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Home / Penda Tours / Cuba Photo Tour: Havana & Trinidad

Explore the unique charm of Cuba’s cities through your lens.

We invite you to an adventurous photography workshop in Cuba to capture this country’s unique charm through your lens. With its nostalgic architecture, vibrant culture, and colorful people, Cuba has an undeniable allure, and provides a dream setting for photography. During this photo tour, we’ll explore Havana’s backstreets, walk the cobbled streets of Trinidad, and take in Santa Clara’s youth and revolution inspired creative scenes. We’ll practice documentary photography, portraiture, and visual storytelling. 

The preservation of Cuba’s history gives a unique sense of a time gone by. Its architecture is timeworn but magnificent; a country of indefinable beauty. Cuba’s people are open and welcoming, and their culture vibrant. The street scenes are captivating and ever-changing. There’s something to inspire every photographer, and we’ll help you immerse yourself in Cuba’s story.

Throughout the trip, you’ll be guided by professional photographers, who will help bring out the best photographer in you. Since we work with small group sizes, the tutoring will be tailor-made to your level – so whether you’re a beginner or a semi-pro, you’ll be able to hone your skills and return home with some stunning images.

Quick Facts

Havana & Trinidad, Cuba
Enquire about dates!
Culture, Portrait & Street Photography
Photography Guides: Andy Scaysbrook & Andre Bell
Group Size: Max 6
All Photography Levels

Tour & Destination Highlights

  • Explore Cuba in an authentic, off the beaten track way, with photography guides who know the country intimately 
  • Hone your photography skills through personalized tutoring 
  • Visit a unique set of Cuban cities; Havana, Trinidad, and Santa Clara, all with a very distinct character 
  • Adopt and explore a storytelling and documentary style approach to photography; something that Cuba lends itself perfectly to
  • Enjoy a flexible itinerary that allows you to make the most of photographic opportunities

Quick Facts

Havana & Trinidad, Cuba
Enquire about dates!
Culture, Portrait & Street Photography
Photography Guides: Andy Scaysbrook & Andre Bell
Group Size: Max 6

PRICING OVERVIEW

USD $3870GBP £EUR €ZAR RAUD $
USDGBPEURZARAUD

At the current exchange rate. Please note final quote might vary slightly


per person sharing

INCLUDING

  • Accommodation
  • Breakfast
  • All transportation & Airport transfers
  • Photographic tuition

EXCLUDING

  • International Flights
  • Lunch and dinner
  • Personal travel insurance
  • Drinks
EXPLORE

Photography in Cuba

A highlight for me was conquering my fear of taking street portraits.

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WHAT TO EXPECT IN CUBA

Your Photographic Experience

During this Cuba photo tour, we’ll explore the three most exciting and photogenic cities; Havana, Trinidad, and Santa Clara. The first, the country’s capital Havana, is a spirited mix of colors, music, and architecture. You never know what can happen in Havana, it’s a city of surprises and escapades – and that’s what makes it such a great location for photography. We know all the best places to shoot and be seen and we’ll introduce the best hotspots. From Havana, we’ll venture to Santa Clara. A culturally significant city (and that’s saying a lot, as Cuba is brimming with culture), and often considered by many to be a “young” city due to the high student population. The city has also been shaped by a long association with Che Guevara, whose liberation of Santa Clara 1958 marked the end of the Batista regime.  A truly eclectic mix of past and present. After that, we head down to arguably the coolest place on earth; Trinidad, Cuba. There we encounter cowboys, cobbled streets and courtyard bars. We’ll keep the photography workshop as fluid and relaxed as possible; there’s no fixed agenda as we will shoot for the conditions and opportunities as they arise, ensuring that we don’t miss out on the best opportunities. You will receive personalized photographic tutoring throughout this Cuba photo tour. Each day, there will be a combination of group and one-to-one sessions, all in places we know intimately, with activities designed to help you progress every aspect of your photography. The tuition is split, roughly, 70/30 in favor of practical over theory. Throughout the workshop we will explore a variety of photographic styles and genres; street based and urban, landscapes, portraits, architecture, fashion and food, in both color and black and white. We will examine the work and approach of well known and less well known photographers from different eras and countries and understand who they were influenced by, who in turn they influenced and what impressions they left on both the photographic landscape and the world at large.

