Non UK Dolomites advice

Jim_Tod

Jim_Tod

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Starting to plan for a trip to Dolomites around Sep/Oct 19.

Would welcome advice from those who have been as to whether this is a good time to go generally for photography- thinking its past main tourist summer season but before winter sports season kicks in.

Would also welcome views on basing yourself in one location and travelling or having 2-3 bases over a week or so. Any suggestions on good locations to stay would be welcome

Finally, anyone have a good book resource that advises sunrise, sunset or anytime for best times to take photos.
 
OK, I've been a prat. Searched in the Talk Locations section, couldn;t find anything. Just had a look in the Talk Landscapes section and there's Dolomites stuff there. Will have a trawl through that and may as more questions there
 
Jim_Tod said:
OK, I've been a prat. Searched in the Talk Locations section, couldn;t find anything. Just had a look in the Talk Landscapes section and there's Dolomites stuff there. Will have a trawl through that and may as more questions there
Click to expand...

Photographing the Dolomites by James Rushforth May be a good place to start.
 
I’ve got it sitting unopened in my bookcase. Not in position to do that trip but book is ready for when I am
 
We stayed in Corvara a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. It was a great location from which to enjoy the area for walking and drives to other places. It wasn't a photography trip, so there may well be other places that are more suited as bases for photography.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvara,_South_Tyrol
 
I just got back from a trip to the area and didn't have a car so may be able to offer a useful perspective just using public transport:
We stayed for four nights in Ortisei followed by one in Selva (purely because our Ortisei place had no availability). As others have said the Dolomites are over a large area but we were very satisfied with what we could see in the local area, lots of the very typical landscapes I had expected.
I was very impressed by the local buses and cable cars. I'd not expected so many cable cars to be running over such a wide area, and for so many of them to take you instantly to such amazing views. If you want to be lazy it's very easy to just pay for the cable car, take some pictures, go to a refugio for a great lunch then cable car back down! Unlike Lake Garda which we went to immediately afterwards, the Dolomites were comparatively empty and very well maintained. I'll certainly be going back and thoroughly recommend going in September!
 
Sept/Oct is a good time to go. I was there in September last year and had snow for a few days! Things do start to close in October though (eg. lifts and mountain huts).

I stayed in Selva and Cortina. It worked well to have two bases as it’s a large area.

I have a map of locations if you want it. I found the Dolomites difficult to plan as there's limited good online information.
 
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Matt. said:
Sept/Oct is a good time to go. I was there in September last year and had snow for a few days! Things do start to close in October though (eg. lifts and mountain huts).

I stayed in Selva and Cortina. It worked well to have two bases as it’s a large area.

I have a map of locations if you want it. I found the Dolomites difficult to plan as there's limited good online information.
Click to expand...

Matt

Would appreciate copy of the map if you don’t mind. I’m hoping the book will help a bit to narrow down areas and try to be sensible about what’s achievable in a given timescale.


Jim
 
Matt. said:
Sept/Oct is a good time to go. I was there in September last year and had snow for a few days! Things do start to close in October though (eg. lifts and mountain huts).

I stayed in Selva and Cortina. It worked well to have two bases as it’s a large area.

I have a map of locations if you want it. I found the Dolomites difficult to plan as there's limited good online information.
Click to expand...

I'm looking an October trip too and was wondering about closures. I have two travel windows: around Oct 6 to 14 and Oct 20-28. From reading Rushforth's book, it looks like lifts, etc should be open for the first one. I am not sure about the second one. If not, how would you get to higher areas not readily accessible by car?

In terms of photographic opportunities, would the color change for the larches likely have taken place before the first window?
 
Hi @Jim_Tod
I'm jealous...the Dolomites are mind blowing!
I stayed in Cortina , Passo Giau 35mins ish on stunning roads , Misuina about the same, Tre Cime about 45 mins...in fact a lot of top locations are fairly close by. The furthest place was Lago di Braies but it's very worthwhile making the journey.
I didn't use the ski lifts as they aren't open at sunrise times( to my knowledge) ,I think in October there's a couple still open .
Drive up the toll road to Tre Cime before sunrise & come down after about 9pm & you'll avoid paying the €30 charge ....but even that steep figure is worth it .
Be aware that some of the higher lakes like Limides may NOT have water in them .
The match trees were about right when I went,lovely n golden coloured .

The book mentioned earlier is well worth it BUT to be honest you can set off in pretty much any direction & find something stunning to shoot.
Google maps at street view is very helpful as well.
If you don't get the book then sunrise/ sunset times are on Clearoutside app along with a bucket load of other weather info that's very helpful.
The 1st time I went, March 2018 ,I used Google maps only & had no problem finding things to point a camera at .

Be warned.. ....have a list of locations to visit BUT don't expect to get anywhere too quickly as you'll get distracted frequently I had earnarked 3 or 4 locations for each day & invariably only managed 2.
You could spend a month on Passo Giau & not get bored :D

If the weather is pants there's plenty of waterfalls to keep you occupied ,some with easy access,some with a bit of a hike.

I've visited twice & each time stayed at Hotel Al Larin, comfy,warm,clean but only b&b -you may want something more luxurious but basic is fine with me as I'm only sleeping there . Both times I've booked with Expedia ,latest trip I did 6 days with flights,car hire & accom for £550 .
I found the whole area to be very clean,not particularly touristified & fairly quiet .Tre Cime...a few toggers at sunrise & busy with walkers but still not crowded & St Johanns church was heaving & for that reason I'd not go again, lago di Braies will also be heaving with toggers & again I didn't bother visiting this time for that reason .
Plenty of drive by locations & plenty that require a good walk .....but you'll never be short of something to photograph .

I'll happy let you hire me as your guide if you'd like :D:D
Shout up in you'd like me to rattle on some more about how phenomenal the place is xx
 
This is far too late for the OP, but might be of use for subsequent people. One of the observations that Lynne makes is that distances in the Dolomites take longer to drive than suggested. Places that seem geographically close can take an age to travel between due to the windy roads.
I've been travelling the Dolomites on and off for 17 years now (I know exactly because the kids were 1 on our first trip). We've stayed in Seis am Schlern near the Alpe di Susi, Malga Ciapela just to the east of the Marmolada, Corvara and Cortina, mostly in the summer and mostly under canvas. Our last trip was about the same time as the OP - we spent 5 lovely days in Cortina at the beginning of October (I don’t know if this will work, but the URL to my FB gallery from that excursion is here if you’re interested - otherwise Instagram: thephotobarn_lienz or send me a PN for a FB friend request).
IMHO Cortina offers the best concentration of photo sites, from Tre Cime, Misurina, Cinque Torri, Lago Fedèra, Passo Giau, Fanes Valley and even Lago di Braies. Other classical sites such as Seceda, Alpa di Susi are too far for a day trip unless you want to burn a lot of time driving.
Regarding time of year we were surprised how short the cable car and Rifugio seasons are. A lot of things are closed at the end of September, but late autumn is really the time to be around, after the first snow is on the peaks and the larches are really turning yellow. Even early October was too early for the classical Fedèra shot this year.
 
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