We rolled out our new pet friendly Road Trip Planner back in October, but it’s taken three months for us to get back on the road and put it to the test. If I must say so myself, it’s pawsome! We’re still making a few refinements, but the mapping capabilities make traveling with you pet a cinch.
Consider yesterday’s drive up the gulf coast of Florida from Naples to St. James City, via Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel:
Pet Friendly Restaurants are Red Dots
There were a lot of pet friendly restaurants along our route to choose from, and we decided on The Island Cow – it’s the red dot roughly in the middle of Sanibel Island, partially hidden by the blue dots. Boy, were we glad we did! The crunchy grouper tacos are fabulous.
Pet Friendly Activities are Blue Dots
The blue dots you see on the map mark the locations of pet friendly beaches (both on- and off-leash), a few off-leash dog parks, a state park with a dog swimming area, a couple of outlet malls where dogs can shop along with you, and a boat tour that welcomes well behaved, leashed dogs. Having this information before we took off made it really easy to pick our stops for bathroom breaks and to burn off a little (of Buster’s) energy.
Pet Friendly Campgrounds are Yellow Dots
Since we’re traveling in the Winnebago, we search for campgrounds. If you’re looking for hotels, it’s easy to plot those on the map instead. See that northern-most yellow dot in St. James City? It’s a very nice KOA campground where we’re laying our heads tonight. In a wonderful stroke of luck, there’s an open field where dogs are allowed to run off-leash, so Buster and I had an evening game of Chuck-It … meaning that we all slept well last night.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: GoPetFriendly.com LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, the owner of this site earns a commission from qualifying purchases.
Hi Rosa! Using the road trip planner on the website, you can do something similar for the east coast of Florida, and anywhere else you might decide to travel. Here’s a link where you can get started: http://www.gopetfriendly.com/Road-Trip-Planner.aspxWaggin‘ trails!
Do u have something similar for the east coast of Florida?
Hi Mindy! That sounds like a great trip! All of our best advice can be found in our destination guides here: https://www.gopetfriendly.com/blog/destinations/ For more ideas, try our road trip planner and select “Attractions” to find fun things to do along the way. Here’s a link for that: http://www.gopetfriendly.com/Road-Trip-Planner.aspxWaggin‘ trails to you!
I’m traveling from Chicago to Charleston SC and would like ideas for fun side trips with me 2 dogs.
Hi Laura! It sounds like you have a great trip in the works. To plan your route, click on “Set” in the navigation at the top of this page, or follow this link to our road trip planner: http://www.gopetfriendly.com/Road-Trip-Planner.aspxEnter in New York, NY to Las Vegas, NV and then click on the paw in front of “Hotels.” The map will come up with green dots along it, indicating where the pet friendly hotels are located. It automatically chooses the shortest route, so you’ll need to click on “Add Destination” to force it map your route through another town – maybe Oklahoma City. You can then click on “Reorder Destinations” and drag them into the correct order. The map should automatically populate with hotels along your new route.I hope that helps! If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know. We wish you a safe trip and waggin’ trails!
I am just not getting it … i need help.. i need a route from Staten Island ny to Las Vegas .. i have 2 small dogs .. I’m looking for route and dog friendly hotels on the way . I’m going in February so I’d like to avoid the route through Colorado (weather )
Thanks so much for your note, Jasmyne! I’m happy to help, and I hope that you all enjoy your road trip across the country and your time in California. Waggin’ trails and good luck!
YAY!! You’ll have a great time, Kristi – take your time, enjoy the journey, and have fun. So glad you’re finding the website helpful. Waggin’ trails!
I’m applying for an internship at a certain computer industry titan out in Cali and have decided to bring my two fur babies, Treble and Bass, along for the adventure. I currently live in Atlanta, GA. Just me and the open road, 36 hours, 2 highly energetic but sweet as sugar blue nose pit-lab mixes, one 60 and one 70 pounds, and all my stuff. Yes. Adventure indeed. But alas, four months is much too long for us to be apart and I know they’re going to love the hiking and beaches. Was super-anxious about planning the road trip to get there though, especially since I’m probably traveling alone. BUt then I came across this website. You’re doing a great service. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!
Getting ready to go home (insert tears of joy here) West Melbourne, FL to Olympia, WA. 2 little dogs, 1 human, 1 stuffed car…. excited and nervous too. I’m glad to find this website!!!!
That sounds like a great trip, Barbara! I’d definitely recommend starting out with our destintion guides, which you can find here: https://www.gopetfriendly.com/blog/destinations/ That’s where we put all of our paws-on-the-ground research and insider tips! Then check out the road trip planner because, even though we’ve been traveling for almost 7 years, there are still a lot of places we haven’t been. You can find the road trip planner here: http://www.gopetfriendly.com/Road-Trip-Planner.aspxWaggin‘ trails!
We are driving from Saco, ME to Amelia Island, FL in March with our two goldens. We plan on spending two nights in a hotel. We would like to know what pet friendly hotels there are as well as stops along the way so we can walk our dogs. Any ideas for us?
Hi Terrence! We’ve done a similar trip and had a great time. You can map your route and find pet friendly hotels (and fun things to do) along the way using our road trip planner: http://www.gopetfriendly.com/Road-Trip-Planner.aspx My advice would be to look for La Quinta hotels along the way – they’re consistently pet friendly. Have a great trip!
hi….need info on a driving trip from dallas tx to denver co with our dog,spending nite in kan sas….any suggestions?
I think it’s a fantastic idea, Amelia! Of course, the road trip planner will be a big help in locating places to camp and fun things to do along the way, but you might also want to check out our Destination Guides – there are so many fantastic places to see along the way, I couldn’t possibly pick just a few! Here’s a link: http://gopetfriendlyblog.com/destinations/I hope you all have a terrific trip. Waggin’ trails!
Hi there, I’m thinking of planning a cross country road trip with my hubby and two dogs. We’d be travelling in a large car and hopefully camping as much as possible. Any tips for travelling from southeast Pennsylvania to San Fran? We’d ideally also like to hit the Grand Canyon and Vegas.
I’m sorry you’re disappointed in the selection of pet friendly restaurants, Inga. Where you’re traveling has a huge impact on the number of locations that are available. If you let me know where you’re going, I can try to see if I can track down some other options for you.
This trip planner is horrible. All it listed were sonic drive ins for places to eat.