You've seen amazing photos of a destination on blogs or Instagram, but when you finally arrive, you're met with... a wall of tourists. Does this sound familiar? The trick to getting those experiences (and photos) you dream of is to travel to places where not everyone else goes. Here are some tips!
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The photos ... and the reality
In the photos, it often looks like the girl in the beautiful dress is standing all alone in front of the charming village or the wild rapids. In reality, she may have been queuing for an hour to get that photo. Everyone in the queue is patiently waiting to pretend they are all alone (Or someone gets in the way and some people get angry, that happens too).
Just recently I saw a photo on Instagram of a girl posing with a pair of wings on a wall. It looks like she is standing there all alone. Another instagrammer comments: "The infamous Nashville wings! I work around the corner from this and the line gets SO long."
A list of unusual photo destinations in 2020
A colleague told me about a list from the photo magazine Amateurphotographer, with 20 unusual photo destinations for 2020. The list includes places that are beautiful or exciting to photograph, but not packed with tourists. We thought it was great that they included two places in Estonia, which we visited last summer and fell in love with. Here are the photo magazine's tips:
- Åland
- Camargue, France
- Kilpisjärvi, Finland
- Dagö, Estonia
- Blåvand beach, Denmark
- Tartu, Estonia
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Kosovo
- Meteora, Greece
- Fez, Morocco
- Madagascar
- Bangladesh
- Lo Manthang, Nepal
- Ninh Binh, Vietnam
- Namibia
- Sa Dec, Vietnam
- Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India
- Yoho National Park, Canada
- Luang Prabang, Laos
- Kamakura, Japan
More tips for travelling to destinations where you can take photos without crowding
The photo magazine itself writes that they can't cover everything, and that there are of course many other nice places outside the crowds. Here are some more tips from us:
Corsica
We visited Corsica summer 2015, and experienced this as a wild and beautiful island without too many tourists. There are of course a lot of tourists in places like Calvi and Bonifacio, but along the coasts around the island you have a great chance to be alone at fantastic beaches.
Macedonia
I Macedonia you'll find the beautiful Lake Ohrid and a lot of historically interesting sites and buildings. Sure, some tourists come here, but not as many as the country deserves. This means that you can take photos in relative peace.
Eastern Estonia
We need to build on the theme Estonia. If you want to find beautiful nature without being disturbed, visit the dramatic coastline east of Tallinn or the special area around Lake Peipus.
What are your top tips for travelling to destinations where you can take photos without crowds?
Now we want your best tips! Where can you find beautiful scenery or villages that make a good picture - without having to queue for a photo?
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4000mil says:
This is one of the great things about hiking. You are always virtually alone with the most amazing views.
13 February 2020 - 6:42
Helena says:
I can imagine! 🙂
13 February 2020 - 19:20
Solan says:
Time is crucial to an image. For example, Venice, always full of tourists. But no, get up early in the morning and you can take pictures without the crowds. It's usually that simple no matter where you are! Plus, it's a great light! ??
13 February 2020 - 7:45
Helena says:
Yes, you are of course right Solan! If you are just up enough in the morning then 😉.
13 February 2020 - 19:20
Maria/ Magnolia Magis says:
Agree with Solan! Best tip with other times of the day but also other seasons than the most touristy. In summer, many people take photos in bright sunlight. There are rarely the magical photos with hard shadows and faded colours. Dawn, dusk, light clouds, autumn!
13 February 2020 - 8:06
Helena says:
Yes, great tips! Both time of day and time of year!
13 February 2020 - 19:20
Arne Lindh says:
I usually go into the Vrinneviskogen nature reserve. I have 150 metres there. I also like to hike the Stora Alvaret on Öland. I have 25 kilometres there. In both places I can walk for hours, with no congestion.
13 February 2020 - 8:40
Helena says:
That sounds lovely! 🙂
13 February 2020 - 19:21
Ama de casa says:
The places we have visited where there were few people, we probably visited as backpackers in the 80s and 90s. In Iran we didn't have to crowd with other tourists, for example. Another place was Playa del Carmen in Mexico where there were hardly any other tourists in 1990. Already in 1994 it had escalated something huge (LP tipped...) and now when we took the ferry over there when the cruise ship stopped at Cozumel... OJ what a difference! But what to say? We are also tourists who contribute to and increase the touristification ...
But you can still find "unspoilt" places of course. Like for example small nice and picturesque villages in Spain's inland 🙂.
13 February 2020 - 10:49
Helena says:
You have visited some really exciting and interesting places. Inspiring! 🙂
13 February 2020 - 19:21
JoY says:
It is true that if you get up before the rooster, you are usually left alone or later in the evening. Not always you are in that particular place at that time of day, of course.
13 February 2020 - 10:53
Helena says:
Yes, early mornings can be smart, when you have the energy 😉.
13 February 2020 - 19:22
Helena - Oh darling, let's be adventurers says:
One of my best tips for taking photos without crowds is to get up at sunrise. Not everyone is able to do that, so most people choose to watch the sunset instead. But at sunrise, it is rarely full of people even in the most popular places. For example, I have photographed at sunrise in Yosemite several times to have also experienced the same place in the middle of the day when it was full of people. I know what I prefer even though I don't like getting up in the morning, hehe.
By the way, I have visited the famous Nashville wings and we were so incredibly lucky that it was completely empty when we got there. I had expected to stand in a queue. We were there for less than five minutes and then people started showing up. Even though the 12 people in the queue when we left the place can't be considered a long queue.
Fun post by the way! 🙂
13 February 2020 - 14:19
Helena says:
Yes, that early morning is probably a really good tip! Fun by the way that you have been to the Nashville wings, and nice that you avoided the queue! 🙂
13 February 2020 - 19:23
BP says:
Your readers seem to be extremely early risers, I see. That's not us;-) I agree with Ama that inland Spain or just a 15 minute drive away from the tourist areas offers peace and quiet, not to mention great views. This is also true of the Canary Islands, the Greek islands and Cyprus, where most tourists tend to lie on the beaches and fry themselves.
13 February 2020 - 21:05
Lena - gott för själen says:
I say like several others here, early morning. Love to be up and out then. You see completely different things then.
Or, along hiking trails in our beautiful Sweden there are rarely a lot of tourists 😉.
Hug Lena
14 February 2020 - 16:15