Bari Seafood
Capasone and wine press
Lecce
Matera Old Town
Trulli Houses Puglia
Alberobello
Monopoli
Trulli
Trullo
Alberobello
Ostuni Skyline
Ostuni
Bread, cheese, salami
Monopoli Boats
Amphitheatre Lecce
Burrata
Bari Alley
Lecce
Puglia Vines
Kitchen Matera
Church of Santa Maria di Idris Matera
Stay in an authentic, charming trullo in the heart of UNESCO World Heritage site, Alberobello
Guided tour of beautiful Baroque Lecce
Exploring the exquisite food of Puglia through tastings and food tours
Visits to Matera, Ostuni, Polignano and Monopoli
Cooking class of some Puglian classics
Puglia has an abundance of everything: ancient towns, extravagant churches, endless seas of olives, crystal clear coastal waters and food, oh the food!
Throughout this tour you will explore one of Italy’s most beautiful regions. There will be wine and local food tastings - Puglia is responsible for a large portion of Italy’s wine and olive oil - a cooking class where you can try your hand at some Puglian favourites, exploration of towns full of history and character and of course getting to stay in the famous Trulli.
Trulli are truly iconic with Puglia. They have been around for hundreds of years, with the oldest surviving back to the 16th Century. The Trulli of Alberobello, due to their unique characteristics and historical significance are one Puglia’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Your base for this tour will be in Alberobello, where you will stay in these charming and historic Trulli while you immerse yourself in the culture and food of Puglia.
Available Departures |
From |
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| 09 - October - 2024 | Limited Availability | Travel Info On Request |
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Provisional Timings London Gatwick Departing: 09th October 2024 at 12:20 Returning: 16th October 2024 at 17:00 |
Day 1: Fly from London Gatwick to Bari.
Fly from London Gatwick to Bari and transfer by coach to Alberobello. Check into your Trullo. This evening there will be a welcome dinner with wine at the Terra Madre Trattoria.
Day 2: Alberobello and wine tasting.
This morning enjoy a guided walking tour of Alberobello, home of the iconic Puglian Trulli. Explore this picturesque town with your guide ending at the Wine Museum which is housed inside one of the oldest wineries in Puglia. Here you will get to taste three different wines along with a local lunch of cheese and salami, fisella and focaccia. The afternoon will be at leisure to continue exploring Alberobello.
Day 3: Lecce.
Today travel to beautiful Lecce. With a history going back at least 2500 years, Lecce has a great deal to offer. During a guided walking tour explore this architectural gem of a town. It is full of soft creamy limestone baroque buildings oozing 17th century charm. The architecture is so distinct, its even called Lecce Baroque. Along the way, while taking in the picturesque surroundings you will enjoy various street food tastings. Return to Alberobello late afternoon.
Day 4: Alberobello and Cooking Class.
Today is the day to try your hand at cooking some Puglian classics. At the Terra Madre Trattoria you will be taken through how to prepare and make the dishes with you getting to enjoy them for lunch afterwards. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure in Alberobello for further independent exploration.
Day 5: Matera.
This morning set off for the historic town of Matera. It is believed to be the world’s third longest continuously inhabited human settlement. Natural caves in the limestone attracted inhabitants as far back as the 10th century BC. The Roman’s established a settlement here in the 3rd century BC and then in the 7th and 8th centuries monks-built chapels into the stone. Eventually the canyon became full of caves connected by steps and streets. Matera’s more modern history became the ‘Shame of Italy’ with people living in poverty. With investment by the government and businesses Matera is having a renaissance with people returning to live and set up businesses. It is a truly fascinating place to explore, to see how people lived through the ages and the stunning rock churches that were built. During your time in Matera there will be a visit to the Casa Grotta which has been furnished with original furniture to show what life in the 1950’s was life.
Day 6: Castel del Monte, Cheese Tasting and Trani.
This morning visit the medieval Castle del Monte with a guided tour. This hilltop castle overlooks the town of Andria. Built in an octagonal shape it is quite the site to see. From here head to the famous cheese and mozzarella laboratory in Andria, the birthplace of burrata. There will be a delicious tasting of six cheeses with bruschetta, sun dried tomatoes and wine. In the afternoon visit the coastal town of Trani with its iconic seafront cathedral. The old town of Trani is a charming medieval network of streets and fine architecture.
Day 7: Ostuni, Polignano and Monopoli.
Our day starts in Ostuni, the stunning hillside town, with its defensive walls and clusters of whitewashed houses. Explore the labyrinth of medieval streets with your guide and enjoy the views of the stunning countryside and Adriatic Sea. In the afternoon visit Polignano and Monopoli two beautiful seaside towns. Polignano is perched atop the high cliffs with the crystal-clear waters below. Monopoli has a picturesque fishing harbour and sea front promenade. There will be a delicious sea food dinner this evening before heading back to Alberobello.
Day 8: Bari and return flight to London.
The day will start with a visit to Bari, capital city of the Puglia region, with time to explore its grand boulevards, bustling traditional harbour and pretty buildings. Bari is a popular city for its traditional Puglian cuisine too – perhaps try some Orecchiette pasta, Riso patate e cozze (layers of rice, potatoes and mussels baked in terracotta pots in wood fired ovens) or Panzerotti (deep fried pastries stuffed with cheese and tomato). Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London Gatwick.
