Dog Friendly Getaways From Bangalore: 6 Places, Honestly Assessed
6 places worth taking a dog from Bangalore, ordered by drive time, each with the month to avoid, the hazard that matters and where dogs cannot go.
The good news for Bangalore dog owners is that the drives are long but the destinations are estates, and estates mean private land where a dog can be off lead. The bad news is that every one of them is five hours or more, so plan around the drive rather than pretending it is not there.
The drive is the part people underplan. A dog does not experience four hours in a car the way you do, and the difference between a three hour destination and an eight hour one is not twice the effort, it is a different kind of trip. So this is ordered by drive time rather than by how good the place is.
Reachable from Bangalore
These take a full day of travelling, so plan the drive as part of the trip rather than an obstacle before it.
Chikmagalur, Karnataka
About 5 hours from Bangalore. Similar coffee country to Coorg and usually less crowded. Some trekking areas fall inside protected forest where pets are not permitted, so check the specific trail.
- Best months: September to March. Worth avoiding peak monsoon, because of heavy rain and leeches.
- Watch out for: leeches in monsoon, snakes on estate paths at dusk, slippery rock at waterfalls.
- Someone stays back for: Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary safari, Hebbe and Kalhatti falls, crowded and slippery.
- Suits: Almost any breed. Mild climate and estate space make it very workable.
- Stays: Satgiri Nest House, Kavalubare Retreat, Bhagavathi Nature Camp, all worth confirming directly before booking.
Chikmagalur is consistently less crowded than Coorg for a similar coffee estate experience, which matters a lot if your dog is uncomfortable around other people and vehicles.
Full detail, including vet access and what you can do together, is in our guide to Chikmagalur with a dog.
Coorg (Kodagu), Karnataka
About 6 hours from Bangalore. Coffee estate stays are the appeal and often have open land, which suits dogs well. Leeches are a serious monsoon nuisance in the Western Ghats. Estate areas can have snakes, so keep dogs on paths at dusk.
- Best months: October to March. Worth avoiding June to August, because of very heavy monsoon and leeches.
- Watch out for: leeches, severe in and after monsoon, snakes on estate paths at dusk, elephant movement in some border areas.
- Someone stays back for: Nagarhole safari, Dubare elephant camp.
- Suits: Almost any breed. Mild climate and open estate land make this one of the best all-round pet destinations in South India.
Carry salt or a leech repellent during and after monsoon. Leeches in Coorg are relentless, and checking paws and ears after every walk becomes routine.
Full detail, including vet access and what you can do together, is in our guide to Coorg (Kodagu) with a dog.
Wayanad, Kerala
About 6 hours from Bangalore. Plantation stays with open land suit dogs well. Much of Wayanad borders wildlife sanctuary where pets are not allowed, and elephant movement is a genuine consideration in some areas at night.
- Best months: October to May. Worth avoiding June to August, because of heavy monsoon and leeches.
- Watch out for: leeches, severe in monsoon, elephant movement at night on forest fringes, snakes in plantation undergrowth.
- Someone stays back for: Muthanga and Tholpetty wildlife safaris, Edakkal Caves.
- Suits: Most breeds. Estate stays with land suit active dogs particularly well.
- Stays: Saptha Resort, Klov Resort, Uravu Bamboo Grove Resort, all worth confirming directly before booking.
Wayanad has genuine elephant movement on estate fringes after dark. Keep dogs inside at night and ask your host which boundary of the property to avoid.
Full detail, including vet access and what you can do together, is in our guide to Wayanad with a dog.
Ooty, Tamil Nadu
About 7 hours from Bangalore. Cool year round, which is a relief for thick-coated breeds. The approach through Bandipur and Mudumalai passes through tiger reserve where night driving is restricted and stopping is not permitted, so time the drive for daylight.
- Best months: October to June. Worth avoiding peak summer holidays, because of heavy crowds.
- Watch out for: heavy tourist crowds in season, cold nights, wildlife on peripheral roads.
- Someone stays back for: Botanical Gardens, Nilgiri Mountain Railway toy train.
- Suits: Thick-coated breeds and anything that struggles with heat. Genuinely comfortable year round.
- Stays: King's Cliff, AARRAAMS Farms & Resorts, Anya Paradise, all worth confirming directly before booking.
Plan the drive so you clear Bandipur and Mudumalai well before dusk. Getting stuck at the reserve gate after closing means a long detour or an unplanned night in Gudalur.
Full detail, including vet access and what you can do together, is in our guide to Ooty with a dog.
Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
About 7 hours from Bangalore. Quieter and greener than nearby Ooty, with tea estate walks. Same Bandipur and Mudumalai reserve crossing applies on the drive, so travel in daylight.
- Best months: October to June. Worth avoiding peak monsoon, because of fog and slippery roads.
- Watch out for: leeches through the monsoon and for weeks after, heavy in the tea and shola, gaur, which are large wild cattle that wander into tea estates and gardens and are genuinely dangerous when a dog barks at them, leopards on the estate fringes, which take dogs at night.
- Someone stays back for: Mudumalai and Mukurthi, Sim's Park and the botanical gardens at Ooty.
- Suits: Thick-coated breeds are properly comfortable here, and it is one of the few south Indian destinations where a Saint Bernard or a Golden is not suffering. Senior dogs do well too, if you pick a flat estate road rather than the town.
- Stays: Serenity Manor, Ibex Resorts, Casa Pinnacle, all worth confirming directly before booking.
Stay in Coonoor rather than Ooty. Ooty is crowded, the lake area bars dogs, and the traffic is constant. Coonoor is 20 minutes below, sits in the middle of the tea, and the estate roads let you walk a dog for two hours without seeing a car.
Full detail, including vet access and what you can do together, is in our guide to Coonoor with a dog.
Gokarna, Karnataka
About 10 hours from Bangalore. Quieter and less developed than Goa, with beaches reached by walking over headlands. That walking suits fit dogs and not senior ones. It is a temple town, so pets are not permitted in temple areas.
- Best months: November to February. Worth avoiding June to September, because of heavy monsoon.
- Watch out for: hot sand midday, headland walks between beaches, free-roaming dogs and cattle.
- Someone stays back for: Mahabaleshwar temple and the temple town core, boat transfers between beaches, most refuse dogs.
- Suits: Fit, active dogs who can handle headland walks and heat.
- Stays: Kudle Beach View Resort, Paradise Holiday Cottages, Kudle Ocean Front Resort, all worth confirming directly before booking.
Gokarna is a temple town first and a beach destination second. Keep dogs well away from the temple area entirely, and stick to Kudle and the southern beaches.
Full detail, including vet access and what you can do together, is in our guide to Gokarna with a dog.
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Before you book anything
Two things decide whether a trip works, and neither is the destination. The first is the month. Several places above are genuinely unkind to a dog in the wrong season, and the difference is not comfort, it is safety. The second is where you are staying, because pet policies in India are set per property and change with the owner, so a place that welcomed dogs last year may not this one. Call and get the pet permission added to your booking confirmation in writing.
If you are taking the train rather than driving, read the rules for taking a dog on an Indian train first. Dogs are barred from 2AC, 3AC and Sleeper, which catches out almost everyone, and the parcel office step has to happen on the day.
And if you would rather not plan it yourself, our trip planner will build a day by day plan for your dates, your dog and how you are travelling, and email it to you.
The unglamorous part
A dog who will not go to the toilet in a strange place holds it far longer than is good for them, and a long drive followed by an unfamiliar room is exactly that situation twice over. Carrying a familiar surface from home is the single easiest fix, which is the reason we make a portable coir potty.