This trip is an extension to our Tuscany trip, but don’t think of this as ‘just an add-on’, this is truly a feature location. Cinque Terre is more than just another destination—it’s a love letter written in color and light. Here, pastel villages cling to the cliffs, the sea shimmers with romance, and every photograph becomes a timeless story.
DATES: – November 2 – 5, 2026 (3 nights)
NOTE: This optional trip is preceded by our Tuscany trip (6 nights) – 27th October – 2nd November 2026: Tuscany (6 nights)
LENGTH: 4 days/3 nights
COST: $2,595, single supplement available for additional $400
- Initial Deposit is $1500
GROUP SIZE: 8 photographers (2 spots remaining)
COMPANION PROGRAM: This trip also has a Companion Program for the non-photographer. Pricing and details to follow
LEADERS: Buddy Eleazer, Leonardo Papèra
SKILL LEVEL: All skill levels, this is that rare location where high-quality cameras and iPhone will both deliver amazing photos and memories. Our focus will be improve your compositional skills during this workshop.
DIFFICULTY OF TERRAIN: These are old villages, expect some short walks on uneven cobblestone surfaces.
A 3-night photo workshop in Cinque Terre offers an immersive experience in one of Italy’s most dramatic and picturesque coastal regions. Perched along rugged cliffs above the Ligurian Sea, the five pastel-colored fishing villages—Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore—provide a wealth of photographic opportunities that blend natural beauty with timeless architecture. This is a place where every viewpoint feels like a painting, every narrow alleyway tells a story, and every golden sunset sets the horizon aflame.
Participants will capture the villages glowing at sunrise and sunset, when the soft light accentuates the vibrant facades and shimmering sea. Narrow alleyways, terraced vineyards, and working harbors add depth to the storytelling, offering both sweeping landscapes and intimate detail shots. Imagine photographing Vernazza’s harbor bathed in twilight, or the pastel houses of Manarola reflecting on the water as evening settles in—a romance of light and landscape that feels timeless.
Beyond photography, the workshop immerses travelers in the unique atmosphere of Cinque Terre: the scent of lemon groves and sea air, the taste of regional wines and pesto, and the charm of staying in a cliffside village. It’s an inspiring balance of technical growth, creative vision, and the simple joy of photographing in one of Italy’s most iconic and beautiful coastal settings. This is more than a workshop—it’s a chance to fall in love with one of the most captivating settings in the world. You have probably heard of the beauty of the Amalfi Coast. Yes, it is nice, but this is more. This region has retained the rustic beauty of the ages that will have you wishing our trip doesn’t end.
COMPANION PROGRAM FOR THE NON-PHOTOGRAPHERS
Please note that this trip also has a Companion Plan for the non-photographer. With many photo workshops, it is challenging to add a companion program that isn’t just an afterthought but rather a solid and exciting offering. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH ITALY.
Companions can enjoy a parallel journey of flavors and culture—sampling world-class wines and olive oils, learning Tuscan traditions in a hands-on cooking class, visiting a pecorino cheese producer, and exploring the charm of local villages.
Whether behind the camera or immersed in the tastes and rhythms of Tuscan life, Val d’Orcia offers an experience where past and present meet in perfect harmony, leaving memories as lasting as the landscapes themselves.
At this time, pricing for the companion plan is still to be determined. Contact us for more details.
ITINERARY SUMMARY:
Truth is that we never run two identical workshops – due to the weather, due to the light, due to the length of the days at any given time of the year and many other variables that come into play when dealing with outdoor photography. With this in mind, here is a general overview of what to expect:
DAY 1 – ARRIVAL & MANAROLA
Transfer From Tuscany – On our first day, we will transfer from our Tuscany workshop around mid-day, so that we can start our drive to Manarola (our final destination of the workshop, about a 2-hour drive.
Lunch: – As soon as we arrive at the parking lot in Manarola – the culture shock of Cinque Terre will hit you: we won’t be able to drive all the way down to our hotel, since the town center is closed to traffic. This means that we will park our car up there and then walk down with all our stuff! It’s going to be a short walk – no worries!
Whenever we reach the town center, we’ll leave the luggage at the hotel and head straight for a delicious lunch where you will get to try the seafood or the pesto sauce (actually “invented” here!).
Hotel Check-in & Afternoon Break: approx. 2:30/4:30PM – After our tasty lunch together, we’ll return back to the hotel to check in and take a breath before hitting the road again.
Sunset Session: 5/8PM (depending on sunset time) Finally, you will get the chance to bring out the camera from the backpack! Time to take an incredibly short walk to the seaside and capture the beauty of Manarola itself, the place where we are staying and arguable the most beautiful out of all the villages of Cinque Terre! See the images down here for reference.
Dinner: 8:30PM – It’s been a long day: finally, we will have the chance to sit down and have a warm meal with some wine to end it in the best way!
DAY 2 – MANAROLA, MONTEROSSO AL MARE & VERNAZZA
Sunrise Session: 5:00/8AM (depending on sunrise time)
Time for an early wakeup call! We will do our first sunrise of the workshop in Manarola again – this time for a different and less known perspective though! We will hike up above the village (10 minutes’ walk) through some steps and get the twilight and sunrise from up there.
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch to Monterosso al Mare: 11:00AM/2:30PM
What you need to know about Cinque Terre is: not all of them are photographically interesting.
