Is it possible to travel to Switzerland if you want to enjoy a healthy bit of outdoors? Is it possible to do winter sports in Switzerland this winter? What considerations should I make when I want to ski in the Alps? Is travel possible in this Covid-19 pandemic? Let’s have a closer look.
First thing to notice, is that travel in Europe is generally possible. Borders in the Schengen treaty area are open, there are no massive checks at the land borders, international trains are running normally (and they are mostly almost empty), international bus connections are available, etc. Most countries allow for overland transit travel.
Many governments in Europe recommend their residents to not travel for tourism. Just like they recommend since years to not smoke or drink alcohol, not eat fast food, not commute alone in your car, etc. It is up to the individual citizen to assess if they follow the governments recommendation. I think you can and should travel if you want – but do it in a safer and conscious way. Be a responsible tourist!
How? First of all, respect all laws and regulations. Follow the well known hygiene rules. Keep 1,5m distance whenever possible. Wear a mouth/face mask whenever this is needed according to the law or whenever you would do it out of respect for others.
Second, follow these 3 steps:
Three steps in preparation of your winter holiday
1. Travel Restrictions
Can I travel from/to Switzerland?
First of all: Can I travel to Switzerland? Can I get back to my own country afterwards?
In the following map a quick overview. The same info can be found in the list in the next tab, if the map doesn’t work for you.
Click on a country to see the details. The colors have the following meaning:
GREEN – Switzerland does not impose restrictions on people traveling from these countries; these countries don’t impose any restrictions on people coming (back) from Switzerland. There might be for example a recommendation or advisory to self-isolate, but it’s not mandatory.
BLUE – Switzerland does not impose restrictions on people traveling from these countries; these countries do demand a test or quarantine for people coming (back) from Switzerland.
YELLOW – Either there are different rules for different regions within these countries, or (in the case of France) I found contradictory information.
RED – if you have spent more time than just a non-stop transfer in one of these countries, you will have to go into a 10 days strict quarantine at arrival in Switzerland. I did not include info about coming back from Switzerland in these countries.
GREY – I did not collect info about these countries. Maybe there are restrictions, maybe there are not. Why these countries? Totally random. Maybe I will add them later.
This reflects the situation as per December 7, 2020. The info about the Swiss regulations was updated on Dec. 14 and about France on December, 16.
List
This list is the text version of the map in the previous tab. The info is identical.
Austria
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you have to enter into a mandatory 10 day quarantine; if you test negative after 5 days, the quarantine stops. However if you can prove that you have only been in Austria and Switzerland in the 10 days before entry in Austria, there is no quarantine or test requirement. Currently Switzerland demands travellers that have stayed in Land Kärnten, Land Salzburg, Land Steiermark or Land Upper Austria to go into a 10 days quarantine upon arrival in Switzerland. Please check this page for the latest list of Austrian regions affected by this Swiss regulation.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Belgium
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, it is mandatory to fill in an online form; based on what you fill in there (amongst others: how have you been maintaining distance from people outside of your travel bubble while in Switzerland) you will be notified by SMS if you have to go into quarantine or not.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Czech Republic
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you must undergo a test within 5 days of entry to the Czech territory.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Denmark
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you are advised to go into self-isolation; it’s not mandatory though.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Finland
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you are advised to go into self-quarantine but it is not mandatory.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
France
There is a night curfew in France but “Air or rail transit related to long distance journeys” is an exception to that. There are no restrictions for when you come back from Switzerland.
Info found on this page and this pageon Dec. 16, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Germany
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you have to enter into a mandatory 10 day quarantine; if you test negative after 5 days, the quarantine stops.
Info found on this page and this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Greece
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. There are no requirements on return in Greece.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Ireland
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. In general, you are requested to restrict your movements for 14 days if you arrive into Ireland from another country. It is unclear to me what is the legal status of such a ‘request’ – mandatory or not?
