Experience an adventure designed for travelers who love to evoke joy and wonder through photography while immersed in local culture! Global Family Travels is thrilled to be partnering with travel and social impact photographers John and Lisa Merrill of Merrill Images – they’ll lead a small group of visual storytellers (with any camera, including a phone) to San Miguel de Allende and nearby Guanajuato in April 2025.
With at least one daily excursion and many opportunities to explore on your own, this twelve-day adventure has been carefully curated with fascinating places, people and events in San Miguel and Guanajuato. Highlights include street life surrounded by Spanish colonial architecture, crafts and food markets, a cooking class, artists’ workshops, an indigenous village visit, and the pre-Easter Señor de la Columna procession. You will have the opportunity to learn from Lisa and John while nurturing your creativity and experiencing San Miguel’s vibrant culture with a small group of kindred spirits.
To view a detailed day-by-day description of this tour, please click on the “Itinerary” suitcase button at the top of the page.
Tucked high in Mexico’s central highlands, San Miguel de Allende is a picturesque small city with charming cobblestone streets, pleasant climate and spectacular sunsets. Rich in history, it has a sophisticated culinary scene and a vibrant arts community. Here’s an article about its many charms, and a blog post by Lisa. Guanajuato dates back to the 16th century, and has magnificent Spanish Colonial architecture and fascinating historical and cultural museums. Houses painted in vibrant colors line alleys which wind uphill from the city center. With 34,000 university students, it pulses with youthful energy.
Photography instruction is optional and personalized. John and Lisa will help you nurture your creativity and strengthen your ability to tell compelling visual stories of the places you explore and the people you meet. On-location coaching can be transformative, as you gain a deeper understanding of how to harness the transformative power of light and compose for impact – and intentionally make, versus take, photos.
As you explore together, John and Lisa will offer encouragement and share tips to expand your visual toolbox so you can create intriguing images with a strong sense of place. As needed, they’ll help demystify your camera’s features and settings. You’ll get practical advice for building rapport, capturing fast-moving subjects, and photographing at night.
Through experimentation you’ll discover new ways of seeing, and grow as an artist. Sharing and discussing images in group photo reviews will provide additional inspiration.
Non-photographers are very welcome, as long as you bring abundant curiosity, a preference for slow travel, and a desire to immerse yourself in San Miguel and Guanajuato’s vibrant culture.
This adventure has been designed to include curated group experiences, along with ample time to explore San Miguel on your own or in small groups to pursue individual interests, and also relax!
Here are a few of the experiences you might choose to have during “on your own” time. You’ll receive a longer list with recommended restaurants a few weeks before our photo adventure.
Casa de la Cuesta (in San Miguel de Allende)
Stellar reviews on TripAdvisor include: “An inspiring, art-filled oasis in the perfect location! If you want an experience rooted in tranquility, Mexican art, and no superficial flare, this is where you stay in San Miguel. Beauty surrounds you in every moment at this place. The property itself is an absolute gem with stunning views that make sipping coffee in the morning feel cinematic. Each room is a work of art. An added plus is the Mask Museum and Art Gallery which are part of this magnificent place.”
Alma del Sol (in Guanajuato)
Superlative reviews on TripAdvisor include: “My room was gorgeous and extremely comfortable. The breakfasts were delicious and very nutritious. Evening happy hours on the roof were fun in this beautiful old home located in the Centro Historico of Guanajuato. What made the experience truly memorable? It was the kindness and generosity of the owner, Hugo Anaya. He is uniquely welcoming and hospitable and he and his staff are truly exceptional.”
These hotels listed might be substituted with similar accommodations, and if necessary to accommodate a group of 12 (plus leaders), we might stay at two adjacent B&Bs in each city.
John and Lisa create images to evoke wonder, inspire action and strengthen communities. Their work is used by destinations, outdoor adventure companies, and non-profits, and featured in books and magazines around the world. They believe travel photography can be a force for good which fosters connection and impact.
The Merrills nurture photographic creativity through online workshops and coaching, Pacific Northwest PhotoWalks and international photo adventures. Merrill Images is a member of the North American Nature Photographer’s Association and a Transformative Travel Council Ally.
This will be Lisa’s 4th and John’s 2nd time in San Miguel. They’re thrilled to return and share favorite places and experiences while helping you create images you’ll treasure forever.
If you have questions about any aspect of this photo adventure, please email [email protected]
Rebecca Eichler is a former human rights lawyer and a lifelong traveler who has lived, studied, and worked in nine countries on four continents. In 2018 Rebecca and her family moved to San Miguel de Allende, where she founded Language Adventure Pros, providing curated linguistic and cultural experiences for professionals, families, and adventurers of all ages. Rebecca is the subject of the feature-length documentary, “Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis”.
Merrill Images, Global Family Travels, and Language Pro Adventures share a passion for using travel as a force for good. We believe how you travel matters, and strive to positively impact the people we meet and the places we visit. Toward that end, we support hotels and restaurants owned by locals who share our commitment to environmental sustainability, and have been vetted for ambience and cuisine. A morning with non-profits doing vital work in the San Miguel community offers the option learn about challenges and solutions, and volunteer your visual storytelling skills. Throughout the trip you’ll get a variety of perspectives on life in San Miguel and the impacts of tourism. Our bilingual host Rebecca Eichler will provide historical and cultural highlights and help us get the most out of every experience.
Carbon Removal: According to the State of Global Carbon Dioxide Removal Report by University of Oxford, natural methods of removing carbon from the atmosphere are not enough by themselves due to the amount of pollution currently in the atmosphere. Innovations in removing and permanently storing carbon emissions are needed to conserve nature and reverse the course toward further climate change.
Tomorrow’s Air: Global Family Travels is passionate about encouraging tourism that is not only sustainable but regenerative. To help with our mission, we seek to partner with like-minded brands such as Tomorrow’s Air, which operates within the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).
Tomorrow’s Air is a collective of carbon removal innovators that work to permanently remove and store carbon from the atmosphere. Travel is a large contributor to global emissions, and we feel it is important to educate and empower travelers to support efforts that combat climate change! Please read our blog should you be interested in learning more : Climate Change and Travel to Support Tomorrow’s Air
We recommend making a $25 donation to Tomorrow’s Air, which you can do when you make your final payment.
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Global Family Travels’ mission is to Learn, Serve and Immerse through community-based travel experiences to mindfully connect our clients with the local people, cultures and natural beauty of the destinations we visit.
Using tourism to help solve community challenges through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Global Family Travels organizes regenerative travel opportunities in partnership with local and global non-profit organizations and supports many communities.
Whether it is a one-day community adventure in the Seattle area, a customized journey, or a small group global adventure, each expand-your-family-circle experience features a unique mix of cultural and educational activities, as well as community engagement to help make a positive impact on the lives of people and/or natural habitats visited.
This tour requires good mobility and stamina, as navigating the streets of San Miguel and Guanajuato can be difficult. There are steep hills, including the street where our San Miguel B&B is located. All streets in Centro are cobblestoned, and sidewalks are narrow, uneven and can be slick. Centuries-old buildings might have high thresholds to step over, steep and/or narrow stairways to climb with no elevator access, and lack customary US safety controls such as hand railings. Excursions outside of San Miguel are in rural areas with dirt roads and require the ability to walk on uneven surfaces.
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