Whether you prefer clear mountain air or the ozone-rich, salty air of the sea, you can find places to take your dog for a walk that are idyllic, even when you are on holiday. If you are a nature lover and a dog lover, you could choose a vacation destination with nature and your dog in mind.

City-bound hotel holidays or long, driving holidays are not very pleasurable for your dog. If a dog is going to be at home all day, he would rather be in his own home all day. Likewise, with driving. He might plead to go the mall with you in the car, but doing a coast to coast run in a scorching fortnight in June, is not really what he is all about.

Therefore, if you are planning a vacation that you think your pet would not really enjoy, why not do him and yourself a favour and leave him behind? Leave him with a dog-loving family member or friend or board him in a kennels that you have researched well yourself.

There are literally hundreds of boarding kennels in operation in every state and often there are thousands. Most of them are fine, some are excellent and the owners of some could do with a stiff talking to. I put my dog in one once that I had not checked out well enough and went away for two weeks. When I got back four hours early, they were not ready me and my dog was dirty and forlorn.

I felt awfully guilty and my dog would not ‘speak’ to me for a week. Really! No eye contact, no tail wagging, would not always come when called, no happy running about, just a hang dog expression for seven days. She must have felt that I let her down badly, which of course I had, by not researching the kennels.

A tremendous place to take your dog is St Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The US Virgin Islands are literally part of the United States of America and you can go there without a passport, with your US dollars and with your dog.

Not every hotel allows animals just as in continental USA, but there are loads that do. There are also package holidays that will take you and your dog from the airport to the island hotel and back again all for one price.

Of the four main islands in the US Virgin Islands, St. Croix is most likely the best option for going to with a pet dog, because it is less heavily populated than the other islands and is by far the largest.

The hotel or resort will probably not provide feeding dishes, bedding and toys but they will certainly have a store where you can purchase such things. It is probably not worth bringing your own either unless you have a large suitcase and a decent weight allowance. Food for your dog will also be widely available on the island, of course.

St Croix has a variety of sorts of terrain and lots of activities to take full advantage of them. There are beautiful tropical beaches perfect for swimming or playing in the shallows; there are the undulating plains of the old plantations, which are perfect for long walks and there are hills, mountains and rain forest to explore with your dog too.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with St Croix Virgin Islands. If you are interested in St Croix Vacation Rentals in the US Virgin Islands, please click through to our site.