Updated October 2026. This page began as the plan for a 2016 Havana photography workshop that is no longer offered. The route and the tips are still a useful way to plan your own days in the city.
Havana rewards photographers who slow down. The city has pastel facades, classic cars, sea light along the Malecon, street life that never stops and a few subjects you will not find anywhere else, like an open-air boxing gym. This sample itinerary shows how to spread those subjects over five days so you shoot each one in the best light.
A five-day Havana photography plan
Day 1: Old Havana and the Malecon at sunset
Settle in, then walk Old Havana in the afternoon light. Plan a late lunch and be on the Malecon for sunset, where fishermen and locals walk the sea wall. Wide frames of the wall and the waves work well, and so do people shapes against the glow.
Day 2: City center and street photography
Spend the morning on foot around the city center: Plaza de la Revolucion, the Jose Marti Memorial and the Capitolio. The area gives you big architecture and a lot of street photography chances in the older streets. Break for lunch, then explore a new neighborhood and finish with sunset.
Day 3: The countryside
Leave the city for a day in the rural landscape. Cigar farms and vegetable farms offer wide landscapes and portraits, if you ask first and take your time. Use the afternoon back in town to edit what you shot.
Day 4: Sunrise and the boxing gym
Start with a sunrise shoot, then visit Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym, Cuba’s oldest boxing club, an open-air gym where boxers train. It is a great place for close, high-contrast action frames. Ask before you shoot, stay out of the way and keep the flash off.
Day 5: Markets, vintage cars and a last sunset
Go back to Old Havana for the local markets, Sabado de la Rumba, the Hemingway bar scene and the vintage cars. If you can, add the Partagas cigar factory area. End the trip with a second Malecon sunset from a different spot than Day 1.
What to bring
A camera with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto, spare batteries and cards, a laptop or drive for backups, Lightroom or another editor, a tripod for sunrise and sunset, lens cloths and a comfortable camera bag. Wear good walking shoes. Havana is warm and you will walk a lot.
What to leave at home
Leave the photographer vest at home. You want to blend in, and a low-key look makes you less intimidating when you ask someone for a portrait. Always ask first, smile and share the shot on your screen.
Want to go further? The ShutYourAperture Academy’s Wander & Capture: Travel Photography (7 modules, 28+ lessons) is built to help you cover the art and practice of photographing a place well.
Planning notes
Travel rules, visas, payments and what works in Cuba change often. Check the current official guidance and your insurer before you book, and get travel and equipment insurance that is valid for the trip. For more Havana ideas, see Photographing Havana: My Favorite Spots, Light and Street Etiquette.
Keep your own travel-photo files
For your own travel-photo projects, keep original frames, notes and finished edits together. This is file storage, not travel or itinerary advice. A black Samsung T7 Shield portable SSD, 1TB model MU-PE1T0S/AM, is one storage option to compare. Check capacity and your computer connection before buying. Open the copied files and maintain another checked copy separately. A drive does not replace a complete backup plan. Compare the current retailer specifications; no hands-on test, price or stock promise is being made here.
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