Ostend is one of the easiest pet-travel hubs on the Belgian coast: a compact seafront city walkable end-to-end in 30 minutes, 9 km of North Sea promenade, year-round dog-beach zones at Mariakerke, Raversijde and Oosteroever, the Kusttram 67 km coastal tram for hopping between dog beaches, free NMBS dog tickets to Bruges and Brussels, and a Belgian cafe culture that takes leashed dogs for granted.
May-June and September-October are ideal, average highs 15-21 degrees C with steady sea breeze, low-season open beach access for leashed dogs from 16 September to 14 April, and quieter cafe terraces than peak summer. Avoid mid-July to mid-August weekends when day-trippers from Brussels and the Dutch border crowd the seafront; winter is windy and grey but romantic, with the Christmas Kerstmarkt that admits leashed dogs.
Ostend is the perfect home base on the Belgian coast: the Kusttram coastal tram (longest tram line in the world, 67 km) runs from De Panne to Knokke through Ostend's mid-line hub, hopping between dog beaches at Mariakerke, Raversijde, De Haan, Blankenberge, Zeebrugge and Knokke. NMBS free-dog trains reach Bruges in 12 min, Ghent in 30 min, Brussels in 1h15. Stena Line ferry to Ramsgate (UK) takes about 4h.
Belgium uses the euro. Most hotels and restaurants accept Visa/Mastercard, contactless is universal. Pet supplements at Ostend hotels average 10-20 EUR per night, in line with the EU median; tipping is not obligatory but rounding up 5-10% in cash is standard for good service. Public toilets along the seafront promenade typically charge 0.50 EUR.