WORKSHOP LEADER

Andy Scaysbrook

Andy Scaysbrook

WORKSHOP LEADER

Andy Scaysbrook

From musicians and artists such as B.B. King, Pavarotti and Lee Scratch Perry to African tribesmen and Cuban tobacco farmers, Andy’s pictures get inside the subject. His style is reportage; one of observation and patience; a master of the decisive moment and of knowing when the image will emerge. Andy was the photographer behind the world’s first charity e-book; Holding onto Hope; which ran as an exhibition at London’s Menier Gallery – A series of celebrity photographs in aid of OvaCome, a charity which is particularly close to Andy’s heart.

WORKSHOP LEADER

Andrew Bell

Andrew Bell

WORKSHOP LEADER

Andrew Bell

From sunrise in the Annapurna mountains to sunset at Stonehenge, stopping at frozen beaches, forgotten villages and disused railways: Andrew’s travels have taken him all over the world. Andrew’s style is documentary; shooting real life, just as he finds it; whether that’s locals on the beach, landscapes in rural France or rock concerts in Cuba. Andrew’s projects have been exhibited on their own and as part of collections of work with other photographers, including one with Goldsmith’s University & Magnum.

EXPERIENCE

Your Photo Tour Itinerary

Day 1HELLO AT JOSÉ MARTÍ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Arrival at José Martí International Airport in Havana, where you’ll be picked up and taken to your hotel. After settling in, we can all get to know each other during dinner.
Day 2 - 3PHOTOGRAPHING HAVANA
We’ll spend three days photographing Havana. A typical day will start with a brief group discussion over what we are planning on shooting that day – then going out photographing, where there will be a mix of one-to-one and group teaching. After returning to our accommodation, we take time to review and assess everyone’s images, and to discuss photography theory. For dinner, we invite you to explore Cuba’s exciting restaurants – and possibly its pulsating night scene.
Day 4TRAVEL TO TRINIDAD
Our private transport will collect us from our accommodation and we’ll head out of Havana and down to Trinidad. The journey will take around 4 to 5 hours, including a rest stop for refreshments. Once we arrive and you’ve unpacked we’ll either relax in new home or take a brief stroll around the town.
Day 5 - 7PHOTOGRAPHING Trinidad
We’ll spend a few days exploring Trinidad, for a taste of the colonial majesty in the UNESCO world Heritage site. Here, we continue with the same structure of photographing during most of the day, and returning to our accommodation late afternoon for theoretic tutoring and reviewing of everyone’s work. We’ll work in one day where you can go off on your own, either to relax, or to do some individual exploring, as Trinidad lends itself brilliantly to both.
Day 8PLAYA ANCON
A short taxi ride from Trinidad is Playa Ancon, warm golden sands, palm trees, beach bars and the Caribbean Sea to swim or just dip your toes in. Dotted along the front are a handful of Communist Era hotels which provide for some unique photography, or try your hand at being Martin Parr for the day shooting the tourists on the beach. In the evening you’re guaranteed (practically!) a fabulous sunset over the sea, with beautiful warm light and incredible colours in the sky. Once the light fades we’ll head back to Trinidad.
Day 9 RETURN TO HAVANA
Return to Havana and continue to explore the city.
Day 10 - 11Good Bye & Departure
We’ll wrap up the workshop, say our goodbyes, and transport you back to José Martí International Airport for your flight home.

Cuba Photo Tour: Havana & Trinidad

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Cuba photo tour

At Penda, we're all about creating incredible photographic opportunities.

Our photo tours and safaris will take you to the right place, at the right time, to get that epic shot. You'll be guided by a professional photographer, who will help you take your photography to the next level, and we keep our trips exclusive by traveling in small groups. Whether it's in Kenya's sprawling savannahs, Yellowstone's snowy interior, or the jungles of India, your journey will be filled with photography magic.

Why travel with us

Andrew Bell's take on why Cuba makes a great photographic destination

Only opened to tourists in the last decade after half a century of political isolation, the country has a culture, aesthetic, and vibrancy that is entirely its own. From smoky low lit jazz bars to cacophonous cafe’s to the cobblestoned side streets they spill on to, Cuba is a country where your creativity with a camera can run rampant.

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