Plan B in Chamonix or Geneva? Which would you choose?

I would think there would be more testing and lodging options in Geneva. As of April 1, 2022, you don’t have to quarantine in Switzerland if you test positive. So, you’d be able to go out and get food.

https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen/bundesrat.msg-id-87801.html

Carrie — I wish I could hire you as my guide!

And wouldn’t you know it… I clicked on your link, and when I hit “English”, the message is that the information is unavailable in English. Perhaps it’s my iPad?

Thank you for asking this question! I'll be in the same boat - ending our tour in Chamonix, and flying home from Geneva. I guess I had concluded we'd test in Chamonix, because I thought it would be easier to know the day before we fly. Testing also costs more at the airport. However, if quarantining is easier in Switzerland I'd consider it!

If daily costs in Geneva exceed what your insurance or your own pockets can cover, look at options in Annemasse just over the French border. It is not particularly charming, but it will do.

I’m surprised the tour guides are not arranging for testing after the tour for those tour members that need a test. That would be a lot more efficient than 20-30 people trying to find testing on their own.

The Switzerland tourism website has testing info. in English. Scroll down to where it mentions OneDoc, then “see a complete list of all test centers.” Then you want to look under canton of Geneva. Plenty of testing options.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/planning/about-switzerland/covid-pcr-test/

https://about.onedoc.ch/en/blog/covid-19-testing-centers-in-switzerland-available-to-book-online-onedoc/#Gen%C3%A8ve

Sorry about the non English link on my earlier post. The press releases are usually available in 4 languages—English, French, Italian and German. My computer translates automatically for me, so I’m not always aware if I’m on an English page or a page that was translated to English. I have a few things to do this morning, but I’ll check back later and find you an English source for the no quarantine info. so you have it.

I will have the same issue in August. We decided to test in Geneva. I'm assuming that lodging will be easier to find at the last minute in Geneva, rather than Chamonix. I'm going to research a few possible hotels ahead of time in case we can't extend our stay in the hotel I have booked pre-flight. After deciding to test in Geneva, I added an extra night there, so we will spend most of the final tour day in Chamonix, shuttle to Geneva, take our test in Geneva the next day. I hope to schedule our tests in the morning of the day before our flight , then I have booked a chocolate tour that looks delicious!

Thanks, Carrie for the info regarding no quarantine in Switzerland any longer. If we end up having to extend our stay there, at least we'll be able to get food & some fresh air (masked up, of course).

Ok this page should be in English. It has a section on “you have tested positive.”

https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/so-schuetzen-wir-uns.html

Carrie — success, the last link was in english!

Regarding your “surprise that Rick Steves tour guides aren’t organizing testing”… maybe they will? But there is no mention that they will. All of us are on the 5 country My Way Alpine Europe tour, and Rick Steves stresses that My Way participants are responsible for all our own activities. Trying to plan for Covid on our own for a 5 country radius… is overwhelming. Also, many people extend their tour by a couple days, including me, which means there will definitely be no assistance. (So thank you again for your kindness & patience. Much appreciated.)