Our first getaway as a family

As our first family trip with Happy, we travelled to a hidden lodge amongst the verdant valleys of Mid Wales to take some time to pause and reflect in the first week of February.
While my parents were over for the holidays, Happy got his last vaccination so he could finally leave the house.
We were all over the moon that he could finally get all of his excess energy out by running up and down the fields.
So Carl and I discussed that we would take a short trip to the countrysides where Happy can come along with us.
Happy is a true member of our little family.
This is why when I see him experience new things along with us, it's such a blast.

Destination and accommodation

Once we both agreed that our first trip as a family would be somewhere near the countrysides, we started to look for destinations and accommodation options online.
If I'm honest, I felt quite stressed to plan a dog-friendly break for the first time.
After searching for hours, I found two great websites with plenty of pet-friendly holiday cottages, b&bs, pubs with rooms, hotels and lodges all around the UK and even in Europe.
The first one called Petspyjamas.

You can browse and book online over 4000 different pet-friendly accommodations.

They also have some amazing pet packages which you can check out by clicking here.

The other website called Airbnb but I'm pretty sure that some of you already heard of them.
I'm by no means a hotel snob but I never actually stayed anywhere else when I travelled before I found Airbnb.
Airbnb offers travellers relatively inexpensive accommodations with a wide selection like single rooms, a suite of rooms, apartments, moored yachts, houseboats, entire houses, even a castle.
While I was browsing through their site searching for our place to stay I realised that I could filter it by clicking entire place, which means you will have the whole property only to yourself. 

We were very open-minded about the destination, but we both agreed that wherever we go, we would like to stay either in a cottage or a lodge, so I decided to search on Airbnb the entire United Kingdom hoping to find that property that I had in mind.
A couple of days later, I found two perfect stays.
One was a cottage, and the other was a beautiful lodge—both in the middle of nowhere.
Due to the distance and the fear of taking a road trip with a puppy, we decided to pick the closest one, which was in Mid Wales.

Thanks for Airbnb I booked, paid and got a confirmation message from the property owner in just less than an hour about our upcoming stay with them.
By the way, one thing that I should mention when you are looking for a pet-friendly stay just because it says "pet-friendly" doesn't mean it's free!
Just double-check before you book.
Luckily our lodge accepted pets as free of charge.

Countrysides positively welcome dogs literally anywhere.
They are the ideal places to go on holiday with your pet, especially for the first time.
Plenty of activities around for both for you and your furry friend.
Wales was 100% a positive choice for us.
We all enjoyed the countryside walks while we discovered the most beautiful scenic routes graced with nature.

 The lodge we stayed at was beautiful both from inside and outside. It was a small detached property just enough for two and pet far away from the city, in the middle of literally nowhere, where you really can get away from it all.
We could definitely call it an escape break because that's exactly what we were looking for.
We live an urban lifestyle in one of the largest cities in the UK.
Noisy, hectic and most definitely a faster pace than the place I grew up.

I'm from a small village in Hungary with a population of 3613 as od 2020. (click here to read my story)

My new life might be completely different from the one I had back in Hungary, but I will always love and enjoy spending time closer to my roots.
I enjoy every minute when we take a trip to the idyllic English or Wales countrysides with lush, green spaces, pretty villages and friendly neighbourhoods. 

 Happy

This wasn't Happy's first time in the car, so I wasn't nervous about him being in the car, but I certainly felt stressed about the length of the trip.
A long car ride can be tedious and stressful for the dog, especially for a puppy, and Happy can be very hyper sometimes too, which is not a good combination when you are driving.

 It was almost a 3 hours drive and he never been in the car for that long before.

 I planned everything well ahead of the ride, and I made sure he has everything to stay comfy and safe during the trip.
I bought him a car booster seat with a seat belt. Click here to check out the one I purchased. 

 He absolutely loves it. It's incredibly comfy and easily washable.

Carl sat with Happy in the back while he was watching Tik-Tok videos Happy was enjoying his chew bone with beef flavour.
He remained utterly quiet all the way to Wales.

Once we arrived, he immediately made himself at home cautiously exploring every inch of the lodge, the surrounding and all the new sights and smells.
Happy has not been around many other dogs yet, and he is a big attention seeker, so he likes to convince everybody, including dogs that they should all say hello to him.
He barks, jumps and grumbles if you are not saying hi to him.

He lived up to his reputation while we were in Wales and tried to get everybody's attention, including all the animals while we were walking around the farms.
He was running up and down the fields and by night time he ended up with sore paws.
Yes, our city boy is definitely not as tough as his mama.(haha)

Luckily I packed some organic paw balm that I bought from Amazon.

 He was so grateful for it.
The next day he was back on his paws ready for a new day.

 On the way back, he slept all the way home. It was a fabulous gateway for all of us.

We can't wait to book another trip with our baby boy soon.

Have you ever travelled with your pet?

Have you taken your pet with you abroad?
If so, please share your experience with me in the comments below.
I'm thinking of taking Happy with us on a plane trip, but I'm too sure how to start the process and how difficult it is.
Until that, see you next time.