Pet-Friendly Walking Tours Around the World

Posted by Billy Francis

Have you noticed Fido getting bored of the same old walks? The smells are too familiar, the squirrels aren’t worth chasing anymore, and don’t even get him started on the boring butts he has to sniff. Luckily, there’s another way to feed his walking addiction while offering you both a chance to experience something new. Check out these guided walking tours for an outing as easy as a stroll in the park ... just a whole lot more fun!

Oliver Bentleys Historic Dog Walk Tour

Savannah, GA
All walks should end with Ollie B. Biscuits. Photo by @oliver_bentleys

Oliver Bentleys Historic Dog Walk Tour is designed for pups and their owners. This 1-mile ramble explores historic statues, monuments and buildings around Georgia’s first city, Savannah. One of the highlights is the Waving Girl Statue, created by renowned sculptor Felix De Weldon. Your guide will happily take a picture of you and your best friend reenacting the scene of Florence and her loyal Collie. The group moves at the pace of the slowest dog in the pack, stopping briefly at canine water fountains along the way. It helps that the tour organizer, Oliver Bentleys, is a purveyor of premium dog products. Each participating pooch is provided with a bag of Ollie B. Biscuits, a human-grade treat designed for sensitive stomachs.

Extend your stay in this picturesque city with a few nights at the Kimpton Brice Hotel, which provides treats, beds, bowls and doggie bags for canine guests.

War Eagle Cavern

Rogers, AR
"You could use some dog beds down here." Photo by War Eagle Cavern

Get a taste of how early man and dog lived at War Eagle Cavern. The excursion begins just outside the trading post and follows a leisurely route along the bluff of Beaver Lake to the cavern entrance. Warriors, draft dodgers, robbers, moonshiners and even Jesse James are reported to have used this cavern over the years. Your guide will make sure you don’t get lost in the caves over the hour-long tour, but they can’t help you escape the pet-friendly maze, Lost in the Woods. Furry friends are also invited to experience the Moonshiners’ Mystery Shack. Fido will be astonished to see his tennis ball defying gravity and rolling uphill at this wild attraction!

Located just two miles from War Eagle Cavern, Big Pine Holler provides a charming pitstop for Fido’s pet-friendly Ozarks adventure. Pups with good recall will love wandering off leash around the shady acreage outside.

The Potter Trail

Edinburgh, UK
“You’re a dog, Bobby!” Photo by @jess.weiser

Hufflepups and Gryffindogs who can’t track down Platform 9 3⁄4 to get to Dogwarts can learn the magic and mystery behind the world’s most famous wizard on the Potter Trail in Edinburgh instead. Puggles are welcome on a 90-minute tour around J.K. Rowling’s Edinburgh haunts. You’ll discover where Lord Voldemort is buried, visit the cafe where the first Potter book was imagined, take a trip down the real-life Diagon Alley, and even see the school that inspired Hogwarts. You can also let Fido try on the sorting hat to see which school he might belong to (the hat gets passed around the group for donations at the end of the tour). As you walk past, snap a pic of your pup by the famous statue of Greyfriars Bobby, one of our favorite dog monuments.

Fido can rest his weary legs downtown at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh, where canine guests receive treats, a bed and bowls at check-in.

Bulldog Tours

Charleston, SC
“I’m not scared of ghosts, but I’m terrified of being dropped!” Photo by Facebook.com/BulldogTours

The Charleston-based Bulldog Tours boasts the grumpy face of a Bulldog on its logo, a tribute to the founder's college mascot. The tour company’s Charleston Strolls and Uptown Walking Tour are dog friendly as long as you give advance notice when booking. Both walks last a couple of hours and offer a glimpse of the famous brightly colored dwellings, hidden gardens and historic churches that tourists might otherwise miss. Fido is also welcome on the 90-minute Ghost and Graveyard Tour. One of the spookiest tales you’ll hear involves the spirit of a dog named Poogan. After your walk, visit Poogan’s Porch with your pup, grab a bite outside, and maybe even catch a glimpse of the furry specter.

After your tour, you won’t need to walk much further to get to John Rutledge House Inn. This historic pet-friendly hotel provides bowls and treats for pups who come to stay.

Gourmet Pawprints Doggy Walking Tours

Melbourne, AU
“Is it okay to pee on it? Asking for a friend.” Photo by Facebook.com/gourmetpawprints

Gourmet Pawprints invites visitors to admire the period architecture and learn about the ghosts who wander the pubs, the warships that housed prisoners and the city’s colorful maritime past. This walking tour is just over three miles, making it ideal for intrepid explorers to get a taste of Williamstown. Alternatively, you can study a few pints on a Puppy Pub Crawl. With crawls in eight suburbs, this funky four-legged tour company will show you where to go to meet other pooch parents over beers, snacks, doggie martinis and more.

