Photo Tour Madeira 17.05 - 23.05.2025

This trip takes you to discover a beautiful jewel in the heart of the Atlantic. Madeira, also known as the "floating garden", is a group of islands located above the Canary Islands, 545 km northwest of the African coast, but belonging to Portugal.

In this volcanic paradise, which is very rich in different landscapes, there is a color contrast between the lush green and the black of the rocks, thanks to the combination of high humidity and a mild climate all year round.

When exploring Madeira, you can quickly admire rugged coastlines, majestic mountains and laurel forests such as the magical Fanal Forest. There are also many waterfalls that can be reached via beautiful hiking trails.
At night, the island offers a perfect sky for night photography.

All this makes this small island a true paradise for anyone who loves astrophotography and landscape photography.

The trip is aimed at all photography lovers of astrophotography and landscape photography. The difficulty of the trip is easy and fitness for easy hikes (hike: 2-5 km, altitude profile +-200m) is required. It is a journey with a focus on astrophotography, in which we have to be flexible in order to stand starry skies in certain places. You will visit and photograph the most beautiful places in Madeira, alternating between sunrise, sunset and night. During the trip, you will learn the basics of astrophotography and landscape photography from the theory of image capture, planning to post-processing. We start with the theoretical and technical basics and apply them practically in Madeira. We evaluate the recordings together and then get to know the workflows in post-production based on the existing files.
The goal of the trip is to return home with beautiful memories and great shots.

Note: The program may change depending on the weather conditions. We are flexible and will adapt to any situation to offer the best possible experience.

Meeting point: May 17 - Madeira Airport (FNC), no later than 3 p.m.

Departure: We take the group back to the airport in the early hours of the morning on May 23.

Day 1
Ribeira da Janela, Fanal Forest

Pick-up from Madeira Airport (FNC).
After a short presentation on what to expect during the Madeira photo tour, we arrive at our first hotel in Porto Moniz.
We relax, have dinner and prepare for our first sunset on the beach at Ribeira da Janela.
After the sunset photo session, we'll go hunting for the Milky Way in another fabulous location, the Fanal Forest, where we'll focus on creating single and double exposures without using the star tracker.
We are back at the hotel around 2 o'clock in the morning.

Day 2
Porto Moniz, Miradouro de Sao Cristovao, hidden waterfall

Sunrise at one of the most beautiful vantage points on the island, where rugged mountains stand out against the sea.
After sunrise, we return to the hotel for breakfast.
A few hours of leisure and relaxation to enjoy the natural pools, sauna and jacuzzi; or simply to visit Porto Moniz on foot.
In the afternoon, we set off on a hike to Madeira's most beautiful waterfall, which lies in a paradisiacal corner amidst the lush greenery in the depths of Madeira.
On the way back to the hotel, we have a sunset photo session at another breathtaking photo spot.

Day 3
Ribeira da Janela, Fanal Forest

Sunrise at Praia da Ribeira da Janela, where we wait for the sun to shine through between the rocks, flowers and a river flowing into the sea.
Breakfast and morning at your own leisure
After lunch we will have our first lesson in post-processing, where we will learn how to handle the different techniques we learned on location and we will go through a complete workflow of a photo.
We reach the Fanal forest before sunset, which is often shrouded in mist and low-hanging clouds at this time of year.
After the sunset photo session, we will have dinner in the forest and wait for the Milky Way photo session.

Day 4
Machico, Pico do Ariero

After breakfast, we will check out and reach our next hotel in the southeast of Madeira.
In the afternoon we will do some image processing. We will deal with some advanced aspects of night photography. More specifically, how to manage and merge the files of a night panorama and how to get the most detail out of a Milky Way image.
At around 5 p.m., we set off to photograph the sunset at Pico do Ariero. It takes us 30 minutes on foot to reach the summit.
If the sky is clear, there will be another fantastic Milky Way photo session above the clouds.

Day 5
Miradouro do Guindaste, Miradouro da Luna, Ponta de Sao Lourenco

Sunrise at a beautiful vantage point with breathtaking views of the sea.
In the afternoon, we explore this part of the island between succulents and rugged rocks.
We photograph the sunset at one of the many spots just a few minutes' walk from each other.
Dinner in the restaurant.

Day 6
Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Pico Ruivo

Early hike to reach the most beautiful view of the whole island at sunrise.
After a short rest at the hotel, we set off for Pico Ruivo, another 40-minute hike between flowers and mountain ridges to reach Madeira's highest peak at 1862 meters.
Photo session at sunset between flowers and dead trees.
Tonight we will also try to capture the Milky Way in this crazy scenery.

Day 7

Departure from Madeira Airport (FNC)

In order to offer the best care, the maximum number of participants has been limited to 10 people.
The minimum number of participants for the tour is 6 people.

The supervisors are the landscape photographers Giulio Cobianchi and Stefan Liebermann.

Participation is possible with German, English or Italian language skills.

The costs include:
-Support by 2 experienced photographers
-Accommodation (double room)
-breakfast
-Transfers with your own van
-Transportation from and to the airport (17 and 23 May)
-Petrol
-Photo Editing Lesson
-WhatsApp Group

The cost does NOT include:
- Travel insurance that covers medical insurance/baggage insurance
- International flights
- Local costs
- Other meals
- Supplement for a single room (800 euros)
- Anything that is not specifically mentioned as "includes".

Die empfohlene Fotoausrüstung besteht aus einer Spiegelreflex- oder Systemkamera mit mindestens zwei Objektiven, einem lichtstarken Weitwinkelobjektiv (F<2.8) und einem mittleren Teleobjektiv sowie einem Stativ.
Optionally recommended: photo filter, remote shutter release with interval function and laptop.

- Additional batteries
- Several wipes for cleaning the lenses
- Replacement memory cards

The island of Madeira has a pleasant and mild climate (min. 15°/max. 30°), so summer clothing is ideal. In the evening, a windbreaker/sweatshirt is sufficient, as the average temperature is still warm.

During the day, it is important to protect yourself from the sun.

Up in the mountains we will be at about 1700/1800 meters above sea level. The temperatures here are much lower than down by the sea. You can expect temperatures as low as zero degrees Celsius. Therefore, warm clothing (several layers) must be brought along to stay warm at night.

Hiking boots and water-repellent clothing are highly recommended.

- Passport / ID card valid for international travel
- International health insurance
- The national currency (Portugal) is the Euro
- Credit cards are accepted.
- You can withdraw money from any ATM with a debit card.

The total price of the trip is EUR 2890 .

A deposit of EUR 700 is required to book the trip and the balance must be paid up to 30 days before the start of the trip.

The single room surcharge is 800 EUR

If a participant decides to cancel their reservation, they can do so at any time by communicating it as soon as possible through the official email address of one of the two organizers.
However, you should bear in mind that cancellation by a participant may lead to administrative difficulties in the case of
bookings, as well as the risk, the minimum number of participants for
not reaching the trip (and consequently the need to look for a new person).
For this reason:

- If the cancellation
MORE than 60 days (prior to departure), you can get a refund.

- If the cancellation
LESS than 60 days prior to departure, it is NOT
possible to get a refund.

*Unless the customer who wants to cancel their booking brings another person who is willing to take their place by paying the total amount of the trip themselves.

The entire amount paid (deposit or full fee) will be fully refunded in case of cancellation of the event