Tour Puglia Tour - The Perfect Combination Of Lifestyle, Culture,

Transport

Our professional drivers get you to wherever you need to be in air conditioned comfort – no need to negotiate the notoriously unruly Italian traffic, or spend time finding a carpark when you arrive. We look after this for you, meaning you can focus on why you are really here – to experience what makes your destination unique and interesting.

Optional

Our tours are a balance between being informative (historical details, examples of the culture and lifestyle) as well as having everything that makes for an enjoyable trip (long lunches in good restaurants, a relaxed pace). As well as the organised excursions and visits, we leave some free time each day for you to explore at your own pace. Our tours are designed in the way that you would plan travel yourself, or with a group of friends. This is a very different experience to a coach tour – for example, we take you to small restaurants that larger groups can’t access, we stop and show you features that aren’t on the ‘highlights circuit’ that large buses focus on. And finally, we are a hands-on company. Family run. A small team. This means that we are genuinely interested in the success and enjoyment of your tour, and your time here in Italy. When you are in a country or region only for a week or two you want to maximise your time. On our tours we give you the local insights, the understanding of what you are seeing. Without this you might recognise that a particular feature or building seems interesting, but not ever know the full story behind it. Guidebooks will detail the main monuments or museums but tend to be quite limited when you start to see the smaller (and often more interesting) sights. Our tours are not physically demanding, we’ve had many people travel with us who are not as spritely as they used to be! Generally when we’re doing a walking tour of a town we have a local guide as well as our tour leader, so with this dual lead approach one is able to drop back or find an alternative for people who do need a break. Although in reality our pace is relaxed enough that most people are fine. We have a maximum of 14 in our tour groups, and this is a very important feature. We’ve trialled a range of group sizes over the years, and even with a group of 16-18 people you start to lose that personal touch. We find anything up to 14 works well and gives you an excellent tour – we know that not exceeding that maximum number is key to this.

Accommodation

In Puglia we stay in the town of Polignano A Mare. In Polignano A Mare we base our tours at either of two hotels: Hotel Covo dei Saraceni, www.covodeisaraceni.com Giovi Relais, www.giovirelais.com. Both are 4 star hotels situated in the centre of Polignano A Mare. All of our accommodation options for this tour are located in the historic centre of town, where you can explore evocative lanes amongst the whitewashed buildings, and piazzas lined with elegant old buildings,with the traditional ‘passeggiata’ in full swing each evening. Polignano A Mare has a small swimming beaches located alongside the town center, and both offer many opportunities for eating out, wandering through the back streets and finding stunning sea views.

Meals

We have also planned tour meals in restaurants designed to showcase the region’s cuisine, with the specific venues all carefully selected by us, in order to provide a variety of food styles over the week. On each full day of the tour we include breakfast and a main meal (either lunch or dinner). Each main meal consists of multiple courses with wine included. These meals feature carefully selected menus that allow you to try all the best food specific to the region that we’re in. This is because we believe that the cuisine says so much about the place you’re in, as much as any town you can visit – history, culture, geography, it’s all wrapped up in the cuisine. On the topic of food, we often have people who have dietary requirements so we’re used to making sure this is all sorted out in advance. Our approach is that you never need to skip a course – for example if you’re vegetarian we’ll organise an alternative to a meat course.

Guide

Our tour leaders are Italian specialists. This is the country that we know best. For you, this means you won’t have a tour leader who works in multiple countries, as is often the case. We limit our tours to selected regions where we have the depth of knowledge to share with you. Throughout your time with us your tour leader is on call for anything that may come up – perhaps you need help getting something from a pharmacy/drug store, or even may need to visit a doctor. In this way we provide a safety net, we can help with any of these more difficult aspects that can happen at any time.

Not included:

Flights

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Day 1 Day 1: Buongiorno Puglia!
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Buongiorno Puglia!

We meet in Bari at 2 p.m. Bari is the main city of Puglia, and from here we start our discovery of the region.

