July 2024

A 6 month old puppy on the "côte de nacre"

For this weekend of French National Day, we decide to head to Normandy. We target to see the D-Day landing beaches. We wanted to introduce Vaika to the sea and the sand. But above all, we have to admit, we wanted to admire her running in total freedom.

A weekend full of emotions with a first time on a bicycle and sprints with ears in the wind!

We tell you all about this first sea bath.

Summary

A dog friendly

destination?

Accommodation and

logistics

Cargo biking

with a puppy

A greyhound on the

D-Day Beaches

Normandy D-Day landing beaches:
a “Dog Friendly” destination?

For our first seaside weekend with Vaika, we looked for a destination close to Paris. Normandy and its beautiful fine sandy beaches seemed ideal to us.

We were guided by the Canitourisme Normandie website which is full of good addresses and ideas for stays with a dog!

It is important to note that most beaches are not dog-friendly during peak season. However, there seems to be some tolerance in the early hours (before 11am). We had no problem getting Vaika off the leash on the beach and noticed that many other dogs were having fun too!

This summer season, we had no trouble finding a restaurant that accepted dogs on the terrace.

Good plan visit : Juno Beach Center

Small dogs are welcome at any time, if they are held.
Large dogs are welcome between 1pm and 2pm, on a leash.

Accommodation and logistics

Vaika was only six months old at the time of the trip, so we opted for a car and an Airbnb accommodation . Courseulles sur Mer is a 3-hour drive from Paris, mostly by motorway. We are leaving from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.

It is the period of July 14th but there are no crowds on the roads. Vaika is well-behaved in the car. We took care to buy her a harness attached to a seat belt. This is mandatory but also ensures the safety of the dog in the event of sudden braking.

Cargo Biking with a Puppy

We rent our two electric bikes including a cargo bike. This is a first for us and for Vaika. The cargo bike, once mastered, especially when cornering, is quite pleasant to use. The electric assistance really helps, even if the height difference is rather small.

Tip: the cargo bike was in "children's" configuration. The cargo ship therefore had a small seat, rather hard and which took up quite a bit of space. I think it wasn't the most comfortable setup for Vaika. Fortunately she was still little. It's good to check this before renting a bike.

Tip #2: To prevent her from jumping out of the trailer, we attached her with 3 leashes in different places. Once again: system D not the most practical. Luckily Vaika is a pretty calm puppy! Our advice is to be well equipped to secure the dog inside the cargo.

There are good cycle paths along the seaside: it's magnificent and we're lucky because we have beautiful sunshine. We drove to Luc-sur-mer then continued a little on the greenway leading to Caen.

Address of Bike rental: Juno velo.

A greyhound on the sandy beaches

One of the reasons we went to Normandy was to introduce Vaika to the sea. Imagine our joy when we untied her and watched her dash down the beach. Vaika was in her element and showed her running skills. The seagulls, the seaweed, the shells: everything interested her and you could clearly see the joy on her face.

Beaches are not allowed in high season but we took advantage of the morning when tolerance was required.

Rather than a long speech, here are the photos of our beauty queen: