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COVID-19

How to book that ‘Day Two’ Covid-19 test if you’re travelling from Switzerland to the UK

Fully vaccinated visitors arriving in England from Switzerland do not have to isolate for 10 days, but you will still need to arrange tests for after your arrival in the UK ... and that can quickly get bewildering.

Published: 11 August 2021 17:41 CEST
How to book that 'Day Two' Covid-19 test if you’re travelling from Switzerland to the UK
Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP

Switzerland is currently on the UK’s ‘amber list’ – a list which applies to visiting England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

While broadly similar, Covid-19 travel, quarantine and testing rules are slightly different if you’re heading to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland

What it means

All passengers, including children, have to take a test on or before ‘Day Two’ after their arrival in England, in addition to the pre-departure test.

But – crucially – this Day Two test must be booked before you leave Switzerland.

The passenger locator form, required for all arrivals into England, cannot be completed without a reference number from a test, booking through one of the UK government’s approved list of suppliers.

For fully vaccinated travellers, after the new rules take effect, the Day Two test will mark the end of their Covid travel requirements, assuming it comes back negative.

Unvaccinated travellers from Switzerland, however, must quarantine for 10 full days and take another test on or before Day Eight of their stay.

It is important to note that for test and quarantine purposes, the day of arrival is counted as Day Zero. The following day is Day One, the day after that Day Two, and so on.

Proof of purchase of the second test must be included on the passenger locator form, which everyone over age 18 must complete and submit within the 48 hours before they travel. Anyone who fails to take this Day Two test faces a fine of up to £2,000.

And, yes, even if your stay is a short one, before you travel you will need to book and pay for tests for Day Two and – if required because you’re not fully vaccinated at the time of travel – Day Eight.

How to book a test

PCR tests in the UK may be carried out at home, or by going to a clinic. Prices vary based on how many tests you require and how quickly you need the results – and many clinics offer a range of packages.

According to the government website, you’ll have a wait of 24 to 36 hours to get your test result. Other sources and anecdotal evidence from frustrated travellers including The Local France’s editor Emma Pearson, however, suggest waits of 72 hours and beyond.

The cost of individual PCR tests varies between £50 and £250 – though many providers offer a range of packages at different prices based on the number of tests required, where you are coming from and how quickly the results are needed, according to the Covid Testing Network website.

You’ll find the companies offer packages depending on the status of the country you are travelling from, in other words green or amber. Even though the tests are the same. Some companies confusingly list products only for “UK vaccinated”.

Some we found appear to have minimum spends so even if you find a cheap test you can’t buy it.

What’s a real pain is that you also have to book individually for each passenger that requires a test – so if you’re travelling as a family of four you will have to go through the booking process four times.

UPDATED: Who can travel to Switzerland right now?

Confusing official list

The Westminster government lists test providers in England and Northern Ireland here.

But it is long and bewildering, and many firms listed are new and relatively unknown reflecting the rapidly shifting Covid-19 market. Unhelpfully, there’s little indication of where clinics are located, even after a search is regionalised: Yorkshire and the Humber, for example, covers quite a large area.

The government is quick to insist it does not endorse one test provider over another – but it does say that it ‘closely monitors’ performance. All private providers of Covid tests are required to meet certain standards. If they fall short they can be removed from official lists.

Better to look elsewhere

Travel firms and airlines, eager for your business, are increasingly offering discounted tests to customers who use their services, and may include links to certain suppliers on their website. They are worth a look as this may help you find a cheaper test.

It may also be worth checking the Covid Testing Network’s price comparison site, which shows provider prices for at-home and in-clinic tests within a radius of your location in England. Helpfully, it also includes a customer satisfaction score, as well as price, allowing users to make a reasonably informed decision.

Member comments

  1. If you’re only going to the UK for two days, I would assume you do not need to book the tests for Day Two. Or is that assuming too much?

    1. Asking for too much I am afraid! To get into the country you need to show your day 2 test number. I have booked mine and am travelling to the U.K. on Sat and returning Mon. The test company say they will only dispatch the test on Sat so there is every likelihood that I shall have left the country before the test even arrives. And the U.K. government website threatens a £2k fine for those who don’t do the test! With my test company you cannot cancel or ask for a refund.

      As every month goes by I feel grateful to be in Macron’s France rather than Boris’s Rip Off Britain!

