With your dog on the boat
With most boat rental companies, your dog may come on board. The conditions differ per rental company and sometimes per boat. In boats with cushions, rental companies often ask you to let the dog lie on the floor, or to bring a blanket. One rental company does not allow dogs in the electric sloop (electric boat) and the deluxe sloop, because they have cushions, but does allow them in the whisper boat and the console boat.
On boat tours it varies. Some providers allow dogs, sometimes on a leash or under the table, and sometimes with a separate ticket for the dog. One provider asks you to say beforehand that you are bringing a dog. Read the rental company’s conditions and mention it when you reserve, then you can be sure it is possible. You can find all the boats at boating in Giethoorn.
Eating and drinking with your dog
Giethoorn has restaurants and cafés where your dog is welcome, sometimes only on the terrace and sometimes inside too, often on a leash. There are also places where you must get in touch beforehand to ask whether it is possible. There is no general rule. Check the page of the restaurant of your choice, or call. You can find an overview at eating and drinking in Giethoorn.
Staying overnight with your dog
With accommodation, too, it differs. In some of the holiday homes and holiday parks dogs are welcome and in others they are not. Not all hotels allow pets, and sometimes only by prior arrangement. At campsites dogs are often welcome, usually on a leash, but camping huts and pods are pet-free at several campsites. When you reserve, say that you are bringing a dog, and you will see which places are suitable. You can find more at holiday homes and camping and campers.
Museums and assistance dogs
Pets are not allowed inside the museum in the village. Assistance dogs are welcome.
Leash rules in the village
Giethoorn falls under the municipality of Steenwijkerland. Within the built-up area, your dog must be on a leash and you must pick up after him. Dogs are not allowed on playgrounds, in sandpits or on small playing fields. You recognise an off-leash area by a blue sign with a dog on it. The municipality publishes an overview of the off-leash areas per village, including Giethoorn. The rules are set out in the Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening (General Local Bylaw); for the current text, see the municipality’s website.
The old centre is car-free and the paths are narrow, with bridges over the water.
Walking in the countryside around Giethoorn
In the nature reserve of Weerribben-Wieden National Park, your dog may not run free. Dogs can disturb wildlife there, such as deer and otters with their young, and birds. The dog must therefore always be on a leash. The park has more than 25 starting points, each with several walking routes, and your dog can come along on almost all of the routes, as long as he is on a leash. Staatsbosbeheer reports that dogs are welcome on a leash in De Weerribben and that the access rules are on the signs at the entrance to each area.
In De Wieden there are routes where dogs are not allowed at all or only on a leash on part of the route. So check the route and the signs beforehand. For the walking routes near Giethoorn itself, read more at walking in Giethoorn.
What is not known
There is no list of all the places in Giethoorn where your dog is or is not welcome. Businesses’ rules can differ and change. If you have a specific question, call Giethoorn.com on +31 (0)521 360 099.
