Go on holiday with your dog or your cat
6 012 homes accept pets on Homeforswap. You swap your home for theirs: no nightly rate, no pet fee, no kennel.
Travelling with a dog or a cat too often ends the same way: the kennel, the rental’s pet fee, or the trip you call off. All three are expensive, and the third one costs you the holiday.
Home exchange removes the obstacle in one move. You stay with someone who already has an animal at home, in a house built to hold one — a garden, a floor that cleans up, neighbours who are used to it. And meanwhile your host is doing the same at yours. That is what Homeforswap has been arranging since 2007.
What home exchange changes for your pet
🐕 No pet fee
Rental platforms almost always add a charge per pet per stay. On Homeforswap you pay your membership and nothing else: the dog does not appear on the bill.
🏡 A house, not a room
A sofa, a garden, a tiled floor, a door that opens outside. For a dog, the difference from a hotel room shows on the first evening — and for a cat, it decides the whole stay.
💚 Hosts who know what they are saying yes to
A host who ticks “pets allowed” knows what that means: the hair, the bowl in the kitchen, the seven-in-the-morning walk. You have nothing to negotiate and nothing to hide.
Where to go with your pet
The countries where our members welcome the most pets. Each link opens the search already filtered.
Before you leave
- Say it in the first message — Species, size, age, how it behaves alone in the house. A host who knows says yes or no straight away; a host who finds out on arrival says no.
- Papers and travel — EU pet passport, rabies vaccination up to date, microchip. Allow a month: some vaccinations have to be given twenty-one days before you cross a border.
- A vet found in advance — Ask your host for theirs — they have one. Write down the address and the out-of-hours number before you go, not on the evening you need it.
- The familiar things — Bed, bowl, toy, a blanket that smells of home. They cost three kilos of boot space and save three sleepless nights.
- House rules, in writing — Sofa allowed or not, access to the bedrooms, whether the garden is enclosed, whether the cat goes out. Agree it before arrival and it can be re-read afterwards without an argument.
Frequently asked questions
See the homes that accept pets
Also worth a look: family travel · Europe school holidays · departure checklist