Skiing

bidie in's passport has run out so that has temporarily scuppered skiing ambitions... when's end of season in europe ? march ?

I've been at Easter many times, usually first or even second week of April. Snow will be slushy in the afternoons and patchy, lower altitude runs may be closed. You can ski in a t-shirt though.

I’m not sure it’s possible to predict with any accuracy what any government may or may not do. Book a package for best protection I would say.

Fair point. I think what I'll do is to cancel my time off work for January and look to book something in Feb, by which point hopefully we've got a grip on the current wave of Covid.

No package for us. In order of cost/liability:-

Hotel: Pre-arranged that any Covid nonsense (UK, Switzerland - Airport, or Austria -hotel) and we push to next year with no loss of deposit
Flights: BA will push flights or do vouchers
Transit: Probably have to suck up the cost of this (~£100 each)
Covid testing: Will book this a few days before departure so risk is minimal
Passes/ski-hire/booze/etc: Not payable until actually there, so little/no risk.

Obviously if an individual tests positives they're eating a fair bit of cost, but it's worth the gamble individually (I just hope it isn't me...)

Early May for the highest resorts

Does anyone have any recommendations for facecoverings/buffs that are certified for use in Swiss resorts?

Really anything will do. It's only in the closed stations that they are 'mandatory' and any kind of Buff or similar will be accepted in reality. If you are concerned about it being effective, then just take a pocket full of disposable masks and put it on only when necessary. When skiing, any face covering gets so damp that I think it would be wildly inneffective at protecting against virus transmission.

I've just recovered and am triple jabbed so I'm not too worried about catching or passing on, more that I dont want to be turned away from anything!

Then I would advise wearing whatever you feel comfortable with and having a disposable mask in your pocket just in case there's a jobs-worth or inspector about. In any resort I've been in this season, as long as the building isn't fully closed, they haven't been enforcing anything. Verbier / Zermatt etc base stations are probably a bit more picky as they'll have more pressure on them, but smaller ones are still very casual.

Can confirm that Zermatt were strict in August.

Which reminds me...I was suprised to see that about 1 in 4 people immediately took their masks off when leaving the station and put it back on for the intermediate stations.

Surely, if you've gone to the length of carrying a mask with you, you might as well just wear the thing for the whole ride? :D

Verbier have hired ‘Covid Angels’ to stand at Medran and ask people to put masks on.

Touch wood for a trip to Switzerland in early February. Will be my first time traveling abroad during covid so hopefully the testing on the way and on the return isn't too much of a hassle. If anyone has any tips or information. Would be appreciated.
Google is my friend I know haha

Where in Switzerland? Generally you'll need to book your test at least two days before, maybe earlier if there's only one place in the town offering them, availability isn't super high. In general it isn't too much hassle, but make sure you check what languages are available for the certificate and what languages are accepted on return! I don't think UK will accept test certificates in German. If you have more specific questions, then I'd be happy to help.

I'll be trying to work out similar things as early Feb I'm going skiing in Austria but flying London to Zurich.

(I still think there's only a 10% chance of this trip happening so I'm not getting my hopes up.)

Do I recall correctly and France is making an announcement today on whether they keep their current restrictions?

Oh wow, complete oversight on my behalf. Didn't even think of what language it will need to be in( face palm)
We are staying in hotel de la forget which I believe is in Crans-Montana
Thanks for the heads up

I'm (hopefully) heading to Switzerland next week. Current rules allow for an LFD on the way out which can be done at home within 24hrs of your flight. There is talk of the UK gov relaxing the incoming testing requirements in an announcement tomorrow but that is only a rumour.

Ok, so a medium-sized resort with lots of telecabins. I would personally (recovered, vaccinated, soon to be boostered) just wear a thin buff type covering which is what I normally ski in. I wouldn't expect to be stopped and asked to change for a medical mask. But I don't have the pressure of not being allowed to fly if I test positive. If you'd like some actual protection, I stick with my suggestion of carrying a medical mask and just putting that on when heading inside.
I think the UK will accept certificates in French but you should double check. I would suggest having your vaccination certificate on an app as you'll need it to get in to any restaurant and most places are set up to just scan a QR code rather than read a physical form. If you can transfer it to the Swiss Covid Cert or French equivalent app then even better.

That's pretty straight forward and hassle free. Ita getting there I'm worried about. Are you using a private company ect to get your test to fly out ect? Good luck 🤞

I'm double jabbed and have had the booster jab and have all the NHS certificates on the NHS app that I will print off as to have a hard copy for anyone who needs to see it so that's that bit covered. It's just getting into Switzerland I'm worried about like you said, where and what test I will need to take. I'm sure its easier than it sounds. Maybe they have some sort it tourists information center or website specifically for this related to the area and resort. God knows ahah

Yes I will do, still to decide whom. I'll wait until tomorrow's government announcement before ordering

Maybe they have some sort it tourists information center or website specifically for this related to the area and resort.

You really don't have anything to worry about. I've travelled to Switzerland three times during the pandemic, twice for holiday and once for business. I've had zero problems.

You might find this useful: https://travelcheck.admin.ch/home

Yeah for me (in UK for the last 20 months, flying to Zurich, transit straight to Austria by private vehicle, triple jabbed [AZ, AZ, Pfizer]). It looks like:-

• Don't need a test to enter Switzerland as I'm leaving the country straight away (via private vehicle)
  
• Need a PCR test taken within 48h of arrival to enter Austria (https://www.bmk.gv.at/en/service/entry-requirements.html)
  
• Austria requires pre-registration of location during stay
  
• Austria requires FFP2 masks in public areas
  
  

Flying back:

• I need to book a test (which can be a LFT or PCR) to be done in Austria (or Switzerland) in the 2 days before traveling back. (Easier to do in Austria as I'll only be in Zurich airport for a few hours and that may be risky to try and arrange something there, dunno if this is available easily at the airport?)
  
• Also need to book a private PCR test upon arrival back in the UK (which can be done by post)
  
• Complete the passenger locator form (easy as I'll be coming back home anyway)
  
• Await the UK PCR test result to allow me to go out into the free world again. Continue to isolate at home if positive.
  
  

[EDIT - As others have pointed out the UK requirements may change in the next few days... ]