I don't have links at hand but I think rules have significantly changed in the past couple of weeks. First, only some cantons remained on the list of risk areas. And now even those cantons were removed. If you try https://www.einreiseanmeldung.de/#/ and select that you've spent last 10 days in Switzerland only, it will show that you don't need anything and can just go.

Found the link: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/f...html#f13919566

If travelling to the UK LHW in a couple of weeks, what type of test do you need to have in order to enter the country? Is an antigen test sufficient or does it need to be a PCR test bearing in mind that I have my second vaccine 2 days before flying.

Antigen test is sufficient.

Traveling to the USA from Zurich
PCR test or Rapid antigen test enough?

Antigen is fine for USA.

Thanks for the contributions to this thread everyone, very helpful.

Has anyone travelled to Italy from Switzerland in the last few days? Seems like a test is no longer needed if you have 2x vaccinations at least 14 days previously. Do they recognise the Swiss Covid Certificate/app?

Thanks in advance....

Can anyone confirm my assumptions for the following itinerary:

US citizen, fully vaxx'd.

Day 1: Drive CH-DE, ca 4-6 hours in DE including travel, return to CH, fly ZRH-ORD (Chicago)
Day 7: Fly ORD-ZRH. Land at ZRH, drive immediately to DE, ca. 4 -6 hours in DE, return to CH same day.

So assuming status of CH, DE, and US remain unchanged, I think I need:

1. Vaxx certificate but no test to enter DE from CH?
The schedule is already pretty tight - anyone know how much extra waiting time I should plan at the Basel border crossing around 6 or 7AM?

2. Antigen test 72h before entering US, plus vaxx certificate?

3. Because I am fully vaccinated I don't need another test to reenter CH or before traveling on to DE, vaxx certificate is enough? And, no quarantine required?


I need to do this once a month for at least the next six months, possibly longer. As fall approaches, I worry about another wave and resulting quarantine or border closures. But I need to book the kennel in Germany for all future trips now - which is a small fortune and not refundable.

It looks like my travel insurance will not cover cancellations due to changes in a country's COVID status. Anyone know of an insurer that will?

Many thanks.

If anyone was going to cover that risk they would want 30-50% of the sum insured as premium. All the flights I have booked in the last 12 months have been far more flexible than normal. How much of your itinerary can't be changed.

I'm booking fully refundable flights, so no worries there. It's the kennel stays, which have to be paid at time of booking, that are not refundable. A small fortune nonetheless.

Ah well, I suppose rolling the dice on losing a small fortune isn't as bad as the not-so-small fortune we already lost on cancelled 2020 travel.

Could you hire a dog sitter instead? Usually services like that you can cancel up to 24hr before the booked date.

Is there no way at all to use a kennel somewhere in CH? Or pay a housesitter who can also care for your muttley crew? It seems like so much added stress for you and the pups.

It's Robin Goodfellow... 'nuff said.

My (retired) sitter will stay at my home to care for Heffalump, but Robin is too much. He needs to be in professional hands.

Unfortunately there are no kennels in Switzerland able to provide the kind of care Robin needs.

So Germany is a necessary stop on the travel itinerary.


But back to my question:

Do my assumptions about testing/ no quarantine sound correct?

I guess you looked at Germany - Chicago flights?

Yes, FRA-ORD is a possibility, but I don't know that it would save me much time, as the drive from the kennel to Frankfurt is about 3-4 hours. I'd save a second border crossing though, so that's attractive.

But then I'd have to deal with Frankfurt airport. (Looking for spoon with which to gouge my eyes out.)

But it's on the list of possibilities.

In theory, if you coming from Schengen and have not visited a high-risk country in the previous 10 days (USA is not on the high-risk list), you can enter with proof of vaccination. In practice, if you are traveling by car and cross at one of the main crossings, there is no one checking at all. You just drive across, no waiting. I wouldn't worry about budgeting time for crossing the border at Basel -- the volume of cross-border commuters in Basel is simply too high to check, and half the time the borders aren't manned.

Is the swiss covid certificate issued in switzerland valid in EU countries or not?
Has someone tried to use it in an airport? did it work?

Try Helvetia. I changed our household insurance to them last year (in order to get the travel insurance) as, according to Comparis, they were one of the only insurers covering Covid, and of those few, the best according to the table. The website specified that if the situation changes after you book, then you are covered i.e. the key is to book when things are clear for travel. You'd obviously have to check whether they still cover it for new policies

I'm in Spain at the minute. They didn't even check.

I got insurance with Allianz Travel, because they had really good covid cover, but even they won't pay out just because a country gets put on the quarantine list. They only pay out for cancellations and costs due to you or someone else in your travel group/family getting covid.

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Greece. I had only the Kanton Bern Covid certificate (the Swiss Certificate came only from the 10 june). I had no problem, even on the small regional airports.