There’s a reason I made the south coast of Portugal my permanent home: it’s one of the most beautiful, photogenic places in the world. There are endless cliffs, beaches, and seascapes. There are plenty of beautiful little villages. There are photos around every corner.
In the spring of 2024, I’ll be running a photography workshop I’m calling “Sunsets and Stars”. And if you’d like, you can join this Algarve photography tour along with the Lisbon and my Madeira photo tour!
Then, in the late summer of 2025, I’ll be leading another trip that’s a bit of a mix of the stunning west coast of Portugal, the epicness of Alentejo, and the beauty of Lisbon.
Info for both of these photo tours below.
Astro Photography in June
With the core of the Milky Way directly behind some of the best views in Portugal, June is the perfect time for an astro photography workshop. The trip will focus mostly on the Algarve, but also venture into Alentejo.
Algarve 2024 – Costs / Info / What’s Included
- Dates: June 24 – July 1, 2024
- Algarve + Madeira: June 24 – July 10
- Start/End City: Lisbon, Portugal
- 8 Days / 7 Nights
- Price:
- €3,200 with accommodation included
- Accommodation is on a twin share basis. The single supplement for this trip is €1,000
- €2,200 without accommodation
- €3,500 Madeira/Lisbon add on
- €3,200 with accommodation included
What’s Included:
- All Transport on tour dates
- 3 Meals a Day (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- Optional accommodation (can book independently if preferred).
- Photo permits.
- Photography instruction by Brendan van Son
- All park entry fees.
- Airport transfer from Faro to Lagos
What’s Not Included:
- Transport to/from Faro, Portugal
- Snacks
- Alcoholic Drinks
- Visas for travel (if needed)
Itinerary
- June 24 – Arrival at Lisbon or Faro airport. Transfer to Lagos.
- June 25-30 – Photography locations in the Algarve and Alentejo
- Locations include: Praia do Camilo, Praia Marinha, Cabo Sao Vicente, Mertola, Praia Castelejo, and many more.
- July 1 – Transfer to Airport – tour ends
- If continuing to Madeira, info follows below
- July 1 – Sunset in Lisbon
- July 2 – Full Day Photography in Lisbon
- July 3 – Fly to Madeira
- July 3-9 – Photography locations in Madeira
- Photo locations include Pico de Ruivo, Funchal, Fanal Forest, Magic Tree, Ponta de São Lourenço, Levada dos Balcões, and much more.
- July 10 – Tour ends after breakfast
Book Here:
If you’re ready to book, you can pay your deposit (€800). The deposit will hold your space on the workshop in Portugal. The final payment will be requested around 90 days before the tour starts.
If the trip is listed as sold out, please contact me at brendanvanson at gmail dot com to be added to the waitlist.
To book the Algarve + Madeira itinerary, please pay the deposit. I’ll be in touch with the details for the full itinerary.
Portugal 2025 – Costs / Info / What’s Included
- Dates: September 12, 2025 – September 20, 2025
- Start/End City: Lisbon, Portugal
- 9 Days / 8 Nights
- Price: €3,500
- Maximum Participants: 8
- Activity Level: Low. Some walking, but nothing extensive. No hiking.
What’s Included:
- All Transport on tour dates
- Breakfast on tour dates
- Photo permits.
- Photography instruction by Brendan van Son
- All park entry fees.
- Airport transfers on arrival and departure days.
What’s Not Included:
- Transport to/from Lisbon, Portugal
- Lunch and Dinner
- Snacks
- Alcoholic Drinks
- Visas for travel (if needed)
Itinerary
- September 12 – Arrival at Lisbon airport. Sunset photography if time permits.
- September 13 – Full day photography in Lisbon.
- September 14 – Sunrise in Lisbon. Travel into Alentejo. Street Photography at Monsaraz. Sunset and Astro photography in Mertola.
- September 15 – Sunrise in Mertola. Transfer down to Lagos (algarve). Sunset in Lagos.
- September 16 – Full day of photography in Lagos and area.
- September 17 – Sunrise in Lagos area. Transfer to Sagres. Sunset at Cabo Sao Vicente.
- September 18 – Full day photography in Sagres and area.
- September 19 – Sunrise in Sagres area. Travel up the west coast to Sines. Sunset at Cabo Sardao.
- September 20 – Sunrise photography at Carrasqueira on route to Lisbon. Tour ends upon arrival to Lisbon. Guests transferred to hotels or airport.
Book Here:
If you’re ready to book, you can pay your deposit (€800). The deposit will hold your space on the workshop in Portugal. The final payment will be requested around 90 days before the tour starts.
If the trip is listed as sold out, please contact me at brendanvanson at gmail dot com to be added to the waitlist.
FAQs About the Algarve Photography Tour 2024
The tour will be based in Lagos, Portugal. Lagos is central to all the best photo locations in the area.
If you fly to Lisbon there will be transport included on the arrival and departure days of the tour.
However, you are also welcome to fly to and from Faro airport which would save you some travel time.
The short answer is yes. The long answer is it will depend on how much the partner wants to be involved in the exploration. If you have a partner that wants to join, but doesn’t want to join the photo excursions, please email me and we can discuss.
The accommodation is either a villa for the group, or a minimum 3-star hotel in Lagos. The accommodation will depend on how many participants choose the hotel option, and how many choose to stay independently.
The goal of this trip is to mix a bit of landscape photography with some astrophotography.
Our average day will look like this:
12h – Wake up and have breakfast
13h – 16h – Freetime and photo editing / workshops
16h-18h – Location scouting, exploring.
18h – Dinner/Lunch
19h-21h – Sunset photography
21h-23h – Picnic Dinner and potentially change locations
23h-03h – Astrophotography
03h – Sleep
The deposit is refundable up to 90 days before the trip’s start date, but does incur a 10% fee.
The included accommodation on this trip is booked on a twin share basis. That means that if you’re booking solo, you’ll be paired with a roommate of the same gender. If you’d like private accommodation for the trip, you’ll need to pay for the single supplement. On this particular trip it’s €1,000.
Photos from This Part of Portugal
This part of Portugal has an endless amount of photography locations. In fact, though I’ve lived here for over 3 years, I still haven’t had the chance to photograph it all. We will, however, make the most to photograph the best of the best.
So, many of the photos you see below will be photographed on this trip.
Book Now
To join this trip, please pay the deposit. If the trip is listed as sold out, please send an email to brendanvanson at gmail dot com to be placed on the waiting list.
The deposit holds your space on the tour. The final payment will be due April 1st, 2024.
Can’t Join This Workshop?
If you want to join one of our workshops but can’t join us in Portugal, check out some of our other trips. We have some spaces still open to places like Greenland and Namibia. Check out the entire offering of photo workshops and tours here.
Or, sign up for our mailing list to be kept up to date on the latest tour announcements and deals.
