For travelers with pets, choosing the next destination is never just about where you want to go. A city might have great weather, affordable rent and every coworking space you could ask for, but none of that matters much if you can’t find an apartment that accepts your dog, take them on public transport or, in some cases, even get them across the border.
And for people travelling long-term, leaving them behind isn’t always an easy alternative. New research from Holafly shows that nearly four out of five pet owners (78.3%) would take their animals abroad if they felt confident it was safe and easy. For travelers in particular, it can shape where they go: Gen Z is 10 times more likely than Boomers to consider pet-friendliness a major factor when choosing their next destination.
The impact goes beyond choosing one city over another. Nearly 60% of these travellers have cancelled, postponed or skipped a trip in the last year because they were worried about their pet’s wellbeing, while those who alter their plans because of pet anxiety are almost twice as likely to feel isolated and experience burnout. In other words, for a growing group of travellers, pet-friendliness isn’t a nice-to-have; it can determine whether the trip happens at all.
To find out which destinations are the most pet-welcoming and which ones put up the biggest roadblocks, Holafly analyzed 25 popular digital nomad cities. The study looked at six key areas: veterinary access and cost, pet-friendly accommodation, entry requirements, dog parks, public transport rules and green spaces. The resulting Holafly Plans Pet-Friendly Nomad Index 2026 gives each city a score from 0 to 100, where lower numbers mean less friction for travelers with dogs.
“Anyone who’s crossed a border with their dog knows that fast Wi-Fi or a great workspace is only half the equation. From transit bans to complex entry rules, the friction is real. In fact, it’s why nearly 60% of pet owners tell us they’ve cancelled or postponed a trip out of worry for their pet,” said Carlos Heredero, Head of Operations at Holafly. “We built the Pet-Friendly Nomad Index across these 25 destinations not to list rules, but to give digital nomads clarity before they commit to a destination, so they can move with real peace of mind. As a full-time dog parent myself, it’s exactly the kind of clarity I wish I’d always had.”
Here are the cities where traveling with your pet is easiest for digital nomads:
- Bansko, Bulgaria
- Budapest, Hungary
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Berlin, Germany
- Barcelona, Spain
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Playa del Carmen/Tulum, Mexico
- Split, Croatia
- Mexico City, Mexico
Bansko takes the top spot as the most pet-friendly destination in the entire study. The mountain town benefits from the EU Pet Passport scheme, meaning zero entry friction, alongside a strong veterinary market for its size and minimal local restrictions. Budapest follows closely in second place: it offers an outstanding network of 42 fenced dog parks, top-tier green spaces and seamless EU entry rules.
The research also highlights Buenos Aires as a major standout that many remote workers with dogs overlook. The Argentine capital delivers the best veterinary access and the most welcoming accommodation market of any city measured, with its only minor limitation being weekend-only subway access for pets. European cities dominate the top tier largely due to policy and infrastructure: Berlin leads the study for pet-friendly mid-term rentals, while Barcelona offers the best dog park infrastructure measured, with 115 official fenced areas.
While famous nomad hotspots in Asia and the Middle East struggle with strict transit bans, thin vet access and long quarantines, European destinations and standouts like Buenos Aires show that living abroad with a dog can be effortless when local infrastructure and policies align.
The research forms part of Holafly’s broader work exploring the realities of living and travelling across borders for longer. Holafly Plans, its global eSIM subscription for frequent travellers and digital nomads, provides one plan that works across destinations rather than having to start again every time they move.
