Covid 19 Testing in Geneva, Switzerland

You might find the thread about finding Covid tests helpful. I’m on my phone so I can’t link it. It is under the Covid and travel category,

I've been to Europe 4 times since August 2021 -- including my current trip. Three returns were from Berlin, and I had zero trouble getting a rapid antigen test -- once at a schedule ahead place and twice at (different) walk-in testing sites (all 3 times I confirmed with my B&B owner on arrival where I could get a test). I return from Vienna Saturday and checked at the pharmacy around the corner from my hotel a few days ago to see if i could get a test there. The answer is yes, so I have a test scheduled for 8 am tomorrow. Not Geneva, specific, I realize, but I find it hard to believe that it will be much trouble getting a test done anywhere in Europe. You can always write to your place of lodging to see what recommendations they have (though I never did this).

Ellen,
I was talking with the Rick Steves office yesterday, asking if they could provide Covid testing hours & location at the Geneva airport, and they replied that they thought the airport testing might be unreliable & take too long. They suggested I take a proctored test instead.

However, I am not tech savvy, and want a physical testing location backup in case something goes wrong with my phone / Wi-Fi / user error / proctored test!

My Rick Steves tour ends in Chamonix, and then I will test and fly out of Geneva as recommended by Rick Steves…

This website has info. on testing in Geneva.

https://www.ge.ch/en/covid-19-get-tested/where-can-one-be-tested-geneva

Carrie — thank you. Unfortunately, I tried to use this site to look up the Geneva airport, and the information is in French. (My 2 years of high school French is insufficient!)

There’s an option to view the page in English. Under “covid19 get tested” there should be options to change the language.

Same for the Geneva airport website. At the top right, there is an option to view the page in English.

It does look like there are plenty of options for testing in Geneva. If you are staying at a hotel, I think the hotel should be able to direct you to the nearest testing site.

Carrie, thank you for your patience.

I have tried to read the Covid get tested #4 Where can one be tested in Geneva? I have set my page to English. But there is no option for “Click here to consult the list of testing centers in Geneva” (only in French). There is no English option at the stage, only French. Help??

My Rick Steves tour ends in Chamonix. I haven’t booked a flight pre-departure hotel in Geneva yet, but figure I will have to because my flight leaves at 6:55am! So, not sure which hotel would have best customer service, testing help, strong Wi-Fi, ability to print documents for me, and most convenient to get at the airport at 4 or 5 am. Also not sure if it is easier to be stranded for 10 days in Chamonix or Geneva for 10 days late July/early August if we test positive??

Again, thank you for any advice and help.

Carla, I would think you would have much better options for testing in Geneva as it is a much larger city. Plus, I’d much rather be stranded in Switzerland. 😊 Although I guess it would be more expensive.

I would look for a hotel near the airport that caters to business travelers. Those are the types that are more likely to be able to help with printing and things like that. But I would think most hotels have wifi and ability to print.

We’ll be flying back to the US from Geneva in early September. I found this place (choose English at the upper right) Very near the airport, but tests are 130 CHF, 180 CHF if needed “urgently”
https://www.m3-test.ch/
We plan to check at the pharmacy and see if they do them there.

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

I was in Chamonix last fall and definitely saw signs in a pharmacy in the town center about covid testing so you could get tested there. Honestly for financial reasons, I would choose 10 extra days in Chamonix vs. Geneva, but hopefully that won’t be necessary!

We too are on the My Way Alpine tour mid August ending early September. Originally we planned to stay two extra days in Chamonix then go to Geneva for our last day and stay over in Geneva then have a flight out at 14:50. I am very concerned about testing 24 hours before flight to US.. would we have enough time to get to airport if we stay in Chamonix and not go to Geneva the day before? If we would test positive it would be nice and less expensive ( maybe) in Chamonix.
Any advice would be very welcomed.
Thanks

the travel reporter Peter Greenberg said this morning that there are now some travel insurance plans that will cover your expenses if you get stuck when trying to return to the US, you would have to research that. oddly he said to buy it from a travel agent and not online, not sure why he made that distinction.

As noted, airport hotels tend to be quite adept at dealing with travel related issues like how to print, where to test, etc. That was the case at CDG last year.

Cata11 referenced this:
"We’ll be flying back to the US from Geneva in early September. I found this place (choose English at the upper right) Very near the airport, but tests are 130 CHF, 180 CHF if needed “urgently”
https://www.m3-test.ch/
We plan to check at the pharmacy and see if they do them there."

That cost is for the PCR tests. To fly back to the US, you only need a Rapid Antigen test which should cost much less. We successfully used a Rapid Antigen test last month traveling home from Milan and it only cost about 20 Euros in the airport. On the m3-test site referenced above, it appears that the government may even cover the cost of the Rapid Antigen Test.

Thank you JulH.