NB: Exact order of itinerary may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 25 passengers.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Charming “trulli”, Alberobello
Several of the distinctive trulli in Alberobello (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) have been converted into ‘hotel’ rooms with all modern facilities with a central reception area and restaurant, with its own organic garden, where breakfast is served each morning. Each trulli has a private bathroom with bath or shower, TV, fridge and tea/coffee making facilities.
Charming trulli Website
OUR VIEW
A unique chance to stay in a “trullo” – oozing character, each trullo is self-contained and dotted around Alberobello a short walk (no more than 200m) from the central reception area/restaurant. Fully modernised and very comfortable with modern facilities (only some have wifi, though the restaurant does), this tour represents the chance to occupy a little piece of history. Each individual trullo is unique so therefore the size and layout of each trullo will be different. Please note that as this is not a hotel, the bed linen will not be changed during your stay and the towels will be changed after the third day of your stay.
Our sightseeing tour of Lecce was not satisfactory. The local guide was rushed and had not organised anywhere for the group to sit throughout the day.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-October-2023
Really excellent Tour manager Tessa. She was extremely well informed with excellent Italian. She was both well organised and well prepared.. She has a very calm and engaging manner. The cookery session was great fun and the visit to an olive Grove really super. The trop was well paced and really interesting. The accommodation was delightful and the local restaurant where we breakfasted was super with delightful staff. They made every attempt to give a gf option.. The various guides were very good with the exception of the guide in Lecce who was rather egocentric and difficult to understand. All in all a super trip. ..
Review by Henderson who travelled 18-October-2023
Enjoyable tour with an excellent tour manager. My slight criticism of the tour was that I think it would have benefitted for being based in 2 separate centres. I also think more needs to be made of the fact that visits to some cEntres on this tour will mean walking and standing without respite for quite a while. The lack of street furniture and public toilets with tours where many of the participants are at least 60 +.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-October-2023
This was a really enjoyable tour. Temperature comfortable, accommodation different but excellent, the leader was excellent and in control without being overwhelming. The culinary experiences added to it all, particularly the unscheduled visit to the coach driver's olive grove with all his information and tales of the traditions of olive growing.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-October-2023
Enjoyed living in a trullo in the heart of the community. Terra Madre staff were excellent and welcoming and provided good quality local food. Tessa Say was insightful, enthusiastic, adaptable, knowledgeable and dealt calmly with any issues that arose. She made an effort to find us at departures at Gatwick but some form of personal identification for her would have made her job easier. Local guide in Lecce did not read the group well interms of pace, knowledge and experience. Food samplings were rushed and a bit chaotic and maybe just two would be more manageable in the time available. Pasta making experience was wonderful and a huge hit along with the accompanying lunch. Matera was fascinating although a bit strenuous for some of the group. Guide was superb, pacing the tour well in the high temperature. Castel del Monte - excellent guide, cheese tasting and museum were superb and a real surprise. Ostuni was good but Polognano failed to excite. Impromptu visit to the coach drivers family olive grove was an unexpected highlight and very interesting. This should be made a permanent feature. Meal in Monopoli was good and in an excellent location. The opportunity to see the Old Quarter in Bari was excellent.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-October-2023
The holiday was a very enjoyable experience for both of us. Tessa our Tour Manager’s role and personality were a positive aspect of this. During each journey she briefed us in a knowledgeable yet light-hearted style about the history, architecture and culinary aspects of the towns we were going to visit. She informed us clearly about arrangements for each location and was an excellent guide who always wore a smile. We were fortunate that the group was on the small side (16 with Tessa) which created a degree of informality and conviviality between us all. We very much enjoyed the culinary aspect of the tour - in particular the local dishes and wine offered by the Trattoria in Alberobello. The friendly hospitality we received every morning and on several other occasions were an important element of our stay. We much enjoyed the wine tasting and and learning about cheese making including the meal sampling different cheeses. The morning spent making pasta at the Trattoria followed by an aperitif outside in the “orto” and a meal was good fun and a brilliant idea. The 3-course meal of “street food” including caffe Leccese in Lecce was interesting too (although we didn’t appreciate not being able to sit down for most courses). The “seafood meal” in Monopoli was a little disappointing as we were merely presented with a dish of all too familiar Sea Bass. Most of the local guides were excellent. They provided a lot of information and responded well to our interests and questions. However the guide at Lecce was less than satisfactory. Unfortunately we found it difficult to understand him as he spoke very fast with a combination of an Italian and New York accent. We felt that we were being rushed from one historic building to another and were given too much detailed information to absorb. However we enjoyed learning about and eating the street food at places he had used his knowledge to select although it would have preferable to eat food from just a couple of shops and cafés rather than rush between four. Our minibus driver Cosimo should be praised for his kindness and generosity. On the return journey from one location he stopped at his home village to give us short tour of his family’s olive grove and answered all our many questions about growing olives trees and producing olive oil. Each of us was given a sample of the olive oil and later we were all presented with little almond cakes made by his wife! Altogether a welcome impromptu gesture and a memorable episode during this superb holiday.
Review by Dick who travelled 18-October-2023
A thoroughly enjoyable trip
Review by Anonymous who travelled 18-October-2023
