Creative EscapesReviews 

I had the most memorable experience in Kathmandu, Nepal and Bhutan thanks to Creative Space and Lotus Arising Travel. We spent 1 day in Kathmand, Nepal and 9 Bhutan. Our fearless photographer leader Becky Westcott along with a tour guide Min made this journey exciting, inspiring and rewarding.
Becky shared with us her passion for photography and teaching. As well as a huge range of photography techniques and very useful tips while being kind, helpful and supportive (five stars for her hard work).
In general, this adventure has covered my expectations.
Looking forward to join Creative Space in a new and exciting journey in the near future.

Our outstanding local guide, Nim and our excellent driver, Rinzin made the experience extra special. They went above and beyond for us and by the end of the tour we felt like family.
Our talented photography guide, Becky was able to tailor her tuition to all the different levels in our group and I’ve not only come away from the tour with some of the best photos I’ve ever taken but I feel that I have raised my skill level thanks to her guidance.
The tour was perfect for photographers of all levels, would highly recommended.

An amazing trip to Japan with a great bunch of like minded travellers, who had a range of photography expertise - some experienced and one just using their iPhone (who captured some super images).

I had the most wonderful photographic adventure, it was everything I was hoping for and more. I came home with images that I would not have captured without our tour leader's local knowledge, advice and helpful way of pushing me out of my photographic comfort zone.

It truly was an immersive experience, creating lifetime memories of the buzzy back street bars in Tokyo; our night time graveyard and temple visit; the early morning blessing ceremony; our maiko photoshoot and perhaps the highlight for me of the Buddhist fire ceremony.

I hope to return not only to Japan but on another Creative Escapes photographic adventure in the future.

Japan 10 Day tour with a great band of like minded souls of all ages. I can't say much more than the 4 reviewers (all now friends) who have penned a review before me (see below). Jon is a masterful teacher with no compromises but a lot of wit and tomfoolery. We all had a blast and although you are stretched it brings you to another level. Group and individual reviews with lots of honest feedback and support. Cannot recommend enough and already plotting to get permission to take another course with them in the future.

This trip to Japan has been planned for 5 years and various things got in the way. As a result I had built up my expectations and was not disappointed at all.
Jon is a great tutor - he pushes you hard but does it with humour and helpful tips and insights, which means your photography improves significantly. He plans these trips meticulously and has back up or alternative plans if weather or other conditions mean there needs to be a change. He also gets access to experiences that, as an individual traveller, just wouldn’t be possible. He created a cohesive and supportive group of fellow photographers whose feedback and support was very special.
In summary, a really fantastic trip with an excellent tutor - what are you waiting for? Book it

It’s the first time I’ve been on a photography holiday and all the way across continents to Japan. It was pretty much a last minute plan and am so glad I joined.
Jon is an amazing person and tutor with all the patience in the world. From covering technical to creative aspects of photography, the framework was very inclusive for different types of photographers, with attention to individual goals.
The locations chosen were perfect to enjoy hanging about, exploring the culture of Japan and having the creative eye work hard. The group size for this trip was about 10 and it was perfect to be able to get to know everyone, enjoy the trip with them and make new friends. I’m hoping to stay in touch with many of the folks I met!
For me personally having spent this intensive time photographing has made me more aware of what I could do more and gain a bit of more trust and confidence. I’m not not usually comfortable photographing people, which I definitely did a lot of in this trip, thanks to Jon’s teaching format. As a hobbyist my creative journey will potentially be longer, but it’s only going to improve!
Thanks to Jon, Loui and all my fellow artists for the wonderful trip !

I recently went with the company on the Japan trip and I would recommend it to anyone. I learnt and improved my photography skills immensely, the trip was fun and we'll organised. Our tutor was a great leader pushing you to do more with your photography but also very engaging with people. Highly recommend it!

Just back from an outstanding 5-day photographic expedition to Istanbul with Jon Cunningham of Creative Escapes.
This was my second trip with CE and Jon (previously, in Sicily) and my admiration for the programme(s) has only increased. From the ideally situated and suitable hotel to the nightly-different (but previously tried and tested) restaurants, our well-being was scrupulously attended to.
Oh, and the photography destinations, tuition and guidance under Jon's affable guidance were superb, too! This is so much more than a guided tour for snapping landmarks. It was one-to-one guidance, of the highest quality, dealing with the many subtle aspects of capturing great images, many of which result from original insights and actually 'seeing' subject matter that differentiates the superior from the ordinary.
Needless to say, the sights, sites and sounds of Istanbul offered boundless opportunities for the groups' photography and daily review sessions conducted by Jon were invariably constructive and always helpful.
Jon is a great host and, with a professional photographer's eye, eager to share his enthusiasm with all members of a perfectly sized group.

