The Dolomites!! Oh my, oh my!!! What an incredible location that is as close as it gets to heaven on Earth. The Dolomites are among my favorite locations of all time. If you like fresh air, a peaceful, quiet location, extremely beautiful scenery, and terrific food, then you will love the Dolomites.

We have had the Dolomites on our bucket list for the past 5 years. Thankfully, we had the chance to visit in September 2021 and then again in September 2023.

There are basically 2 areas to the Dolomites: the South Tyrol Area (also known as Südtirol or Alto Adige) , which is German-speaking, and the Italian-speaking areas. As you get closer to the Austrian border, the primary language is German rather than Italian.

We did a lot of research, scouring YouTube, Books, Instagram, and many Blogs before traveling so that we could find the best locations. One of our favorite travel videos of the Dolomites is from Rick Steves, from July 2021. I also enjoyed this video by Twosome Travelers, which has a lot of nice tips. If you like to hike, this is a nice video, also by Twosome Travelers.

The Best Time To Visit

The best period for photography in the Dolomites is from September to late October. April through June is also a good time before all the tourists arrive.

So How Do You Get There?

Most people will probably drive to the Dolomites from Milano, Venice, or Munich. Either way, you will definitely want to rent a car to properly see all the locations I will highlight below. It will take you about 3-4 hours to arrive at your hotel, but that will also depend on what part of the Dolomites you stay in. The other critical factor is how often you stop to take photos of the jaw-dropping scenery.

On our first trip to the Dolomites from Venice's Marco Polo International Airport, I took 267 photos. I would have taken more photos, but it rained and started getting dark. So it took us about 5 hours to arrive instead of 3. Oops! The photo opportunities start around Colle Santa Lucia along the route to Hotel Forestis. The Belvedere Grill Bar is an excellent place to stop along the way to get a drink. They have fantastic views. We continued along SR 203, through the Falzarengo Pass and the Passo Giau, and also stopped in Livinallongo del Col di Lana to take a photo of sun rays at sunset. My wife took this photo of me (see below) as I jumped out of the car and tried to capture the moment.

For our second visit to the Dolomites we drove from Salzberg, Austria. The drive was stunning but it also took about 3 hours.

Driving in the Dolomites

I would make sure to get a car with the power to climb the steep mountains. The other thing to be aware of is that some of the roads are extremely narrow and very curvy. We often had to back up or pass cars with just inches of space!! I would also make sure to get a car with Navigation. Don't rely on Google Maps on your phone since you will lose connection in the mountains.

The other thing to realize is 20 km is not 20 km in the Dolomites. With the roads being so curvy and narrow, it will take you longer than you anticipate to reach your location. You might look up a location, and it looks very close, e.g. 12 km (8 miles). So you think that it will take me 10-15 minutes to arrive, but it could easily take 30 minutes or more.

Names of Locations in the Dolomites

There is a place called St. Ulrich ( German), and in Italian, it's called (Ortisei) but in the local language, Ladin, it's called Urtijëi. Yes, it can be confusing, especially when you put in a name in Google Maps!!

Staying in Different Parts of the Dolomites

Since the Dolomites are so large, I would recommend staying in different areas. The first time we visited, we only stayed in 1 hotel. The problem is that some of the photography locations are quite far apart, especially for sunrise. On our second trip to the Dolomites, we stayed in again at the Forest and also in the Alpe di Suisi which was much better. However, if we go back, I would add 1 more hotel close to Tre Cime area.

Hotel RECOMMENDATIONS in the Dolomites

Hotel Forestis

We have stayed twice at the Forestis Hotel. This is one of my favorite hotels in the world.

The View as the Doors to the Hotel Gate opened was just jaw-dropping and stunning! Each time we entered the hotel, we could sit and stare at this view for hours.

We chose an incredible hotel, the Forestis, for our stay. Yes, it is expensive but the views are to die for. I could literally stare out of the window of our room for hours.

Another view of the mountains from our room. I mean come-on is that incredible or what!!

The weather conditions in the mountains are constantly changing. On one occasion, we even saw a double rainbow.

ICARO Hotel in Alpe di Suisi

On our second visit, we added the Icaro Hotel. The hotel and the location are stunning. The hotel is located right in the Alpe di Suisi. I would very highly recommend staying here. There is another hotel called the Adler Hotel that is very nice.

The Food in Southern Tyrol

You are not going to starve in Italy! In the Southern Tyrol area, the food is a mixture of the best of Italy and Germany. All the food was farm-to-table, fresh, and delicious. Since our hotel included Breakfast and Dinner, we pretty much ate every meal in the hotel But as you can see below, it was definitely a treat, even for us vegetarians and occasional pescatarians.

On our drive from Lake Carezza through Sassolungo, we stopped by chance at a fantastic location for lunch. The restaurant is called Lupo Bianco (White Wolf). The location was just incredible, with outstanding views of the Dolomites. We also had a terrific lunch (appetizers, homemade pasta, dessert, and drinks) on one of those perfect Fall days. I would highly recommend stopping here.

Photography Gear

In terms of photography gear, you can go relatively light in the Dolomites. If you are planning on hiking, then I would recommend going as lightly as possible since many of the areas require a 45-minute walk. I will bring 1 body (i.e., Canon R5, Nikon Z7, or equivalent) and a 24-105 or 24-70 mm lens if you want to travel light with only 1 lens. I brought a Canon RF 15-35 mm lens and a 70-200 mm lens, and I think it was a good combo.

The other piece of gear you will need is a tripod and neutral density and circular polarizer filter. There are also lots of lakes where you might want to use the filters for better reflections. Do not forget to bring a Drone.

My Photography Location Recommendations

Here are my photography recommendations for the Dolomites.

Area Around Forestis Including Furchetta

While there are so many places to Photograph in the Dolomites, there are terrific photos to be taken everywhere. Our hotel was located in a beautiful area with so many photography opportunities, including Plose.

There are so many places to stop around the hotel

Some more views of the area

Seceda

Of all the ICONIC mountain scenery in South Tyrol, there is perhaps no more striking sight than the Fermeda Towers of the Seceda. The sweeping pastures of Seceda Mountain are simply stunning.

Seceda lies 8,200 feet above the villages of Ortisei, St. Christina, and Selva in Val Gardena. Reaching Seceda’s summit can be as easy or hard as you like. I would definitely take the easy route. The most direct way to ascend to the top of Seceda is from the Ortisei-Furnes Gondola Station in Ortisei, which then connects you to the Furnes-Seceda cable-car halfway up the mountain.

If you are arriving at Ortisei by car, you can park right next to the gondola station in the underground Garage Central parking lot. This is by far the easiest place to park. The walk to the gondola station is less than 5 minutes.

At the Ortisei-Furnes Gondola station, you’ll need to purchase a ticket to use the Gondola. If you like to punish yourself, you can purchase a one-way ticket and walk back down. Or just buy a round trip ticket that allows using both the gondola and the cable car to the Seceda summit and back. The cost is 23,00 €. It takes roughly 15 minutes in total to reach the summit using both lifts.

Lago di Braies (aka Pragser Wildsee)

Lago di Braies was are least favorite location because it is so overrun with tourist and Instagrammers. I think this Video shows why it was not one of my favorite locations. While the location is clearly beautiful, all the people, was so distracting.

Cinque Torri

We did not make it to Cinque Torri. You always need to leave something for next time, right? So, what makes Cinque Tori unique? There are two reasons to come here. First, the most beautiful views. And second, the Great War History and Museum of The Great War (Museo Della Grande Guerra).

Lake of Carezza (Karesee)

Lago di Carezza (also known as Karesee) is another striking body of water in the Dolomites. Although smaller than Lago di Braies its emerald shimmer is even more magical as it appears to transform before the eyes.

Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Drei Zinnen)

Tre Cime is one of the most iconic locations. To see the Tre Cime, you will need to hike about 10 km. The starting and ending point of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo hike is Rifugio Auronzo.

The easiest option for getting to Rifugio Auronzo is to drive up in your own car. Unfortunately, there is only one road leading up to Rifugio Auronzo, and since it’s a private road, you will need to pay 30 EUR (35 USD) to use it with a normal car.

Make sure to have cash with you as they don’t accept credit cards for the toll fee, and try to go early in the morning because later on, when the parking lot is full, they can close the road, and you have no other option to get up there.

Lago Sorapis

This lake looks spectacular after watching some YouTube Videos (Watch this Video by Kara and Nate), and you will see why we decided NOT to visit this location.

Villnöß (Church of St. John

This is one of the most iconic churches in the entire Italian Dolomites region, though perhaps one of the smallest. This is the church of St. John in Ranui (or St. Johann, or San Giovanni, depending on which of the local languages you are reading). 

St. Valentin Church

There are a lot of beautiful churches in the area. One of my favorites is near Alpe di Suisi and its’s called the Saint Valentin Church.

Sassolungo

Another stunning area is the drive through the Sassolungo. There are so many places to stop along the way. But I would not miss driving through this area.

Alpe de Suisi "aka Seiser Alm"

Alpe di Siusi, Seiser Alm, is the largest high altitude alpine meadow in Europe. It’s basically a plateau up on the Dolomite mountains. But it’s also an agricultural area so you’ll find lots and lots of farms here with cows, horses, goats and even llamas.

The easiest way to reach Alpe de Siusi is by Gondola from the town of Ortisei. Yup, the same Ortisei as Seceda. There is a parking right next to the gondola. It is very difficult to drive into Alpe de Siusi because there are lots of restrictions. Unless you are staying at the Adler Hotel or one the other locations in the area you cannot drive in.

There are some amazing reflection shots you can get in this location

The advantage of staying in the Alpe di Suisi is that you can go out very early in the morning to take photos or at sunset.

From the Icaro Hotel you will get views like this at sunset.

From Forestis to Antermoia on SP29

The drive from our hotel to Antermoia was one of our favorite drives. Every turn has something to photograph.

Route from Lake Carezza to Ortisei "Seceda"

After visiting Lake Carezza, which only takes about 30 minutes to visit, we could not decide which route to take back. On a whim, we decided to take another route, not knowing that this might be our favorite route in the Dolomites. It is simply amazing. This is the route where we stopped at the Lupo Bianco Restaurant.

from Forestis Hotel to San Pietro

As we were driving from the Church of St John to our hotel, I told my wife I thought this could be a great location at sunset. So we went back to Sunset, and when we saw a German Photography Workshop with 15 students using Tripods, I knew we had picked a perfect location for our last evening.

from Forestis Dolomites to Peitlerkofel

The final route that we drove a few times was from Peitlerkofel to our hotel. There are a million beautiful spots to stop on this route.

YouTube Channels To Watch

Ryan Shirley Dolomites , Andy Mumford Dolomites , Mads Peters Iverson Dolomites , and finally, Tim Shields

Also, this Blog by Throne & Vine is an excellent source of information

All in all, the Dolomites should be on every photographer’s bucket list. There are just so many photography opportunities, great food, and incredible scenery.

If you enjoyed this Travel & Photography Blog, I have a lot of other travel guides on this link.