Hitch a rideshare back to this delightful cottage with a fenced backyard in Melbourne’s pet-friendly neighborhood of Albert Park.

Six Legs Walking Tour of Florence

Florence, IT
"I know it's a walking tour, but I'd rather hitch a ride." Photo by BringFido/Alma

Most BringFido users believe six legs are better than two. The Six Legs Walking Tour of Florence feels the same way. Dogs visiting Italy can tour the historical center of Florence with their owners, taking in the most important monuments with local guide, Mila. Highlights include the stunning Cathedral, Brunelleschi Dome, Giotto Bell Tower, Baptistry, Signoria Palace and a copy of Michelangelo's David. Canine comfort is always top of mind, which is why Mila only schedules her dog-friendly tours for early in the morning, late in the afternoon or in the evening. Small dogs can also enjoy a different kind of tour along the city’s cobbled streets in a horse-drawn carriage operated by Made of Tuscany.

Plaza Hotel Lucchesi welcomes pups of all sizes for a post-tour stay downtown. Head up to the rooftop with your pooch and watch the sunset over the city.

The National Leprechaun Museum

Dublin, IE
“This is the pawfect place to rest after a tour!” Photo by The Morgan Hotel

You and your pup can see a different side of Dublin on a walking tour of the National Leprechaun Museum of Ireland. This pet-friendly museum boasts interactive exhibits like giant furniture that will make Fido feel like a leprechaun, and it operates walking tours that dig into the mystical world of Irish storytelling and more. If your own playful little friend has any energy left, he can join Secret Street Tours for a fun walking tour of some lesser-visited areas of the city led by guides who have experienced homelessness, or Alternative Dublin Street Art Tour to see and hear about the beautiful murals and street art dotted around the city.

The Morgan Hotel in Dublin provides exceptional respite during your Irish vacation with Fido, along with many amenities to make your pup’s stay memorable like the use of bowls, mats and a plush pet bed.

The Constitutional Walking Tour

Philadelphia, PA
“This tour is almost as interesting as that squirrel.” Photo by BringFido/Jeannette

The Constitutional Walking Tour, a featured destination in our Ruff Guide to the United States, will transport you and your Terrier to 18th Century Philadelphia on a two-hour guided walk that highlights over 20 popular historical and cultural attractions around downtown Philadelphia. Trace the footsteps of the Founding Fathers by visiting the sites where American democracy was born, including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Franklin Court, the Betsy Ross House, and Congress Hall. Pups are welcome but will have to stay outside when the tour heads indoors.

Residence Inn by Marriott Philadelphia Center City is the ideal place for dog-tired tourists to sprawl out in a spacious pet-friendly room after a long day.

Les Grottes de Presque

Saint-Medard-de-Presque, FR
“Stalag-might I have a treat?” Photo by @cocotravelingsamoyed

Discovered in 1825, Les Grottes de Presque in the south of France is described as “the cave of columns” and is full of stalagmite pillars that reach over 30 feet in height. You and your pooch are invited on a 40-minute guided tour of the underground cathedral, where you’ll hear about the caves’ history and how they were formed. Along the way, visitors are permitted to snap photographs in front of the incredible mineral deposits that decorate the caves. Hot dogs will love the cool temperatures in Les Grottes de Presque.

Reserve a stay at this pet-friendly restored barn in a nearby village. The historic barn was built in the same decade that the caves were discovered, and it features a great outdoor space and incredible views.

Cicerone Tours

Quebec, QC
Fido might make a new four-legged friend on the tour. Photo by @ciceronetoursqc

During Fido’s pet-friendly trip through Canada’s largest province, he’ll want to take a fun and informative guided walking tour with Cicerone Tours. Local certified guides in historic costume lead the way down the cobbled streets of Old Quebec City, where he’ll have a chance to marvel at fortifications and monuments that make it the most well-preserved historic city in North America. After your walking tour, get a different perspective with your pooch on the Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec, which offers unrivaled views of the UNESCO World Heritage city as gravity pulls you up the slope.

Hop off the cable railway at the top and check in at Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel. Canine guests will find a bed, bowls, blankets and a view overlooking the St. Lawrence River and fortified city from high above.

What's your favorite pet-friendly walking tour? Leave a comment or tweet us @BringFido!

Banner photo by Facebook.com/crawlpuppypub.