      1. Yes, this is what I condlued too. Will need to throw away 70 euros on a useless test I will never take.

        Call it a COVID tax!

  2. I think you do just like when you are going to UK from a Amber country if you are not fully vaccinated and you need to take the day 2 and day 8 test, if you leave on day 3 you still have to pay for day 8 test.

    Also, you need to pay for the test in order to get the number to enter into your UK passenger locator form…total sham all of it !!

  3. I used randox health they charge £48 per test, but if you enter a voucher code (I used EasyJet2021) you get a 10% discount. Find the codes on Martin Lewis website. My test results were received within 48 hours.

  4. It’s just racketeering. There’s only one reason why Johnson’s government doesn’t fix a price for these tests and that’s because someone is making a huge amount of money out of them – and it’s not hard to guess who these people are. It’s an absolute scandal.

  5. So I’m snookered when I jet in for a day to visit my dentist, yet we let the plague carriers in with just proof they have been fully vaccinated. Strange old world.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Closure of A13 motorway: The alternative routes from Switzerland to Italy

As summer school break in many Swiss cantons is about to begin, your plans to drive south for the holidays may be seriously disrupted by the closure of one of the main routes between Switzerland and Italy.

Published: 25 June 2024 11:52 CEST
Closure of A13 motorway: The alternative routes from Switzerland to Italy

Italy is one of the most favourite summer destinations for many Swiss families: not only is it geographically close enough to get there by car, but it also has abundance of beaches and good weather is almost guaranteed.

But driving to Italy this summer, especially in the next few weeks, will be no simple matter.

Recent massive thunderstorms unleashed a landslide of mud and rubble, which destroyed a part of the north-south axis of the A13 motorway.

The collapsed section, between Thusis (GR) and Bellinzona (TI), is an important throughway for both passenger and commercial traffic, as it connects Switzerland with Italy.

The San Bernardino Pass, which straddles the A13, is consequently closed to traffic, as are the impacted parts of the motorway.

They will remain closed ‘until further notice,’ which is a general and non-specific term — primarily because nobody knows for sure.

According to the Graubünden cantonal police, this section will remain out of service “for months,” while the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) said it expects “to be able to reopen the A13 in three to four weeks.” 

But even this slightly more optimistic forecast is not definite.

Roads will reopen within this timeframe “only under the assumption that there will be no ‘nasty surprises,’ according to FEDRO. “The clean-up work and reconstruction depends, among other things, on the weather.”

Either way, if you are heading south in the immediate future, expect, as Swiss media reported, “impending traffic chaos.”

To make matters worse, the cantonal road, which is normally used as an alternative, was also damaged by the storm, and is closed to transit and through traffic in both directions.

What alternative south-bound routes are there?

FEDRO recommends the Gotthard route — either via the tunnel or the Pass.

There are other options as well, though they will take longer:

In Switzerland:

  • Over the Oberalp and Lukmanier passes
  • Over the Julier and Maloja passes
  • Over the Albula and Bernina passes via Poschiavo
  • Over the Grimsel and Nufenen passes
  • Through the Lötschberg car transport and the Simplon pass
  • From the Brünig pass road via Grimsel and Simplon
  • Via Martigny over the Great St. Bernard

Alternative routes abroad, for which fees may apply:

  • Via South Tyrol
  • Via Geneva through the Mont Blanc tunnel
  • Via Geneva, Annecy and the Fréjus tunnel

Will you be able to avoid traffic jams on these alternate routes?

It is highly doubtful.

During the holiday season, there is almost always congestion and bottlenecks in front of the Gotthard Tunnel, the Great St. Bernard, and the Lötschberg.

Traffic could be lighter if you avoid peak travel hours and weekends, but don’t expect miracles.

You can find real-time information about traffic jams and road conditions here:

TCS

strassen.gr.ch

Should you travel by train instead?

It is always a good idea if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, and trains are typically a more relaxing and reliable way to travel.

Except this summer.

From June 9th, and for at least three months, the train service between Italian cities of Domodossola and Milan will be interrupted due to railway works, also disrupting travel between western Switzerland and Italy.

A bus service set up by Swiss national railway company, SBB, will run between the two cities, adding at least an hour to the trip in the best traffic conditions.

But train traffic to and from other countries — including France, Germany, and Austria — will be chaotic as well.

You can find more information about these disruptions here:

READ ALSO: Why you should not rely on trains to and from Switzerland this summer 

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