Just back from my first trip with creative escapes and confident it won’t be my last. I had been apprehensive about joining a small group tour like this as someone who typically plans my own trips but enjoyed It all immensely.

Over 4 (very full) days I learned a huge amount about both technical photography that will help me take better pictures, but crucially I learned a great deal about myself as a photographer - what I’m drawn to, how to try and tell that story through the photos I take and how to experience places I want to photograph in a different way.

Jon led our trip and was both incredibly knowledgable and patient with me as I grappled with a new(ish) camera and new concepts and ideas. The agenda was fluid and I felt we could influence greatly. If you are thinking about doing it my advice would be to book and get ready for a great trip

Our tutor led us on a fantastic tour of Istanbul, providing invaluable photography tuition over five days. The activities chosen were excellent for both experiencing the city and honing our photography skills.

What stood out was out tutor's responsiveness to our group's preferences in scheduling and his proactive approach in gathering our individual photographic goals before the trip. This personalisation ensured tailored tuition that significantly improved my photography skills.

In summary, I highly recommend this photography tour. It offers well-selected activities, responsive scheduling, and personalised tuition. Thank you for an unforgettable Istanbul experience.

Creative holiday at its best..

Went to Sicily with creative escapes, and it was a wonderful experience, my first trip focussing solely on photography, having enjoyed photography for so many years, but never imagined it could be done having so much fun. Jon made it so easy to explore and enhance your photography techniques, with lots of fun along the way…not to mention all amazing food recommendations by Jon. Great trip and would definitely recommend to get your creative juices flowing again…thank you Jon for inspiring all of us :)

Just got back from my first trip to Sicily with Creative Escapes. I was nervous about going as my photography skills are basic, but I really didn’t need to be, our tutor was an amazing and explained the creative side of photography in such a fun, positive way. I managed to take pictures that I’d never imagined I could and I’ve come home really excited to continue practicing all the things I’ve learnt and to book my next trip.
Creative Escapes trips are all about the creativity and not a lot of technical information to study with really suited me. We went to locations away from the obvious tourist ones, had some great food and had a lot of fun. Creative Escapes are a brilliant company to deal with, from the booking process, all the information provided about the trip before departure and all the arrangements on the trip.
I had a great time and cannot recommend Creative Escapes highly enough.

This is my third trip with Creative Escapes and the best one yet! The absolute highlight for me was Ta Prohm, and to see it in the early morning light with few visitors is something I’ll remember for a long time. Siem Reap is a perfect place to be based, with such a mix of photographic opportunities in and just beyond the city made choosing the final project subject very difficult!

This was my third trip to Cuba and first trip with Creative Escapes. Can’t say enough positive things about our leader, Matt B. We had a video call before the trip to get acquainted and answer any of my remaining questions (technology is great). On the trip, he was able to assess the strengths and areas needing improvement of our group of ten photographers and showed us how to make better photos. After sharing his insights, I’m looking at photography in a different light (no pun intended). The places we visited and activities were excellent for capturing the essence of Cuba: Viñales valley, the 1918 train, ballet school, and boxing club, were all great venues to explore. Thoroughly enjoyed the evening group round table photo critiques. Ten photographers went to the same place at the same time, but came away with vastly different areas of focus. It was great learning from Matt and others in the group on what is out there if you just look a little harder. Into photography just a little or a lot? You will have great time on this trip learning new techniques and insights.

Creative escapes is an amazing company, Its holidays never disappoint, they are unique in every way. On my latest trip to Cuba, they sourced the coolest 5-star hotels with amazing breakfast and swimming pools. They always hunt out the very best places to eat in any given town or city with a fabulous mix of chic restaurants and local favorites all with the very best food. The trip itself is packed full of surprises like a behind-the-scenes photo shoot at the national ballet and trips on a local vintage train. Backstage passes to a boxing training session, as well as taking a vintage car tour of Havana to make sure you never miss a thing. All this and 1-2-1 photography tutoring from the wonderful Matt has truly helped take my photography to the next level. I would definitely recommend these holidays to any budding photographer who would love a photo travel adventure with super friendly, fun-loving, small groups of like-minded people.

