Is this the Last Year for Cervinia?

27/02/2026

We moved on to the sosta in Cervinia next. The sosta here is a large area of ground which may have once been tarmac but is now just some random hard surface covered with gravel, dust and potholes.

Cervinia Sosta

We have been coming to Cervinia for years, first as package tourists when it was a good Easter holiday option while Aaron was at school. Then in the motorhome. In fact it was Cervinia where we first realised that motorhome skiing was possible. We were driven past the sosta in our package holiday coach, wondering how cold people got in their white boxes and how they could possibly camp in sub zero temperatures. We had no idea about motorhomes back in those days.

Over the last three years we have seen a massive amount of development in Cervinia, even stretching down as far as Valtournenche. Climate change has had a big impact on the ski tourism industry. Many ski tourists are now looking for snow sure resorts and Cervinia’s high altitude and link to Zermatt makes it a desirable location. Where many people once avoided Cervinia because of lift closures due to high winds, that has now become much less of a deciding factor.

The amount of development has made us nervous about the longevity of the sosta. It is prime development space, near the main road, pretty flat and at no risk of avalanche. This year our fears came to fruition. We arrived to find the sosta much reduced and a large building site next door taking part of the sosta and part of the adjoining land. From what we could see there would be no room for vans once the construction is completed. So far we haven’t found out whether there is any alternative plan for motorhome tourists.

The smart new hotel complex planned for this space

Ski Days in Cervina

The changes were visible as soon as we arrived at the sosta, but at least there was still a sosta. And it was busy, with about a dozen vans of various nationalities taking up much of the available space. There were a couple of large snow patches across some of the parking area, obviously they hadn’t been cleared since the mega snow fall a couple of weeks earlier. All around the resort we could see more snow than we’d ever seen before, and snow was being moved constantly while we were there, being dumped off the side of the road.

After trying a couple of potential spaces for size we decided that we didn’t want to be too close to the route being used by heavy plant vehicles driving in and out of the building site. So we checked out the snow patches, one area was hard packed and not too deep, so that became our parking spot. On the Friday the snow was finally cleared in anticipation of more people arriving for the weekend.

After settling in we checked out the bus timetables for getting to the slopes. These seem different each year but some of that is down to the recent change of bus companies from Savda to Arriva. Disappointingly the weekday bus doesn’t fully qualify as a ski bus, it doesn’t even go all the way to the gondola station. It seems more designed to take workers to and from the hotels in the Cielo Alto area which is a bit outside the main resort area and up a bit of a hill.

We followed the other people in the sosta when they set off for the bus stop in the morning, armed with cash for the €1.20 fare. As I was handing over my money I noticed that there was a card machine, on our return journey I asked whether I could pay by card and the driver said yes, but one card per person. Fortunately we carry a couple of cards with us. That was much more convenient and it gave me a chance to try out my Italian which is slowly improving.

We were going to get off the bus at the bottom of the road to the gondola station but we saw all the other skiers got off at the top of Cielo Alto. The next day we tried the same option and found ourselves skiing through the woods to one of the Cielo Alto slopes. I’m not sure which way is easier, but Paul definitely preferred the skiing option rather than walking uphill.

We enjoyed a couple of days back on the slopes in Cervinia, making our way around all of the slopes. As always the snow conditions were excellent although the endless sunshine was starting to take it’s toll on the lower slopes in the afternoons. It was also relatively busy, with tourists from across the globe. That snow-sure reputation is really making Cervinia a popular destination and it’s noticeable, where once it would have been possible to find empty slopes in the mid-week, now there is no escaping people. Luckily its still not as busy as some of the popular French resorts.

Motorhome Ski Cervinia – the practical stuff:

Here is the practical stuff, an update from our previous visits

Parking

We park and stay overnight in the Cervinia sosta. This used to be huge with room for at least 50 vans, but now has room for about 15-20 vans depending on how sensibly everyone parks. There are services – water and waste – but no EHU. The cost is €8.50 for a van with two occupants which includes tourist tax. There is a website to register your details and make the payment, a QR code on the display at the entrance to the sosta will take you to the website. It’s a bit simpler than it used to be and you no longer need to upload a photo of your passport.

Getting to the Slopes

This is not a ski in/out sosta. To access the slopes there are a few options:

Walk the walk into town is best tackled by crossing the road and then entering the car park near the petrol station. Walk all the way through the car park to the bus station and then you can walk up through town town to the Cretaz lift. It’s about 1.5km so it’s not a short walk but there are several places in Cervinia where you can store skis so that you don’t have to be encumbered while walking. We have used 2.0 Ski Rental and have also used the lockers in the basement of the Plan Maison Gondola station.

Bus for the nearest bus stop – Bivio Cielo Alto – turn left as you exit the sosta and the stop (fermata) is on the right in a few meters. The bus services are now run by Arriva and timetables can be found on their website. At the weekend there is a free bus that runs to the village gondola (Funivia) station.

During the week there is the Cielo Alto Navetta which is €1.20 per journey. This can now be paid by card which is a massive improvement, although it is one card per passenger so you cant swipe multiple times for a family. To access the slopes you can either exit at the Funivie Bivio stop and walk up the hill a few meters to the gondola station. Or you can exit at 2 Torri stop and ski through the woods to the red run 34. Not for beginners.

To return to the sosta you can get on the bus at a few locations, either walk from the bottom of Cretaz to the bus station. Or walk from the gondola station down to the Funivie Bivio stop. Or ski down to the hotel at the bottom of the Cielo Alto chairlift and get on the bus at the Euro Hotel stop outside the hotel. You will need to tell the driver that you are going to Bivio Cielo Alto because the bus terminates in the bus stop and the default is for everyone to get off, but the same bus does usually continue to go round the circuit. We had a moment of confusion when the drivers changed at the bus stop but managed to resolve it although I had the impression the driver thought we should actually pay again but just couldn’t be bothered to explain to us.

Ski passes

Ski passes can be ordered online, bought from self-service kiosks, or bought from a manned kiosk under the gondola. The local area pass includes Cervinia and Valtournenche and the international pass includes Zermatt.

The link to Zermatt can sometimes be shut due to high winds, and wind also can affect the lifts at the top of the resort, because of this I strongly recommend buying individual day tickets based on the weather. Then you can always choose to ski somewhere else in the valley like Valtournenche, Torgnon or Chamois.

Skiing Cervinia

Cervinia has a variety of runs but nothing overly difficult, even the black runs are on the easier side of black. In common with many Italian resorts all runs seem to be groomed and there arent any moguls (except for the mounds of snow or slush that build up in busy areas).