Traveling with Your Pet, 11th Edition: The AAA Petbook

Most of the book reads like any standard travel book. Arranged alphabetically by state, you'll find hotels in both small towns and major cities, with a list of icons showing what amenities you can expect. Instead of descriptions of restaurants or spas, you'll find a sentence or two outlining pet policies. Here, a careful reading can save you a bundle. Although many hotels are happy to house animals, surcharges range anywhere from $5 total to $100 per night and, in some cases, only particular species of small size are accepted. This section cautions readers to confirm the current policy in advance. The last thing you want to discover upon arrival with your two labs is that the policy was changed the day before you made the reservations.

Other than these listings, information is relatively limited, but can be helpful to newcomers to the world of pet vacations. Contact information is provided for several airlines, as well as emergency animal health-care suggestions and advice for buying safe traveling equipment. Dog owners will appreciate the list of off-leash dog parks throughout the U.S., which includes rules for national parks and forests. In fact, with all its practical information, you may find this book puts your regular pet sitter out of a job! --Jill Lightner

Product Description
Get the scoop on pet-friendly hotels and attractions, border crossing procedures, animal clinics, and packing suggestions from Traveling with your Pet: The AAA PetBook. Updated annually, the AAA PetBook features more than 13,000 hotels and campgrounds in the United States and Canada that accept pets. Practical tips on border crossings, what to pack, and details on traveling with your pet by car or by air make this a truly invaluable travel companion.

-- Gina Spadafori, syndicated pet-care columnist and author of "Dogs For Dummies," "Cats For Dummies" and "Birds For Dummies"


VERY helpful   August 10, 2002
29 out of 29 found this review helpful

not only does this list multiple hotels in the cities i've traveled to/from, but it lists emergency animal clinics, dog parks, and dog-friendly national parks. good-to-know stuff. it stays in my car for easy reference.
it is also more specific than most hotel websites that simply state "most pets accepted" or "some pets allowed". it will state whether or not a hotel will require you to bring a crate for Fido, and if the pet-friendly rooms are in the "designated pet rooms", and which hotels have a one-time only pet fee.


Good coverage for pet friendly places   August 6, 2006
Pet Travelers (Plano, TX USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

We are on our 3rd annual Traveling With Your Pet (8th ED.). We do quite a bit of traveling with our Miniature Austrailian Shepherd. This book is the best resource we have found for traveling with pets. The book has the usual AAA ratings for places, along with details of pet policies for each place. We have tested our book against several online sites, and although you may occasionally find a different place online which is not in this book, overall the book is the most thorough of all resources we have seen.

On knock, which is not directly related to the book, is the fact that some hotels and motels do not disclose their pet policies to AAA. For example, some put pet owners only in smoking rooms or other sub-standard rooms. Also, some hotels and motels charge $75 or more for one night as a pet fee, and in our opinion such places are not "pet friendly" and should not be in the book. So, our recommendation is to use the book as a starting place, but call to make sure the policy is as stated in the book and to make sure it has not changed since publication.


Traveling with Your Pet by AAA   January 3, 2007
Laurel M. Seese
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Excellent, accurate book that allowed us to plan our trip without worrying about where to stay with our pet. I loaned it to a friend who was traveling out west and they loved the book so much I gave it to them and now have to buy another copy! I keep it on file should we ever have to evacuate due to a hurricane. We'll all go to the same hotel with our pets!


Very helpful source   July 11, 2008
A. Abruzzi (PA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I find this book essential for traveling cross-country with our dog. It is particularly useful to know about additional fees and if the AAA discount applies. This is our second copy (we own the previous edition, too). I can't imagine setting out without it! I sometimes find the 'alphabetical by place' arrangment a little frustrating, especially when you just want to know what motels are along a particular Interstate that you are driving on. New users, be careful of the metropolitan area groupings, too. This source is best used in conjunction with a detailed road map.