United Kingdom, France, Italy & Malta.

To allow recovery time (us & Yoki) after the long flight to London we decided to spend 2 weeks in the UK before making our way to Newhaven to board the ferry to Dieppe, France.
On landing at Heathrow Airport, it was approximately 6 hours for Yoki to have her quarantine papers processed, this was all completed by the pet carrier service, Petraveller, that we used before we could pick her up. If your pet is travelling on British Airways, this time is generally much quicker.
Dogs entering the EU from the UK are required to have a Animal Health Certificate (AHA) which needs to be obtained no less than 10 days prior to entering the EU. Yoki was booked into PAWSPORT - the UK Pet Travel Certificate Vet in Banbury, under the brilliant care of Lizzie, who was fantastic in helping guide us through the requirements.

The UK, French and Italian train services allow dogs on a leash, in a small carrier and in sleeper carriages but they are not to be on seats or in the dining car. The staff of every train we travelled on were brilliant and always helpful with no one having any issue with Yoki sitting on our laps.

Euro Star train between UK and France do not allow dogs so our chosen option was train from London to Newhaven and board the DFDS ferries.
As we were not travelling with a car on the ferry, we were required to book directly, via the DFDS call center, with the ferries for Yoki. Without a car the only option was an onboard kennel at € 15 for the 4-hour trip. Dog owners are permitted to see their pet during the crossing by making a time with the reception staff on level 6 of the ferry. After seeing how well dogs travel throughout the UK, I think the ferry system of kennels is antiquated however, we had limited options and Yoki made the trip with no issues but a couple of the other dogs were very anxious.

On landing in London and to board the ferry we had to show Yoki's:

pet documents.
rabies vaccine.
microchip information.

Key Information Snapshot:

Eurostar between London & France do not allow dogs to travel.
DFDS Ferries accommodate dog travel between London & France and the Netherlands.
Dogs not travelling in cars on the ferry need to be booked into an onboard kennel for €15 for a 4-hour trip.

DFDS Ferry
National Rail.
Gov.UK-pets.
SNCF-French Trains
Trenitalia-Italian Trains
Trainline-UK

London to Italy via France, with a side trip to Malta.

Tapeworm Treatments: Dogs require a tapeworm treatment, administered by a vet, between 1 and 5 days before entering Malta.

Returning to the UK, dogs may also require a tapeworm treatment unless you are traveling directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway.

Gov.UK-Pets.

YouTube

Logistics are updated as we travel... ⏱️

DFDS Ferries: UK to France
Pet Cost: € 15 for 4-hour trip (approx. $24 AUD)
Comfort: Kennel provided on (airconditioned) fourth level . 2⭐ (though staff were excellent)
Ease of transfers: 5 ⭐

Virtu Ferries: Sicily to Malta (April/May 25)
Pet Cost: € 15 for 2-hour trip (approx. $24 AUD)
Comfort: Pet in passenger area in crate
Ease of transfers:

Aeolian Island Ferries, Sicily: A muzzle was enforced on each leg of the ferry trip around the Islands. No charge for Yoki to travel though.

Yoki in front of the Newhaven to Dieppe poster.

Yoki looking at Seven Sisters ferry docked in Dieppe, France

Yoki on the train to Bradford on Avon, UK

Yoki on the train on Danny's lap looking out the window at the UK country side.

The cost of taking dogs on trains.
U.K; Dogs can travel on the train with you for free, as long as they don’t annoy other passengers. Each passenger is allowed a maximum of two dogs, but you’ll have to keep them on a lead or in a pet carrier.

France; Pets less than 6 kg (Small animal in a carrier) will cost €7.

Your animal must travel in a bag or carrier and be placed on your lap or at your feet.
Pets weighing more than 6 kg (Dog on a leash and wearing a muzzle)

If your pet weighs more than 6 kg, they must wear a muzzle for the duration of the trip and travel at your feet.

Their ticket will cost 50% of the usual price for a second class ticket, based on the number of kilometers' travelled.

Italy; Dogs, cats and other small pets travel free of charge on our trains in a pet carrier with a maximum size of 70 x 30 x 50 cm.

Larger dogs are permitted to accompany you on your journey provided the animal is kept on a leash and wearing a muzzle.

You can purchase a ticket for your dog for €5 for train journeys from Sunday to Friday, and €1 for train journeys on Saturday.

💡Now for our oops moment. We had completely neglected to check if there was a charge on trains for dogs...rookie error. However, only once were we asked in France (on our last train leg before Italy) for a ticket.😯No fine, just advised.
💡Yoki, and no other travelling dogs, were ever muzzled on any trains, and we were never asked to do so but we always had one on hand.

Check the web links in the Key Information Snapshot at the top of the page for each countries detailed particulars.