Monterosso al Mare, as pretty as it is, photography-wise doesn’t quite hit the spot as Manarola, Riomaggiore or Vernazza – and that’s why we will visit this town mid-day: it’s still worth seeing it, just not worth it to spend a golden hour session there. We will take a stroll through the city streets, along the seaside and have a tasty lunch around there.
We will reach the town by train: the train is what we will use to move between the villages for the whole workshop – as it’s 10x faster than using a car and all the stations are downtown (almost at the sea level), so that we won’t have to walk uphill everytime.
Afternoon Break/Editing: 2:30/5:00PM
Depending on how tired we are, we might either take another break or do some post-production on the shots taken in the past couple sessions. Or maybe a mix of both!
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Time to hit Vernazza – another gorgeous town of Cinque Terre! This location is also the one that probably offers more viewpoints: your instructor, depending on the time of the year and the weather conditions will decide which one will be the best on that day.
Dinner: 8:30/9PM
After twilight is gone, we will take the train back to Manarola and get our well-deserved dinner there!
DAY 3 – VERNAZZA, CORNIGLIA & RIOMAGGIORE
Sunrise Session: 5:00/8AM (depending on sunrise time)
Second sunrise of the workshop: at this time, we will probably take an early train once again and return to Vernazza to shoot it from one of the perspectives that we missed the night before. As we mentioned earlier, there’s no shortage of compositions there!
Breakfast & Morning Break: 8/10:30AM
By the time we’ll be back at the hotel, I’m sure that you will be very much looking forward to having a nice breakfast and a bit of a break to gain some energies back.
Visit and Lunch to Corniglia: 11:00AM/2:30PM
Same thing we did on the previous day – we will visit one of the less interesting (photographically speaking) towns, this time one named Corniglia. We will reach it by train in just 3 minutes, as it’s right next to Manarola: expect a looong staircase to reach the town centre from the main station, but with some beautiful views all over the coast!
Afternoon Break/Editing: 2:30/5:00PM
Depending on how tired we are, we might either take another break or do some post-production on the shots taken in the past couple sessions. Or maybe a mix of both!
Sunset Session: 5:30/8PM (depending on sunset time)
Last sunset of the workshop: tonight, we will cover the last village we haven’t seen yet: Riomaggiore. Seeing the sun setting over the sea while the light hits the colorful houses of the village is just one of the most romantic experiences you can capture in Italy!
Dinner: 8:30/9PM
After twilight is gone, we will take the train back to Manarola and get our well-deserved dinner there!
DAY 4 – DEPARTURE
Sunrise Session: 5:30/8AM (depending on sunrise time)
We are mentioning one last sunrise in the itinerary, even in our very last day: since you’ll probably have to pack things up and get ready for your trip back home, you are 100% free to decide whether you’d like to go for it or maybe just sleep in and get ready a bit later. Our recommendation is to see how the weather looks like, depending also on what conditions we got the previous day and then decide.
Breakfast & Check-out: 8:00/9:30AM
Time to pack everything up, get some “juice” for the trip back home and start our drive back towards the airport!
Drop-off: 11:00AM/12:00PM
After a 2h30m to Florence, it’s unfortunately time to say goodbye: your instructor will help you take the luggage into the building and wish you a safe flight back home!
WHAT IS INCLUDED:
- Lodging – 3 nights in Cinque Terre nicely positioned relatively to our photo spots
- Airport Transfers – We will drop you back off at the airport
- Meals – Breakfast included
- All Transportation – All transportation included while in Italy via 2 9-seater vans with guides/drivers. No need for a rental vehicle
- Entrance Fees – Misc. entrance for the shooting locations
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:
- Gratuities – Gratuities are not included
- Meals –
- Lunch – During the trip, we will stop at local restaurants for lunch, which is not included in the overall cost
- Dinner – We can always have our meals together, but everyone will pay for its own. Guests will still be able to enjoy the typical Tuscan food and we will always take everyone to our favorite restaurants in the area. We have chosen to exclude dinners as every guest has different preferences.
- Alcohol – Alcohol is not included
- Transportation from your home to Florence, Italy
- Travel Insurance is highly recommended
Cost for Cinque Terre is $2,595, single supplement available for additional $400
- Initial Deposit is $800
Cancellation Policy for This Trip:
- Up until 6 months before: only the deposit is non-refundable
- 3 months before the tour we ask for the outstanding balance
- From 3 months before till the departure date: no refund is possible unless the guests can find a replacement for their spot, in which case we can return the full amount to them at any time.
A journey to Cinque Terre is more than a photographic adventure—it’s an immersion into romance, beauty, and timeless charm. Over three unforgettable nights, you’ll wander cliffside villages bathed in golden light, capture the poetry of the sea meeting ancient stone, and refine your craft against one of the world’s most enchanting backdrops. From sweeping vistas to quiet harbors, every moment offers a frame filled with color, story, and emotion. This workshop is not just about taking photographs—it’s about experiencing Cinque Terre in a way that stays with you long after the shutter closes.
Step into the poetry of Italy’s coast—and bring home images as timeless as the villages themselves.” Sign up now and make this unforgettable journey your own.
To Book your space, please contact Buddy Eleazer at buddy.eleazer@gmail for information on sending your deposit.
