The included breakfasts usually consist of a continental-style buffet. A typical hotel breakfast consists of toast/bread with jam, cereal, cheese and ham (occasionally), served with coffee, tea, milk, orange juice, fruit, cake and yoghurt.

Lunches are normally arranged as picnics or taken in small cafes along the route. You may opt in to a lunch kitty (€50-€80, depending on the weather/season) to cover the cost of these lunches. The tour leader will collect cash at the welcome meeting and the kitty also covers local city taxes. If you choose not to opt in, the local city taxes should be paid directly to each hotel on check-in.

Vegetarians and people with special dietary requirements can be catered for but please inform us of your requests prior to travel.

In Puglia, you will find authentic regional cooking with strong links to the land and sea – think orecchiette pasta served with a turnip-tops sauce or fresh tomato and sheep’s ricotta cheese, cavatelli with pulses, grilled fish and seafood, burrata, and excellent wines. This region is a paradise for food lovers.

Follow sunlit lanes toward the Ionian, where dunes and pine scent the breeze. Weather permitting, swim in the crystal-clear waters near Porto Cesareo, a cherished stretch known for gin-clear shallows and soft sand shoals.

Roll into Gallipoli’s old town, perched on a rocky island linked by bridge. Explore fishermen’s lanes, the sea-battered castle, and churches that recall the port’s olive-oil trade—once lighting Europe—before you pause for photos and reflection along the ramparts.

Celebrate the journey’s finale with a convivial meal in Lecce, choosing trattoria specialties such as orecchiette alle cime di rapa, silky burrata, and Adriatic seafood, paired with Primitivo or Negroamaro wines. This experience is available at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Between bites, admire baroque facades glowing in evening light and toast to miles ridden and friendships forged—a fitting close in the “Florence of the South.”

Pedal through the Valle d’Itria’s vineyards and olive groves, rolling between hill towns famed for their gleaming stone. Locorotondo’s circular lanes and Cisternino’s butchers’ grills scent the air, while trulli punctuate the countryside like giant chalk pebbles.

Climb to Ostuni, the ‘White City’, where sunlit alleys and limestone ramparts spill toward the Adriatic. Admire facades carved from pale local stone and a cathedral skyline etched against cobalt skies, capturing the essence of Puglia’s high-ridge settlements in one evocative panorama.

Cycle tranquil backroads to Francavilla Fontana and Oria, where lanes of whitewashed houses wind beneath the silhouette of Frederick II’s 13th-century castle. The route blends pastoral calm with glimpses of Apulian baroque and medieval ramparts.

Settle into a working masseria, then taste organic extra-virgin olive oils pressed from centuries-old trees. Expect grassy, almond-tinged notes and a primer on olive varieties and harvest traditions—an intimate window into Salento’s agricultural heartbeat.

Cross the Salento peninsula by bike to Italy’s easternmost shore, feeling the landscape shift as olive groves meet wave-cut limestone. The Adriatic breeze guides the final approach to Otranto’s harbor and crenellated walls.

Stroll the lanes to the cathedral to view the famed 12th-century mosaic ‘Tree of Life’ and recall the city’s turbulent past within the Aragonese Castle. The blend of sea air, Byzantine echoes, and Latin stonework gives Otranto a quietly magnetic character.

Trace the shoreline past innumerable olive groves, with chances for a seasonal dip at Torre dell’Orso’s limestone bay. Gentle gradients and sea views create an easy, photogenic finale as the Salento sun warms pale cliffs.

Arrive in Lecce and explore its baroque heart: the lacy facade of Basilica di Santa Croce, Piazza del Duomo’s theatrical skyline, and a Roman amphitheatre in golden Lecce stone. Artisans of cartapesta (papier-mâché) keep traditions alive in vaulted workshops.

Meet your tour leader and travelling companions for a convivial introduction to the journey, then share a hosted welcome dinner that spotlights Basilicata’s flavors—think Pane di Matera IGP, local cheeses, and dishes enlivened by peperoni cruschi, paired with Aglianico del Vulture.

Conversations flow as the cave-city’s evening glow settles over stone lanes. This warm, guided start fosters camaraderie and offers practical insights for the days of riding ahead.

Ride quiet rural roads across rolling farmland toward the limestone plateau of central Puglia, passing stone-walled fields and olive groves en route to Alberobello. Arriving by bike lends a frontier-town feel as fairytale trulli houses begin to pepper the horizon.

Wander amid the Unesco World Heritage site of Alberobello, where whitewashed cones rise in tidy rows. Learn how these dry-stone dwellings evolved, spot mystical roof symbols, and enjoy the tactile charm of hand-hewn limestone before you pause for photos and reflection on a sunlit lane.

Explore the Unesco-listed Sassi of Matera, a honey-colored labyrinth of cave dwellings carved into tufa. Thread through the rock-hewn lanes of Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso, pausing on terraces that open to ravine views and sun-warmed stone.

Encounter echoes of monastic life in rock-cut churches adorned with medieval frescoes and note the ingenious cisterns and courtyards that sustained this community for millennia. Expect a contemplative mood as you pause for photos and reflection amid one of Italy’s most cinematic urban landscapes.