All facts are verified and checked at the time of writing. However, please keep checking with us (or the travel advice for your area) because as Europe makes plans to open on June 9th, various temporary restrictions are also in-place that can affect your travel.

America - Travel Update for 2021 Treks

Good news and bad news - Switzerland (Geneva Airport) is already allowing Americans to travel without a mandatory quarantine requirement (since 23rd March). However, tourists are not yet allowed to travel, the next update for this is the 9th June.

Europe has stated that the new “pass” (see below) that allows free movement within Europe, will be available to American tourists who meet one of the below criteria. This may start by June 9th but is more likely to commence in July.

EU Travel Update for Trekking in 2021

There is some good news in that last week the EU agreed on a pass to allow travel across the bloc's 27 countries. They will be adopting a traffic lights system to verify which countries can use the pass. This means that if you are coming from a restricted country and you meet one of the three standards below, you can travel freely within Europe (and Switzerland). This should be in operation by July at the latest.

• If you have been fully vaccinated
• If you have recently tested negative
• Or if you have recently recovered from an infection

However, at the moment each country that we are concerned with is still operating its own policies:

United Kingdom COVID-19 Travel Update

Since the 17th May the UK has been operating a traffic light system for determining travel. France, Italy and Switzerland are currently on the “amber list” This means that if you travel to them at the moment, you will need to quarantine for 10 days on returning to the UK.

Once the countries are approved for the green list, you can travel. On returning to the UK you must take a COVID-19 test, book a day 2 COVID-19 test to be taken after arrival in England and complete a passenger locator form.

Arriving in Switzerland for your Trek 2021

Although Switzerland plans to mirror the traffic light system once the EU has this across the member states, it will continue to operate its own restrictions.

There are no restrictions on travel from Geneva to Chamonix in France, Zermatt in Switzerland or Courmayeur and the Dolomites in Italy.

People from Australia, New Zealand and Ireland are allowed to fly into Switzerland, however the USA is still subject to a travel ban. Since 27th May there has been a temporary condition of quarantine for UK travellers.

Italy Travel Policies for 2021 Treks

Italy is operating its own policies for travel and is allowing travellers from Europe, United Kingdom and America who have tested negative for COVID-19.

France COVID-19 Travel Restrictions

France is working towards June 9th to welcome tourists back into the country and has recently much improved its uptake of the vaccination.

However, it is currently operating outside of the EU traffic light system and this week it has restricted travellers from the UK – who now need to self-quarantine on arrival and a reason for travel.

Tourists from the USA and Canada have not yet been allowed into France but are expected to be included when they begin to operate the “pass” system.

Australia, New Zealand and Canada

It looks as though Canadians will be joining our Aussie and Kiwi friends in waiting until 2022 for their walking holiday.

We have increased our capacity for trekking in 2022 to ensure that those people who have booked with us can undertake their trek, no problem. We miss you and cannot wait to see you again.

Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding trekking in the mountains. We will ensure that we keep you posted on what it's like over here and here are some updated resources to help you make informed decisions about future travel plans.

We recommend your own government’s travel advisory service information for your destination country: