Our bike tours in Italy feature gourmet cuisine & outstanding wines and, here in Puglia, you will ride through olive groves and villages steeped in history and a fine mix of unspoilt routes and exquisite accommodations. Our Italy cycling vacations in Puglia, Lombardy & Lake Como bring you up close and personal with local characters and authentic experiences. Visit Puglia with Fresh Eire Adventures: Wine, Gourmet Restaurants, Markets, Olive Groves and...You! #pedalon
The best local airports to use is Bari.
Itinerary
Day 1
Your guides, one of whom is bi-lingual, will meet you at your city centre hotel in Bari (10.30am) or at Bari airport (9.30am) and transfer you to the beautiful town of Mesagne. Here you’ll be fitted to your bikes and enjoy a light lunch in the city centre, in view of the 11th century castle. We shall take off on our first ride of the week, a glorious spin of some 35 miles through the olive groves where you’ll see centuries old trees with impressive knotted trunks and dry stone walls.
We’ll enjoy a wine tasting before checking into your hotel, the Deluxe Borgo Canonica, a restored village of authentic 18th century trulli homes. We stay here for two nights. Once checked in, you’ll have time to freshen up and explore the grounds and be amazed at these wondrous conical-roofed homes. Borgo Canonica is an invitation to go back to the past to live an authentic experience. Surrounded by the scents of the Mediterranean maquis and by the secular olive trees with their natural shapes, 42 trulli inherited from an ancient rural borgo from the 1800s will entice you to discover the slow rhythm of rural life and the wonders of an archaic landscape characterized by the pinnacoli and the stone cones.
We’ll meet up for a pre-dinner drink on the terrace before our first Puglian dining experience at the hotel’s traditional, simple restaurant. The dishes are fresh and simple; antipasti followed by primi, secondi and dessert. In the territory of Valle d’Itria and especially in Martina Franca, Cisternino, Llocorotondo and Alberobello, it's possible to taste the typical bombette, meat rolls stuffed with cheese, salt, pepper.
Sample seafood dishes like octopus, squid; fish such as bass, mullet. Expect some wonderful local wine pairings and of course lots of local olive oil.
The night time setting here is magical; you may elect to take a stroll in the gardens before turning in for the night.
Included meals: lunch, dinner
Deluxe hotel: Borgo Canonica
Classic Hotel: Villa Cenci
Day 2
This morning, after breakfast on the terrace, we’ll ride from our hotel in a south westerly direction through the olive groves until we reach the hilltop village of Ostuni. Here we shall explore this stunning ‘white town’ with its fortified walls and cathedral.
Today, you’re free for lunch and we’re happy to make suggestions. After enjoying lunch in the village we’ll contine our ride through the Istria Valley before stopping for an olive oil tasting en route back to our trulli hotel. We’ll ride approximately 30 miles today.
Tonight we’ll have dinner at a local authentic restaurant in Cisternino, a nearby village which we will ride through tomorrow.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Deluxe hotel: Borgo Canonica
Classic hotel: Villa Cenci
Day 3
After breakfast we’ll check out of our hotel before heading in a north westerly direction on our point to point ride of approximately 35 miles.
This morning we’ll ride through Cisternino where we’ll make a brief visit of the hill-top village, stopping for a coffee or gelato before continuing to Locorotondo and then to the famous trulli mecca of Alberobello. It's divided into two districts: Monti and Aia Piccola, both national monuments and UNESCO world heritage sites.
The history of this unusual little town dates back to the second half of the 16th century, when the Counts ordered the farmers to build the limestone houses in dry layers, so that they could be destroyed if there was a royal inspection, since the creation of an urban settlement meant that taxes had to be paid.
In the Monti district, attractions to visit are the church of Sant’Antonio, the Trullo Siamese and the two-storey Trullo Sovrano, while Aia Piccola is the zone which best represents the idea of the old medieval village. Visitors can admire remarkable handicrafts, such as the art of embroidery, or buy many local souvenirs.
An unforgettable attraction is the Casa D’Amore, with an inscription on the facade as a record of the townspeople’s victory over the ban on making alterations to the trulli, imposed by the Counts of Conversano.
You’ll be on your own for lunch today and you have a wide selection of restaurants at your disposal.
We’ll enjoy a gelato before hopping back on our bikes and heading west, towards the coast and the small village of Fassano before arriving at our charming second hotel, the Masseria Torre Coccaro, a luxurious property with agrarian roots which is now in Conde Nast Traveller’s Top 20 Hotels in the World Gold List. Settle in – we're here for a three night stay.
Torre Coccaro is a Masseria set in a vast estate overlooking the sea dating back to the XVI century. Surrounded by olive groves more than 800 years old, almond trees, carob trees, this tower house used to be part of a line of defense of towers watching the invading Saracens.
In the main courtyard there is the original chapel from 1730, still holding mass and used as a point of pilgrimage for the fishermen living in the little coastal village of Savelletri. Next to the courtyard we find the ortus conclusus (a big vegetable garden) surrounded by fortified walls that used to be the place were they got the limestone to build the Masseria. You can walk under the columnade full of local grapes and see the ingenious methods of irrigation made from old wells and channels using gravity.
On the terrace you'll find the old pigeon tower used for sending messages during the wars, while in the huge caves on the property there is an old olive mill and the sheep quarters dating back to the year 1000.
While we’ll arrive in the late afternoon, there will be plenty of time to take a dip in the inviting outdoor pool.
Tonight we’ll have dinner at the hotel; a very casual yet effortless fine-dining experience. Frequently, during summer months, the kitchen is set up outdoors on the terrace which creates a sort of magical festival ambiance.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Deluxe hotel: Masseria Torre Coccaro
Classic hotel: Casale del Murgese
Day 4
This morning we’ll have a slightly later start; after breakfast we’ll enjoy an authentic Puglian cooking lesson at our Masseria. Here you’ll be literally singing for your supper, or lunch rather! What you learn in the lesson we shall enjoy for lunch.
In the afternoon we’ll ride to the town of Monopoli and visit the old town. Extremely important from a historical and artistic point of view:
- The Castello Carlo V has a pentagonal plan with towers at each corner and is home to various treasures
- The rock church of San Nicola de Pinna, founded at the end of the tenth century by Sassone, a citizen of the town
- The 18th-century Palazzo Palmieri
- Finally, next to a small Apulian-Greek rock church, the Abbey of San Stefano stands on a cliff, embraced by two small inlets
You'll find excellent ice-cream at the Iridium bar near the village or Caffè Roma in Piazza del Pesce.
We’ll return to our hotel by bike before looping back along the coast.
Tonight you’re free to elect where you’d like to have dinner. While there is a fine selection of restaurants to chose from nearby, we recommend walking over to the sister property of our hotel half a mile away and enjoying a leisurely dinner there. Walking home through the olive groves will be a treat.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch
Deluxe hotel: Masseria Torre Coccaro
Classic hotel: Casale del Murgese
Day 5
Today is our final full day together, and after breakfast, we’ll transfer to the ancient town of Matera, approximately 90 minutes away in the Basilicata region. Known as la Città Sotterranea (the Subterranean City), Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, having been inhabited since the 10th millennium BC. Its historical center Sassi, along with the Park of the Rupestrian Churches, is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1993. The medieval hilltop town was built into trogolodyte limestone caves. Seen as a national disgrace in 1950s, the town was abandoned and the city remained uninhabited until, in the 1980s people returned and the restoration process began. Over the centuries, the houses to the extreme south of the town have been increasingly used as cellars for the production and storage of wine.
In Civita, the oldest part of the town, the attractions include Piazza Duomo and the buildings overlooking this square, including Palazzo Gattini and Palazzo della Curia.
Such is its unspoilt nature, it has been frequently used as film set for Jerusalem. It is a pedestrian town, with many steps, and thus it is not suitable for biking through.
After lunch you’ll have the opportunity to change into your biking clothes and we’ll commence our ride. While we don’t expect you to ride all the way back to the hotel (some 48 miles away!) in the afternoon we’ll encourage at least 30 miles and then offer a transfer from there.
Tonight we’ll enjoy our final dinner together in the splendid setting of the Masseria’s terrace beneath the rope lights and magic skies.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Deluxe hotel: Masseria Torre Coccaro
Classic hotel: Casale del Murgese
Day 6
On our final morning together, after breakfast we’ll check out of our hotel and undertake our final ride of the week, some 30 miles. This morning we’ll skirt past Monopoli, and onto Polignano a Mare, which stands on the summit of a sheer rocky cliff overlooking the sea, full of natural grottos and marine caves.
Once inside the historic centre, visitors can admire the many terraces overlooking the sea. The Palazzo del Feudatario, the residence of the lords who governed Polignano for years, is an imposing sight and visitors will be struck by its powerful profile.
In the square named after Vittorio Emanuele II, formerly Piazza dell'Orologio, named because of the large clock that stands there, is the Chiesa Matrice, one of the oldest and most important buildings in the town. It catches the eye because of its large quadrangular bell tower. Outside of the historic centre is an old port which stands on the large inlet named Cala Paura, a natural phenomenon of unparalleled beauty.
We’ll continue our ride to Bari and once we arrive, from the city centre we’ll either transfer you to the airport or rail station, or to your hotel, where you can either extend your stay in the region or take a train/plane to another part of Italy. Your tour will end around midday. We advise not to make any transport reservations which depart before 2.30pm. Arrivederci & Pedal on!
Included meals: breakfast
Dates
- Any start dates available upon request (subject to availability)
Prices
- High season (June-Aug) supplements apply
- Classic: From: US $4,895 pps. Single supplement US$500
- Deluxe: From: US $5,995 pps. Single supplement US$1000
Included
- Use of hybrid bike and helmet. More about our bikes
- Transfers on start/end day
- Admissions to all included attractions & tastings
- Baggage transfers
- Tips for hotels/restaurants
- Healthy snacks, water, full guiding services, support vehicle
Extras
- Upgrade to a carbon road bike or e-bike at extra cost. More about our bikes
- Gratuities for guides