A great trip!
Just back from a wonderful tour in Cuba led by Matt Burgess. Matt went above and beyond to make sure we got to the best locations to shoot and to the best restaurants (hotels also great). Leading a group of adults with mixed interests and abilities must be a challenge and it was dealt with fantastically. We got to shoot situations that we never would have otherwise.

A fantastic experience. Excellent photography tuition which catered for our group of mixed abilities, lovely hotels which were so appreciated at the end of our busy busy days- and we were taken to some wonderful locations which we wouldn't have got to see as individual travellers. We also went to several very cool cafes and restaurants-being Cuba there were always several things they'd run out of,but Rum was never one of them!
I also appreciated being able to get a friendly human on the phone - I hadn't done a solo trip before so had been a bit apprehensive before we set off. I've now booked another for next year!

I have been a several long haul trips with Creative Escapes, Cuba, Sri Lanka, India and Bhutan. They have always been very well planned, with visits to places that I would probably never have thought of going to. As a result I have come back with some amazing memories and experiences. The trips and the professional photographers have really helped me to improve and develop my photographic skills. I have just come back from a short 5-day trip to Sicily. I went out frustrated and stuck with my photography, but I came back home understanding myself much better and with some great photographs that I never imagined I could take. This is mainly due to the excellent teaching by our tutor, photographing in some fantastic venues, and the people of Sicily.

Just back from Kerala with Creative Escapes. This was my 4th trip with them. I'd had 3 brilliant experiences in Sri Lanka, Cuba and Sicily, but had completely lost my photography mojo over the past couple of years, so wanted the structure of a dedicated photography holiday to get the creative juices flowing again.

Turns out Kerala is one of the most amazing places I've ever been and the guys at Creative Escapes had curated a trip with genuine, off the beaten track locations and experiences. We went to proper local beaches and found ourselves right in the middle of the action as fishermen brought in their catch and furiously traded them with locals, we hung out with welcoming and curious tea pickers in the highest plantation in India, even being invited into their homes to shoot very personal portraits, we went to an outdoor laundry that felt like an industrious scene from 100 years ago and we also travelled far into the backwaters to discover villages buzzing with even more lovely locals who considered us to be quite a novelty and once again gave us their time and energy to pull off some really unique images. These were only the highlights and every location we visited was authentically local and notably absent of any other tourists.

To be honest, we were pretty much stumbling over myriad photo opportunities at every step. Without the careful preparation and guidance laid down by our tutor before venturing out, it would have been easy to go crazy and come away with a vast library of run of the mill holiday snaps, but the beauty of doing a trip with Creative Escapes is that you are encouraged to slow down, survey your scene and really think about how to get the best from it photographically. You are by no means spoon fed a bunch of standard shots to impress your friends, rather you are encouraged and helped to figure out what makes you tick and to reflect that in your images in a way that elevates them from the norm. The technical aspects of using your camera and other gear are covered if you need it, but the focus is very much on tapping into your creative potential and the tutors are brilliant at helping you to find your style and to reflect that in your shots.

If you're genuinely interested in taking your photography to another level, if you're open to being occasionally pushed (gently) out of your comfort zone to get killer shots and if you like steering clear of the usual tourist locations, then this company is for you. It also helps that they always seem to choose cool hotels and they know where the best local food and drink spots are!

If you’re looking for a photography course that helps you find your personal photographic style, tap into creativity and do so in amazing locations with great people then these are the trips for you.
I was keen to find a photography course that would cover the camera basics but not confuse (or bore) me with too much of the theory or technical side. I wanted creative photography.
A personal recommendation led me to Creative Escapes. I started with their shorter trip to Morocco. It was the perfect mixture for me. I learned how to use my camera incredibly easily so I could spend my time thinking about the actual shot I wanted to capture. In one very enjoyable trip I gained so much and felt far more capable.
Since then I’ve been on two other trips and would recommend Creative Escapes completely.
The course tutors are excellent - showing new techniques and styles to the group, providing personal guidance at the right level, on hand during the visits to fabulous locations as well as personal 1-2-1 reviews.
So you’ll see your photography skills improve with each new challenge. Many expect that from a trip focused on photography though and that’s where the Creative Escape delivers far more. As other reviewers have mentioned, you really do meet like minded people on the trips. Relaxing with others at the end of the day, ready encouragement, shared laughter, commenting on one another’s shots over a glass (or two) just makes the holiday. So not only will you increase your skills, you’ll enjoy incredible locations and make new friends too.
What’s not to like?