Hi! We are newbies and are looking at spending the winter cruising around Central America and want to bring our dogs. Can you give us any advice please?

My advice is don't do it. The risk is too great that you will encounter gigantic bureaucratic roadblocks that could result in the seizure of your dogs and they being held unless you pay mega bucks for "fees."

Probably impossible. To enter most countries you need certificates of health that are no more than 10-30 days old. Sometimes you need to get these certificates verified in a country's consulate before leaving the U.S. Check out the site below and it will give you information on each country's requirements. You could potentially end up having your pets quarantined or confiscated if things don't go well.Pet Import Requirements

You can get them into Mexico, but other countries are pretty well impossible. Trek of the America's who run RV caravans down to South America forbid pets because of this. If anyone knew it could be done, it would be them, and they can't. He told me many countries have strict quarantine procedures. If you want to wait a few months at each border, maybe you can do it..

I guess I got lucky and had the opposite experience. Drove all through Mexico and Central America with a large lovable 130 lb Newfoundland, no papers, and they never said a thing.

We say take your dogs, too. The health certificate thing is easy. It's form APHIS 7001 available on line. Fill it out and date it appropriately. Print.Ours have been to Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, of course, and Belize. The only one that can be a little sticky is Belize, but other than a short cut, they don't have much to see or do. Read about them on line. Years ago, Panama didn't allow pets, but I have no idea about now. Should be easy to check on line.Do it, and have a ball. Our two dogs and cat go everywhere, and will continue to.

Rv'ing to Central America With Dogs | Good Sam Community

JanisMurphy
Explorer
Jun 03, 2015
Wow! Great info! Thank you! We just bought a 28' Four Winns and plan on towing a small vehicle. We have 2 dogs and all of the info that blog has given me has been super helpful. Thank you all!
jornvango
Explorer II
Jun 03, 2015
We spent 5 months last year in Mexico and Central America. We drove our RV (truck with a truck camper) through all the countries (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and then back up to the U.S.) and had our dog with us. No problem whatsoever. Every border crossing consists of getting your passport stamped, then 'importing' your RV and (usually but not always) a third stop to show your dog's paperwork.

What did we bring for our dog? Before we left the U.S. and crossed into Mexico, we went to a vet in Texas to get a health certificate which shows the dog is healthy and current on the rabies shot. We then spent about 6 weeks making our way through Mexico and before we entered Belize, we went to a vet in Chetumal (Mexico) to get an updated health certificate; this time in Spanish. This is the one that we used to enter all other Central American countries on the trip.

We met many travelers who brought their dog(s) and no one had any issues while crossing borders. The very strict rules are definitely applied more rigorously when arriving by plane, but not when you show up at the border. Most borders in Central America are nothing like a border that you might be used to seeing, for example, in Europe or between the U.S. and Canada. The borders down there are pretty much chaos.

What RV to use? Whatever makes you comfortable, but don't take anything longer than 25 ft. I would recommend. The smaller, the better.

Where to camp? Definitely download and use iOverlander. You'll also find our campsites on there. We actually met Sam (who wrote it, from songoftheroad.com) on the trip at a campsite in San Miguel de Allende and Teotihuacan. They just returned to the U.S. a few weeks ago after going all the way to Argentina.

If you're interested, our travel blog (Roadtrippin' the Americas) is at www.vango.be
I wrote a book about our 5 month trip, with general tips as well as our route, which is at www.vangophotos.com/books

Have a great trip, and by all means, take your dog with you! Just make sure he doesn't kill any chickens while running off leash ... :)
tony_lee
Explorer
May 31, 2015
And for what could (should??) be the final word on the subject

"No matter how deep a study you make, what you really have to rely on is your own intuition, and when it comes down to it, you really don't know what's going to happen until you do it."

Konosuke Matsu****a

(Oh for heavens sake Mr Woodalls.The man's name is M A T S U S H I T A.) Surely your censor can be tweaked a little more into the real world.
4X4Dodger
Explorer II
May 31, 2015
DownTheAvenue wrote:
My advice is don't do it. The risk is too great that you will encounter gigantic bureaucratic roadblocks that could result in the seizure of your dogs and they being held unless you pay mega bucks for "fees."

Sorry but you just are terribly misinformed. It is actually quite easy. And it is easier yet to get them back into the US, which is one of the easiest countries on the planet for letting dogs and cats in.
JanisMurphy
Explorer
May 31, 2015
Thanks so much!
coloradotallman
Explorer
May 31, 2015
Ditto on the iOverlander.com or app. One of the creators, I believe, was Sam with SongOfTheRoad.com. Check them out along with DeskToGlory.com. Neither have dogs, but both have good websites, with links to other travelers -who may have had dogs- and both have recently been through Mexico and Latin America. Two of the kings of links were seventeenbysix.wordpress.com and liferemotely.com.
tony_lee
Explorer
May 26, 2015
One resource you might find useful is the lists of POI on iOverlander for many countries of the world, but particularly focusing on N,C and S America.

Mostly camping locations - boondocking and more conventional places, but also mechanics, propane refillers and the like.

What to buy? Here is a selection of vehicles at Quinta Lala campground in Peru. They all made it there and back (wherever "there" and "back" might be)
Take your pick

If you want to end up totally confused, http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/142138-Looking-for-advice-on-motorhome-for-a-Panamerican-highway-trip-%28Alaska-to-Argentina%29 is a thread elsewhere on exactly the same topic - with exactly the same outcome.
JanisMurphy
Explorer
May 25, 2015
Wow! Thanks for all the info. That really helps a lot. Any suggestions of the best places to go? We have always rented cars when we traveled in Central America and having even a class c rv is going to be tricky in some areas. So excited to finally have more than a few weeks to travel!
Talleyho69
Moderator
May 25, 2015
We drove a class C from 1990 to 2012, now a class A. Most of the roads in Mexico are at least as good as those in California, but that's not saying much!
tony_lee
Explorer
May 25, 2015
Once again the naysayers are having a field day.

We have come across lots of people who are traveling with pets in S America and they didn't have any problems. Certainly true that just as in the USA, every country has its own regulations, but from all accounts they aren't hard to satisfy.

I did have the URL of a blog where they went to a lot of trouble to spell out how they entered every country with dogs. I'll see if I can find it again.

Searching for "Traveling south Americ with dogs brings up a few possibilities.

International Pet Travel - Women on the Road
www.women-on-the-road.com › Going Solo

Coping with international pet travel for long-term travelers. ... Many of the countries in South America are quite dog-friendly, even allowing well-behaved canines ...

Central & South America Dog Travel Forum - BringFido.com
www.bringfido.com › Forum
Visit the Central & South America Dog Travel Forum now to connect with other dog owners in Central & South America. Please "speak" up if you can help ...

International Pet Travel Regulations - LetsGoPets.com
www.letsgopets.com/inttravel.php
Europe Africa South America Asia. Certificate of Veterinary Inspection International Health Certificate Import Permits Microchip? Pet Travel Scheme (P.E.T.S.)

Dogs in South America (Doggie Pics!!!)
twenty-somethingtravel.com/2012/05/dogs-south-america-doggie-pics/
May 21, 2012 - South America is indeed a dog lover's paradise! People love their dogs. Unlike in Asia and Europe, where the stray dogs will break your heart, ...

DogFriendly.com: Pet Regulations for Travel Between ...
www.dogfriendly.com/server/travel/info/customs/travelcustoms.shtml
St Barts, South Africa, Russia. Chile, Panama, Bermuda. Bahamas, St Maarten/St Martin, Caicos Islands. Aruba, Bonaire, Taiwan. Signapore, New Zealand ...