Hello beautiful humans,
We just had a couple of cancellations on our upcoming Mystical Madeira creative retreat, which is happening in only 3 months from now (on November 8th - 14th)… So, perhaps this is your opportunity to join us for a last minute magical creative adventure?!
If you’re interested in taking one of the spots that just opened up, please read through all the information through the button below and send in an application ASAP. We can’t wait to hear from you!
November 8-14 (7 days/6 nights)
Lizzy Gadd & Kris Andres
6 maximum
All levels
Moderate. Participants should be comfortable walking up to 5km on some days, often on uneven or muddy terrain, with up to 200 meters elevation gain and some height exposure.
This video tutorial below was filmed in Madeira…. and I already can’t wait to go back and create more magic! Maybe this time with you?!
This mystical little island, also known as “The Pearl of the Atlantic” or the “Hawaii of Europe”, is located about 1,000 km southwest of mainland Portugal and roughly 500 km west of the African continent. It is also often known as the “Island of Eternal Spring” for its abundance of flowers, lush vegetation and mild weather year-round.
The first time we (Lizzy & Kris) visited this island was in the autumn of 2021. We rented a small stone cottage and the tiniest car you’ve ever seen, and we spent an entire month exploring Madeira’s many hiking trails, foggy forests, seaside cliffs and misty mountain tops. While our tiny old car chugged (and sometimes stalled) it’s way up the many steep, winding mountain roads, we were constantly overcome by complete awe… the views just kept unfolding around every corner, revealing mountain peaks shrouded in fog and the sun sparkling on the ocean far, far below. Between the endless views, warm sunshine, dramatic cliffs, crashing ocean waves, volcanic black sand beaches, mountain top mists covering the ancient Laurissilva forests with their fairytale-like trees, and of course the Madeiran wine and endless supply of Pastel de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts)… Well, I can easily say that entire month was one I’ll remember for the rest of my life, and I knew we’d be returning to this mystical paradise at our first opportunity.
…which, is now. With you.
After years of planning and waiting for the right timing to align, we are finally ready to bring together a very small group of creatives to join us for a week, here in Madeira. To share in the wonders of this island together, to collaborate and inspire one another. To embrace the magic of creating and capturing ethereal and story-telling images, moments to cherish and to remember for a lifetime. It’s going to be very special….
Read on to learn more about our first ever MADEIRA creative retreat!
In fact, you don’t even have to be a photographer. You could be a painter, a writer, a musician. You could simply be a nature-loving human looking to hang out and be inspired!
This retreat is not technically advertised as a “photography workshop”, but more of a collaborative retreat experience. We keep these retreats extremely small, 6 participants max, for a reason… (not just to appease our introverted nature, hehe). We find these small retreats make it easier for everyone to connect on a deeper level, often becoming like a little creative family for the week. During these retreats, we really like to take our time exploring locations, letting ideas come naturally and unrushed. And in-between exploring locations, we all get to relax, eat, edit, learn and bond together at our lovely private villa overlooking the sea.
Our goal is to give you a week you’ll remember forever, while helping you achieve the dream experiences or images you want to create. We will be thrilled to help you out however we can: Whether by demoing how we shoot, helping you set up your own shot, modelling for you, having props available (I will be bringing far to many dresses for sure), as well as image editing sessions together at our homebase. We want this retreat to be an inspiring experience and collaborative effort, and if there’s anything you want to learn from us, please just ask. We’re here for YOU!
-6 NIGHTS ACCOMMODATIONS
We will have our very own private villa with 4 bedrooms, overlooking the ocean on the south coast. 2 people will be sharing each bedroom - we will pair you with a partner, friend, or a participant of the same sex.
-DAILY BREAKFASTS, SOME LUNCHES & SNACKS, SOME DINNERS -ALL GROUND TRANSPORTATION WITHIN MADEIRA DURING RETREAT
We will keep a large selection of breakfast foods and coffee/tea at our villa for you to help yourself to, as well as some snacks and sandwich materials for you to make your own lunches to bring on our adventures! We will also cover a couple of home-cooked dinners during the retreat.
-ALL FLIGHTS -TRAVEL INSURANCE
Please note that we cannot offer refunds for emergencies and trip cancellations (you can read more about our cancellation policy near the bottom of this page).
-SOME SNACKS AND MEALS
Although we will supply breakfast foods and some basic build-your-own sandwich materials and snacks to take with us on our adventures, we will also be eating out for some lunches or dinners. You will be expected to buy your own meals when we eat out.
-ACCOMMODATION BEFORE OR AFTER THE RETREAT
We cannot cover any accommodations outside of the dates of the retreat - however, we do recommend that you arrive to Madeira a day early if possible to avoid any potential flight delays on the day the retreat begins.
During this retreat, we will be taking over this entire beautiful private villa located on a banana plantation, perched on the mountainside overlooking the ocean and sunsets. Oh, and we have our own private pool. Um… magic, right?
This villa is located on the south coast near Ponta do Sol, which we’ve chosen for being central to easily access both sides of Madeira. All of our favourite locations for exploring and photoshooting will be about an hour drive in either direction from our home base.
The villa includes 4 bedrooms (each room has 2 beds which can be pushed together or pulled apart depending on preference/roommates), a private bathroom for each bedroom, luxurious sitting areas indoors and outdoors, a fully equipped kitchen and dining area as well as a BBQ and dining area outdoors, free WIFI, and of course a beautiful back garden and terrace with views overlooking the sea!
We will plan to explore and shoot at least two locations per day, giving ourselves a few hours at each place to wander and let our creative ideas and inspiration flow naturally. Most days will start with a sunrise location (sunrise is at 7:30am) and will end with a sunset location (sundown is at 6pm), possibly mixing up some days for midday shoots depending on weather and participant energy levels. Between shooting, we’ll have downtime back at our villa where we can relax, connect, edit, eat, swim, sunbathe, you name it.
Some of the locations we will spend time at include the dramatic Pico do Arieiro and surrounding mountain peaks and cloudscapes, Ponta de São Lourenço and Miradouro da Ponta do Rosto with stunning seaside features and cliffs, as well as lots of other lesser known hidden gems throughout the island, and of course… the mystical Fanal Forest.
Note: As of the first week of November 2025, there are new rules and regulations (and fences and boardwalks) recently implemented in some sections at Fanal Forest… a necessary action taken to help preserve the fragility of the ancient trees and eco system. Although we are incredibly sad to lose the complete freedom we previously had to move around and create anywhere throughout the forest, we are still hopeful there will be plenty of areas nearby where we can easily feature some of our favourite soulful trees in our images. No matter what, this magical place is still worth visiting, and we will navigate these new changes together while appreciating, acknowledging and protecting the sacred beauty of this ancient forest.
If this retreat sounds like something you’d LOVE to attend, then we can’t wait to hear from you!
And if you have any questions about this retreat, please feel free to reach out any time via the comments or by replying to this email.
As always, I’m sending my love out to each and every one of you, and wishing you the most beautiful weekend ahead. ♥
Lizzy
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