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.

Logistics are updated as we travel... ⏱️

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

Virtu Ferries: Sicily to Malta (April/May 25)
Pet Cost: € 15 for 2-hour trip (approx. $24 AUD)
Comfort: 3⭐Pet in passenger area in crate
Ease of transfers: 5⭐

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.

Grimaldi Line Ferries: Sicily to Sardinia (May 25) - Car/truck/passenger ferry.
Pet Cost: € 40 for 12-hour trip (approx. $70 AUD) on top of cabin price.
Comfort: 5⭐Pet cabin. 2 single beds and ensuite where pets can stay with owners. Excellent toileting facilities for dogs on top, open deck.
Ease of transfers: 3⭐
Comment: There were no required checks on arrival to the terminal for Yoki however, the passenger check in office is unmarked and we relied on workers to point us in the right direction while dodging cars and trucks. Loading onto the ship was a breeze and the trip was very comfortable. Disembarking however was chaotic and an awful experience. All passengers are removed from cabins an hour before port and hundreds of people and many dogs have to stand in public spaces where there is not enough seating. No dogs were wearing the required muzzles and there was some badly mannered animals, and owners, in the crowd. Walking passengers were instructed to disembark before car owners but were given absolutely no directions from staff, imagine pulling your luggage through heaps of people, with a dog and not knowing where to go. To top it off, Yoki was attacked from behind, but unhurt, by an unrestrained dog that had been causing problems.

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.

Dogs on trains and buses.
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 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.

In Sicily, we were regularly asked for a dog train ticket and if we had a muzzle. Dog tickets are half fare.
Due to a train strike, we were required to catch a bus/Coach from Agrigento to Palermo, we were advised it was up to the driver if a carrier or muzzle was required. Unfortunately we got the driver that demanded a carrier and it was not a roomy bus. Due to the size of Yoki's carrier, it had to sit in the aisle but thankfully the bus was not busy. On arriving in Palermo we went on the hunt for a smaller, collapsible carrier as we knew this would not be the last time we would be needing to use it.

💡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.

Yoki sitting on a suitcase at the train station in Milazzo, Sicily.

Visiting Malta; The transfer requirements on the Virtu ferry service from Sicily to Malta required a couple of steps to be completed in the lead up.
Firstly, dogs must have a tapeworm treatment administered by a vet 1 to 5 days before entering Malta. A certificate of administration must be provided or noted in the pet passport, this will be checked on entering Malta.
Secondly, a Pets Arrival Notification form must be completed with the servizz.gov.mt 5 days before entry to Malta.
During the 1.5 hour transfer, Yoki stayed with us in the passenger lounge but she had to remain in her crate at all times.
On arriving in Malta, we were stopped while getting off the ferry by an official who checked all our pet documents and gave Yoki a very brief check over and microchip scan. In all, it took about 4 minutes and we were on our way.
Public transport; Navigating Malta's public transport was a little more difficult than Italy's. We experienced no issues with the Island ferry service or share ride cars such as Bolt, but the public bus system was confusing. While purchasing a 7 day public transit card we enquired about dogs on buses. The response was that Yoki would be required to wear a muzzle, no problem there. When it came time to get on a bus we were told by the driver she must be in a crate, we were only carrying her muzzle. But the next driver said to just keep her on our lap. After the first day we elected to not risk the buses any further as Yoki's crate is just too big to cart around.
Public spaces; The first thing we noticed in Malta was how few dogs were out in public after our experiences in France and Italy. Dogs are generally accepted in the restaurants, bars and cafes but absolutely no entry to groceries stores and most tourist attractions. This includes all UNESCO sites across the Island. We completely respect this as we believe its a privilege, not a right, to have access to attractions with a dog and we simply tailored our days to suit our visits.