Price on request
Grand Tour of Puglia and Matera
Cultural · Nature / Cities / Art tour in Puglia, organised by our local team. Dates and prices on request.
Destination
Puglia Tours: Trulli, Baroque Towns and the Coast
Whitewashed towns, trulli, masserie and a long tradition of southern cooking.
Why travel to Puglia
Puglia, or Apulia in its Latin form, runs along the heel of Italy between two seas, with olive groves that are centuries old, whitewashed towns and a coastline that changes character every few kilometres.
The things to do in Puglia sit close enough to be travelled on short daily drives: Alberobello's trulli, baroque Lecce, the white hill town of Ostuni, Castel del Monte and the stone city of Matera in neighbouring Basilicata. A six-day Puglia itinerary covers all of them without changing hotel more than twice.
Accommodation here is part of the journey: many masserie, the fortified farms of the countryside, are now small hotels producing their own oil, cheese and vegetables, which is also the backbone of the region's cooking. Bari and Brindisi are the airports to fly to for Puglia, and our tours collect groups from both.
- Where
- Apulia and Basilicata, southern Italy
- Best for
- Food and wine, historic towns, masseria stays, coastline
- When to go
- May, June, September and October
- Gateways
- Bari and Brindisi airports
What to see in Puglia
Alberobello
A UNESCO town of more than a thousand trulli, the dry stone houses with conical roofs built without mortar. The Rione Monti and Aia Piccola districts show them still lived in rather than staged.
Ostuni
The città bianca, a maze of lime-washed lanes on a hill above olive groves that run down to the Adriatic. Ten minutes away the coast opens into long sandy beaches.
Lecce
Baroque carved into soft golden limestone: Santa Croce, the Duomo square and a Roman amphitheatre in the middle of the old town, with a lively evening scene around it.
Matera
Across the regional border, a city of cave dwellings carved into a ravine and inhabited for millennia. The Sassi districts and rock churches are best walked at the end of the day.
Tours in Puglia
Puglia: frequently asked questions
What is the best way to get around Puglia?
By road. The towns are spread out and rail links between them are slow, so our tours use our own coach with a tour manager for the whole itinerary.
Is Matera in Puglia?
No, Matera is in neighbouring Basilicata, but it sits about an hour from the Itria valley and is included on our Puglia itineraries.
How many days do I need in Puglia?
Six days covers Alberobello, Ostuni, Lecce, Matera and the coast. Less than that means long driving days between the highlights.
When is the best time to visit Puglia?
April to June and September to October. July and August are very hot inland, though the coast stays pleasant in the evening.
Planning a trip to Puglia?
Our team in Italy builds each itinerary from scratch, for private travellers and for travel agencies.