Testing negative to return home - France

I understand. The stress is very real.

Think about which country you want to be isolating in and what the requirements are in each country. That may matter and may impact where you test.

Bring some over the counter home tests to have available to use during the trip to avoid a last minute surprise.

We just tested Monday and flew back Tuesday -- may it work so for you. I would identify lodging with a kitchenette. WE had booked Balcons du Savoy in Chamonix for a trip that got cancelled. They have small serviced apartments and beautiful views. WE haven't been there so can't share experience -- but if they had space they might be a good choice to hole up if necessary. They have one and two bedroom apartments as well as studios. I suspect there are other similar lodgings in the area.

The advice I heard that I thought was very good was to use home tests if anyone has any symptoms -- don't assume it is allergies or a cold. If anyone has a sore throat or 'cold', test right away because your 10 day 'quarantine' starts from an official test. If you test positive on a home test then immediately get an official one so your baseline starts running rather than waiting till the day before your flight.

Re Janettravels44, I appreciate this advice but can you clarify how this would work if one had some symptoms and tested positive on a non-official test, say, a week before a return flight and then got an official test to confirm so the 10 day clock can start, when the requirement is to test negative the day before the return flight? If one has to test the day before the flight and it is still positive in the scenario above, wouldn't that 10 day clock start again? If not, why not?

If you have tested positive in the previous 10-90 days, you don't need to retest before your flight. You do need to have a letter from a doctor stating you are symptom-free and cleared to fly, per CDC. Your host country could have rules requiring a negative test, however. France accepts the letter after 10 days without a retest. Travelers need to check Swiss rules.

Exactly -- the requirement is not a negative test the day before the flight, it is 10 days since the official positive test AND medical statement that you are clear to fly from a doctor. During the 10 days you organize that. Some people including several we know in France have tested negative after a week -- if so then you could just fly with that negative test as soon as you can get your ticket rebooked.

What you don't want is to be mildly sick for a few days and then test positive the day before -- and have your 10 day clock start running then.

you mentioned Chase, make sure you have enough available credit from several sources to pay whatever bills come up (and don't worry about those bills until you get home)

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I am still worried but feel I've settled a bit. I checked our travel insurance through Chase and found in writing that expenses from being required to quarantine for health reasons would be covered. I called to confirm and got those documents, phone #s, etc organized so I know where they are. I am curious to see what the next update from the Rick Steves tours will be - the last one said about 3% of their tour participants had tested positive at some point on their trips.