imported with their owners.
6. How much does it cost to travel to Italy with my dog?
Assuming your dog is already microchipped, and is up to date on his or her rabies vaccines, upfront costs to travel to Italy with your dog are an estimated $500-$600. This includes the $340 USDA Health Certificate cost, a $95-$125 dollar in-cabin plane ticket on a pet-friendly airline (one way), and a $52 European Pet Passport.
This estimation also doesn’t take into account the potential cost of an RNATT test, which can be very pricy as well.
Where in Italy can I travel with my dog?
Dogs in Italy are welcome in restaurants, grocery stores, parks, pharmacies, hotels, hostels and more. It’s not unusual to see dogs occupying many different corners of the historic streets of Venice, Florence and more.
Dog-Friendly Tourist Attractions in Venice
We booked a Venice sightseeing tour with a local guide through Viator and ventured from the city square of Campo Santa Margherita to Scuola Grande di San Rocco and the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.
We also journeyed across the historic Rialto Bridge and walked past the Marco Polo House to bustling St. Mark’s Square. Due to the chaos of the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square especially, I recommend keeping a watch on your pup and being mindful of the trampling crowds.
If you have extra time, I recommend visiting the islands Murano, Burano, and Torcello. While Murana is a small city on the outskirts of Venice known for its glass-blowing, Burano is largely known as the local spot to purchase Burano biscuits and lace. Torcello is one of the oldest islands in the Venice area, dating back to 7th Century BC.
Stopping by each of these places individually through the water bus is the best way to see these sights with your dog! Most guided tours are fast-paced, and don’t allow dogs to accompany the crowd.
Dog-Friendly Sight-Seeing in Florence
Sheila and I had a short visit in Florence. We were just passing through on our way to volunteer in Calabria. We had a rainy walk with our local friend across the famous Centro Storico bridge (pictured below). We also enjoyed walking around the outskirts of the Florence Cathedral.
Stunning Dog-Friendly Restaurant Strips in Venice
Just about every restaurant along all Venetian canals and historic districts welcomes dogs and pets. It helps that most seating is largely outdoors so that you can enjoy your espresso and spritz with your furry best friend. Here are a few spots that I highly recommend due to the unique cuisine, beautiful view, and dog-friendly atmosphere.
Rio di San Lorenzo is known as one of the more scenic canal spots in central Venice. We found all of the restaurants in Rio di San Lorenzo to be excellent.
Cannareggio– This spot in particular was recommended by local friends in the area as a less crowded, and more relaxing place to enjoy the canals with an espresso. Our local tour shared that Cannaregio, located in the northernmost district of Venice, is an old Jewish community. The word “ghetto” during the Holocaust originates from this area.
Grocery Shopping in Italy with a Dog
In case you are in Italy for longer than the typical tourist trip, you’d be pleased to know that most grocery stores are dog friendly as well. During our few weeks in Venice, we regularly visited Ali’s nearby the hostel and our accommodation in Lido. Highly recommend this branch for great options and dog-friendly employees.
Transportation in Italy with Your Dog
Guidelines for Dogs on Trenitalia (Italian) Trains
Small dogs can travel free of charge in first and second class if they are kept in a carrier. They don’t strictly enforce dogs remaining in the carrier in my experience. Sheila and I traveled from the very north of Italy through Florence, Rome and into the southern boot of the country called Calabria. I can only remember one instance where I was asked to put Sheila back in her bag. Her passport was also never checked until we left Italy for Croatia via Venetian Ferries.
Cost: The cost of my Eurail Global pass was about 400 USD, Sheila rode for free!
Dog-Friendly Water Bus in Venice – Vaporetto
Venice- St. Lucia is a car-free historic city. Pedestrians therefore heavily rely on the water bus, or vaporetta to get around. Dogs absolutely travel free on this public service. Tickets for the ferry were around 70 euros for a week pass in Spring 2022. Updated fares can be found here.
Cost: 70 euros for humans, free for furry friends
Transportation to Avoid with Your Dog
All buses in Italy, and most of Europe are NOT dog friendly. Only service animals who are trained to help those with vision impairments are permitted on buses in Italy, Croatia, Germany, and several other countries. While some buses indicate that “support” animals are permitted on their transportation, I do not recommend this method.
To get to Croatia, I purchased a Flixbus ticket, and was rudely never permitted to board the bus with Sheila, even with a print-off from my doctor confirming her status as an “emotional support animal”. Flixbus is also a notoriously tardy form of transportation across all of Europe, so I recommend avoiding their service with or without a dog, at all costs.
Volunteering in South Italy with Your Dog
Another recommendation while traveling in Italy with your dog is to find volunteering and work exchange opportunities with World Packers. Worldpackers is a volunteering app that gives solo travelers the opportunity to volunteer in different countries in exchange for free housing and at times, depending on your host, free meals as well.
Sheila and I applied for many opportunities across not only Italy, but also Malta, Switzerland, and Portugal. We ended up being accepted for an opportunity at the very southern tip of Italy, in a small village called Isca. In Isca, we lived in a charming old Italian cabin in exchange for daily gardening on the Italian mountainside.
This experience easily became one of my very favorite Italian destinations with Sheila because we were able to spend quality time and get integrated with the local south Calabrian culture.
On this mountaintop in Calabria, Sheila and I gardened, went on hikes to drink from the natural well, and spent time reading at the beach, and on the cabin side hammock with a beautiful panoramic mountain, ocean, and village view. Sheila and I will never forget our time with the charming people of Calabria.
Traveling Back To The USA From Abroad With A Dog
I found traveling back to the states from Italy with my dog to be a super streamline and simple process. I simply checked Sheila in for our final flight home, and landed in Austin, TX. No paperwork was checked and her pet passport wasn’t ever stamped (unfortunately).
Legally, as long as your dog’s rabies vaccine is up to date upon traveling home, you and your pup do not need to obtain any additional health certificate. After all, your EU pet passport counts as your forever health certificate throughout Europe while accompanied by a valid rabies vaccine certificate.
Conclusion: Traveling to Italy with Your Dog
I recommend traveling to Italy with your dog if you are in no hurry on your European adventure, and if you intend on visiting other nearby countries as well. If you’ll only be in Italy for a short stay, it might not be worth the cost and potential travel stress of bringing your pet along.
Your European Pet Passport will allow you to travel all across Europe with your pet, so my advice is to buy a Eurail Global pass, hang onto your pet’s European Pet Passport with the rabies vaccine certificate, and enjoy your journey.