It’s official—Switzerland opening to US tourists.

YES! I guess this means our September trip is still on as long as all stays as is…….I AM THRILLED…..ready to get to those gorgeous views and trails and see God’s handiwork again! Thank you so much for posting this Carrie!!!

YAY!!!! Looks like our trip for October will be a go (unless something comes up between now and then) and we can explore Switzerland and Paris!!! From the sounds of the above post all we need to get into Switzerland is our CDC vax card.

SIDE NOTE....I work for Michigan's largest health care system and we have 61 COVID patients admitted SYSTEM WIDE!!!

Now if you have plane tickets you have to watch out for flight changes. I just got one today for flight leaving July 20 and it is inconvenient so I might take the refund and start over.

Great news for sure! But I think it is wise advice to check back frequently to resources to see if anything changes prior to departure. It still feels like things are very fluid with the whole situation. Happily, fluidity for vaccinated persons seems to be on the positive side for now. American Airlines has a great tool to use to help figure out testing and quarantine rules for your trip including where you make connections. It's not updated yet with the new Swiss rules. But it's a pretty nifty tool. https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions?affiliateId=americanairlines

Jazz, what airline was that? Swiss Air? United? Sorry your flight got messed up.

I was planning to take the Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano and then go to Lake Como and fly back from Milan but Delta changed it to Rome.

Jazz...ours is not until October and we are flying Delta into Zurich. Got a few months to work out the kinks.
Unless the changes are significant, I won't rebook. My sister's ticket has gone up almost $800 since I booked it in March. If I have to pay the fares they want now, we will have to cancel our trip.

Yes- we can all finalize our trip plans!

Previous communications have exempted Children traveling with Vaccinated Adults from test. Is this still the case?

bouthie, I didn't see any mention of children . My hope is that once the US embassy updates it's site, we'll have some more details.

FYI--The US embassy page for Switzerland is now updated with the current info. https://ch.usembassy.gov/covid-19-info
If you scroll down to entry and exit requirements, you’ll see:

Are U.S. citizens permitted to enter? YES, if fully vaccinated or
showing proof of a negative test or recovery from COVID-19. f you are
not vaccinated or have not recovered from COVID-19, you might have to
fill out an entry form, show proof of a negative test and/or go into
quarantine.

Safe travels everyone!!!!!

What will we need to show as proof of vaccination? Will my CDC card be sufficient?

It's not entirely clear what a "suitable document" means, but here is the info from the SEM webpage:
https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/sem/aktuell/faq-einreiseverweigerung.html (scroll down to Entering Switzerland)

How can I prove that I am vaccinated?

You will regarded as vaccinated if you have been vaccinated with a vaccine that:
is authorised in Switzerland and has been administered in full in accordance with the FOPH recommendations;
has been authorised by the European Medicines Agency for the European Union and has been administered in full in accordance with the requirements or recommendations of the country in which the vaccination was administered;
or has been authorised under the WHO Emergency Use Listing and has been administered in full in accordance with the requirements or recommendations of the country in which the vaccination was administered.
For more information on the authorised vaccines, please see:
Swissmedic
European Medicines Agency
World Health Organisation

The vaccine must have been administered in full within the past 12 months. Proof of vaccination may take the form of a COVID-19 certificate. If the certificate has not yet been introduced, vaccination must be proven by another suitable document. This must contain the following information

Surname, first name(s)
Date of birth
Date of vaccination,
Vaccine used

Please note:
Persons under the age of 18 who have not been vaccinated because of their age and who are travelling with an adult who has been fully vaccinated are permitted to enter Switzerland.

The certificates issued here are very "official looking" and have a QR code, so I am not sure what the Swiss will make of the CDC cards, which could easily be forged from what I've seen. However, since they are aware of the lack of an official document in the US, I would assume they are prepared. I suppose for those who are unsure, it wouldn't hurt to get your doctor to write up something more official-looking if possible that includes all the necessary info, to bring along as backup to the CDC card?
When I ordered my Swiss vaccination certificate, it was emphasized that the name on your certificate should match your official ID documents (passport etc) because the certificate is only valid with a matching ID. Not sure if they will be strict with arriving tourists, but best to make sure they match if possible.
Guess someone who actually goes through the arrival process will have to report back!

Ted, hopper provided good info. above and as all we in the US have is our CDC card, I would hope that our original card would suffice as proof. If you are traveling soon, I would suggest you call your airline to see what they are requiring, as they are doing the initial checks at the airport.

For those traveling soon, please report back what your experience is like.

Safe travels everyone!!

Elsewhere on the .ch website, they speifically state that a valid covid immunization document is any official document from an authorized government according to that country's standards, as long as that country is on Switzerland's "approved" list. That means they accept the U.S.A.'s CDC card as proof.

I queried several hotels I thought of staying at around Switzerland on what local conditions were and they all responded that the CDC card + passport was accepted in restauranats, hotels etc. "no problem". It even sounded like they are not really checking at restaurants. You mask up, go in, sit down, take off your mask. That's it.

In general, the Swiss are not in favor of vaccine papers as they are considered discriminatory, and they seem to be are a lot more relaxed about proof documents than, say, the French who insist unilaterally that you have a Pass Sanitaire to get in anywhere and have really cracked down in the last 10 days...

Now of course, with our cases sky-high here in the US, the Swiss stance could change...

Possum, yes, the Swiss strategy is different than the one in France. Switzerland does not currently require proof of vaccine for hotels, restaurants, or trains. In fact, when I emailed my hotels to confirm my reservations, I let them know we were all vaccinated and happy to show proof upon arrival and the response I got was “No proof of vaccine is required under Swiss Law.”

I have not had to show my CDC card at all in Switzerland. I showed it when we arrived in Frankfurt (passport control) and then was asked to show it a few places in Italy since it was after 8/6. Happy travels!