Our first stop is Ostuni, known as “la città bianca” (the white town). Ostuni is a cluster of whitewashed buildings perched on a hilltop overlooking the coast. Walking through the narrow streets of Ostuni is like being in a forgotten time, evocative and ancient, looking out over an expanse of olive trees. We advise keeping your camera at the ready!

This part of Puglia is dotted with charming towns such as Locorotondo Monopoli and Alberobello. The historic centres of these towns are lined with elegant old buildings, evocative lanes amongst the whitewashed buildings, and piazzas with the traditional ‘passeggiata’ in full swing each evening. Over the next few days you’ll have plenty of time to explore the town at your own pace.

Tonight we dine together, having our first introduction to the cuisine of Puglia. Throughout the week meals are in restaurants designed to showcase the region’s cuisine, with the specific venues all carefully selected by us. This is in order to provide a variety of food styles over the duration of the tour.

Meals: Dinner (4 courses including wine)
Day 2 Day 2: Alberobello
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Alberobello

We depart for our first stop, Alberobello.

The picturesque Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a unique town with streets lined with ’trulli’. In fact it is known in Italy as the “Capital of trulli”. Trulli are small stone houses with a distinctive conical roof, built 300-400 years ago. By walking along its narrow streets, you will be fascinated by the magical and fairytale atmosphere of this place. We explore this town together, and learn about why and how these dwellings were built, and about the cryptic symbols painted on the roof-cones.

Before lunch you have some free time to browse the shops of Alberobello and to wander around.

We then move on to Polignano a Mare on the coast nearby, an impressive town clinging to a promontory suspended above the Adriatic’s turquoise waters.

With a history spanning back to the 4th century BC as a Greek settlement, Polignano a Mare is a charming town centred around the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. The town was on the ancient Roman Trajan’s Way, and you can still see the remains of this route. Polignano a Mare encircles a pebble beach, nestled in a cove between rocky cliffs. The beach is suitable for swimming.

Our lunch in Polignano a Mare is focussed on seafood, with the local produce from the Adriatic Sea being a key part of the cuisine here.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (3 courses including wine)
Day 3 Day 3: The Marvels Of Elegant Baroque
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: The Marvels Of Elegant Baroque

Today we travel to Lecce, a city that flourished in the 17th century when extravagant and elegant baroque buildings were built by the ruling classes. The baroque style features ornate decorations covering the facades of churches and palaces.

We take a private tour around Lecce with a local expert guide to have the key sights explained to us. The baroque style here is distinct from that in other parts of Italy, both stylistically and in the use of the beige coloured local stone.

As well as the architectural and historical features, Lecce is an elegant town in which to indulge in more modern pleasures. There are many interesting boutiques and cafes, and the piazzas are full of life in this important southern Italian centre.

After some free time in central Lecce we have lunch in a local restaurant, where we dine on the food specific to this part of Puglia, called ‘the Salento’.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (3 courses including wine)
Day 4 Day 4: A Step Back In Time
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: A Step Back In Time

This morning we travel to the town of Matera in the neighbouring Basilicata region. Visiting Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is like a step back in time. In fact this is one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in the world. The oldest cave dwellings go back to the Bronze Age.

The town consists of houses carved out of the rock face along the side of a steep ravine. We meet with a local guide here who gives us an interesting insight into life in Matera, both now and in the past. In fact his grandparents lived in these caves.

We visit the ’sassi’ cave area, and enter one of the typical houses built into the rock, showing the difficult existence in these conditions.

We also visit a cave church hewn out of the rock, featuring Byzantine frescoes and with interesting histories as their usage has evolved and adapted to the conditions over the years.

Matera was used for the filming of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” - you’ll see why it is so easy to imagine Matera as being completely removed from the modern age.

Since we are in the Basilicata region, our lunch here focuses on the specialties from this inland region.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (4 courses including wine)
Day 5 Day 5: La Dolce Vita
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: La Dolce Vita

Today we have a day of two parts - history in the morning, followed by relaxing in a lovely coastal town in the afternoon.