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Italy
The standard rule is that travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. However at this moment certain regions in Italy are in lockdown and have internal travel restrictions. Currently Switzerland demands travellers that have stayed in Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia or Veneto to go into a 10 days quarantine upon arrival in Switzerland. Please check this page for the latest list of Italian regions affected by this Swiss regulation.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Netherlands
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you are advised to go into self-isolation; it’s not mandatory though.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. The text uses the word “should” but there is no law or temporary measure that imposes this; it is to be considered a recommendation.Please consult the disclaimer
Romania
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you have to go into quarantine.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Russian Federation
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you have to self-isolate and undergo a test; if the test result is negative, you can end your isolation.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
Spain
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. Before coming back to Spain, you have to have undertaken a PCR (swab) test within no more than 72 hours prior to arrival and be able to show the negative result fo that test.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
United Kingdom
Travel TO Switzerland is 100% legal. When coming back from Switzerland, you have to self-isolate. Additional measures might be in place in the different parts of the Kingdom.
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
if you have spent more time than just a non-stop transfer in one of the countries listed below, you will have to go into a 10 days strict quarantine at arrival in Switzerland. I did not include info about coming back from Switzerland in these countries.
Andorra
Croatia
Georgia
Hungary
Jordan
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Poland
Portugal
San Marino
Serbia
Slovenia
United States of America
Info found on this page on Dec. 7, 2020. Please consult the disclaimer
DISCLAIMER
If you are not an EU-citizen, the information might or might not not apply to you.
The info is only related to Covid-19; it does not take visa requirements etc. into account. This having said, Switzerland is member of the Schengen treaty.
I did not consider “having to fill in a form” a restriction.
2. Resort Characteristics
Resort Size
The big resorts attract the big crowds. Now YOU don’t want to be in crowds. You don’t want to be in a big resort. Big resorts come with queues for the shuttle bus, queues for the cable car, packed cable cars, queues for the toilets, for the ski rental, for the ski lifts…
Should you go to a small resort then? Maybe not. Small resorts have a limited lift capacity and therefore there might also be considerable queues, especially in weekends and during holidays. Plus you will have only a couple of pistes at your disposal and you’ll get bored fast.
IMHO the best option is a medium sized resort: big enough to spread the visitors, big enough to not be bored, small enough to not attract the big crowds.
For example: this trip during the XMas-week 2020 and this trip in March 2021 will happen in such a medium size resort.
Resort Set Up
Remember the packed cable cars that I mentioned before? Well, they will still be packed this winter. In Switzerland the current Corona-law says that cable cars can only be filled to 2/3. So a cable car with a capacity of 60 people will still carry 40. In the current situation I don’t feel comfortable spending time in a closed cable car cabin, sharing the small space with 39 others…
Better look for a resort with chair lifts and ski lifts (pancakes or t-bars) instead of cable cars. With chair lifts and ski lifts, you will always be in the open air and that’s the best place to be!
Again, this trip during the XMas-week 2020 and this trip in March 2021 will happen in such a resort with almost exclusively chair lifts and ski lifts.
...or something totally different!
Skiing and snowboarding are amazing activities. i’m a skier myself and I can’t imagine my life without skiing.
But… maybe this is also the moment to try out something different! Snowshoe hiking is another amazing way of experiencing winter. It has the huge advantage that it does not need any cable cars or other mechanical help. No queues or crowds what so ever!
To get an idea, have a look at this snowshoe week in February 2021.
3. Accommodation
Location
With all current restrictions and hygiene rules, generally accommodations should all be safe. But how does the location of your hotel, guesthouse or apartment influence your plans to have low-risk holidays?
If your accommodation is relatively far away from the base station of the cable car that is supposed to bring you to the slopes, you will probably have to use the shuttle bus to get there. Shuttle bus means crowds in a small space. Crowds in a small space mean high risk.
An accommodation in close proximity of the cable car base station is already better because it eliminates the need for using the shuttle bus. But one risk remains (and this also is the case if you avoid the shuttle bus by going by car to the base station), the risk that you run while queueing for the cable car, as well as in that cable car where you will share your oxygen with a couple of dozens of strangers.
The best option is a ski in- ski out accommodation that is somewhere higher on the slopes. You will start your day with putting your skis on and hitting the slopes, not by queueing.
Amongst others, all Crazy Snow Camps as well as this trip during the XMas-week 2020 are based on such accommodations on the slopes.