Our first visit is to the ancient Roman site of Egnazia. This was a key stop on the Roman road Trajan’s Way, well used in ancient times as a route to the Near East. Egnazia was a significant town, and today we can see many reminders of its past importance, such as frescoes and mosaics. Wandering through the town we see where bakeries, gymnasiums and temples were located. The Roman road runs through the town, the rut marks left by the carriage wheels provide a direct connection to the past. Looking out to the coast we see where the local boats docked, having loaded up with olive oil and grain.

We continue on to Trani, which has long been an important centre with its natural harbour, a coastal town with a fishing village feel. Many people visit Trani to see the stunning Romanesque cathedral perched right on the waterfront. We see where the Knights Templar would depart to the east from, originally the final point for missions to leave these shores. We look around the old Jewish quarter, as Trani has long been significant for the Jewish population.

Today the harbour in Trani is a fishing port ringed by waterfront restaurants. Each morning the fishermen sell their fresh fish from the pier where they dock. Lunch is a seafood meal, in a seaside restaurant making the most of this fresh catch.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (4 courses including wine)
Day 6 Day 6: Food Glorious Food
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Food Glorious Food

This morning we visit a family run winery, focussed on making quality wines from the traditional varieties that are grown in this area such as fiano minutolo and susumaniello. The winemaker takes us through the vineyard, and we taste a range of wines. Some of these wine varieties were so rare that they were not made commercially up until a few years ago.

Following the winery we continue on to the nearby town of Locorotondo, voted as one of the “Borghi più belli d’Italia” (one of the most beautiful villages of Italy). The town is perched on a hilltop overlooking the Valle d’Itria, a broad fertile valley. The historic part of town - the centro storico - is circular with little lanes lined with historic buildings, including some impressive baroque details

As today is the weekly market day in Locorotondo, we get to see how the locals do their shopping – rows and rows of stalls with cheese, seasonal fruit, vegetables, and other fresh produce.

In the afternoon we visit a ’masseria’. A masseria is a historic farm centre, originally with all the estate’s workers living in the fortified buildings. Nowadays some of these estates are still agricultural enterprises, while others have been converted into boutique lodges. The masseria that we visit still produces organic extra virgin olive oil from trees that are many centuries old.

This land has been worked for thousands of years - we are shown the remnants of the ancient Roman agricultural production here, along with items from habitation from the middle ages through until modern times.

In the evening we have a special experience, taking a cooking lesson from a local chef. Since you’ve been with us for a week, now you will all be Puglia food experts. The focus will be on cooking typical Puglia dishes, first taking you through the types of ingredients used and their provenance. The cuisine of Puglia is based on the produce at a very local level, so is different to the food from other Italian regions. Seasonal vegetables, as well as focaccia and other breads, dominate this cuisine. All these are based on the abundant fresh ingredients as well as the ever-present extra virgin olive oil - a simple and effective cuisine. Recipes have been handed down through the generations and are truly expressive of the Mediterranean diet. The purity of flavour expressed in this cuisine is gaining it a reputation internationally, such that you’ll now find Pugliese dishes in top international restaurants.

The session is hands on and we are all involved in making a series of dishes, and we finish off the session by dining on the meal we’ve prepared.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner (4 courses including wine)
Day 7 Day 7: Arrivederci Puglia
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Arrivederci Puglia

Today is our last day in Puglia, we organise transport for you to your departure point in Bari and bid you “buon viaggio”.

The tour finishes in Bari at 11 a.m.

Meals: Breakfast

7 days tour

Puglia Tour - The Perfect Combination Of Lifestyle, Culture,

This tour includes:

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Itinerary of your trip Puglia Tour - The Perfect Combination Of Lifestyle, Culture,

Day 1: Buongiorno Puglia!

Day 2: Alberobello

Day 3: The Marvels Of Elegant Baroque

Day 4: A Step Back In Time

Day 5: La Dolce Vita

Day 6: Food Glorious Food

Day 7: Arrivederci Puglia

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