Name: 8 Day Self-Guided Cycling Along the Heel of Italy
Brand: Slow Active Tours
Price: 1270 EUR
Availability: InStock

Puglia Cycling Tour in Italy

From Alberobello to Lecce: a week by bike in Puglia to appreciate the most beloved lands by local cyclists and to visit some of the musts of this region. A varied itinerary that puts together the most known places and highlights of Puglia. Cycling between land and sea, everyday discover history and legends, architecture and coastal landscapes of the heel of Italy.

Key information

Trip type: Self-guided
Lodging: Point to Point
Terrain: Mostly flat with wavy lines.
Starts in: Alberobello
Ends in: Lecce
Total Distance: 201 Miles / 325 Kilometers
Type of bike: Trek bike (110 EUR hire) or gravel bike (160 EUR hire)
E-bike: Available to rent / 240 EUR per week

Highlights

6 days on the bike
Luggage transportation hotel to hotel
Simple and intuitive travel app plus phone assistance 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
The Sea of Otranto, Leuca and Gallipoli
Visit the cities and countryside of Southern Italy
Listen to local stories and legends, visit castles, abbeys and old towers
7 nights accommodation
Daily breakfast

Skill level

Beginner
Intermediate

6 days with instruction

Airport transfer available:
Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport (US$ 81 per person)

Airport transfer available:
Brindisi – Salento Airport (US$ 81 per person)

Accommodation

You will be accommodated in various accommodations along the way as follows:

1 night in Alberobello
1 night in Ostuni
1 night in Manduria
1 night in Gallipoli
1 night in Leuca
1 night in Otranto
1 night in Lecce

All rooms are ensuite.

There are two options:

The Standard tour offers accommodation in simple B&B and selected 3* hotel.
The Superior tour offers accommodation in charming B&B and 4* hotel.

Program

Itinerary

Day 1: Alberobello

You are in Puglia, in the historic Land of Bari: your cycling week begins!

From the regional capital you will have easy access to Alberobello and its magical Trulli. The town is in an area called "Valley of Trulli" and has a historical centre declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Day 2: From Alberobello to Ostuni

Today you will cycle between gentle slopes, vineyards and fields from which the inverted cones of ancient Trulli rise into the blue sky.

You will cross the Itria Valley, arriving until the city on the border between the Southern Murge and the Salento Plain: Ostuni, which welcomes you from the top of his Cathedral. Some say its name comes from an ancient Arabic word for "olive." From Ostuni in fact you can well admire the olive trees going from the old city to the long beaches of the Adriatic Sea.

During this first day by bike you will have the opportunity to visit two of the "most beautiful villages in Italy": Locorotondo, famous for its fresh and flavourful white wines, and Cisternino, the Casbah of the Itria Valley.

Overnight in Ostuni.

Distance: 40 km / 25 mi
Terrain: Gentle slopes, vineyards and fields

Day 3: From Ostuni to Manduria

Leaving Ostuni behind, you will cycle south to continue discovering Puglia on your bike.

The Murgia hills will now be far away when you will be welcomed by the immense Salento plain, yellow and green like its fields and red like its soil, which extends until it gets lost in the transparent and clear sea.

Today you will get to Manduria, the capital of the Primitivo grapes. Here you can visit the Museum of Primitivo Wine, located within the popular Manduria Winery. The museum collects objects of daily life and working tools of the old peasants telling the social history of the economy of Salento.

Overnight in Manduria.

Distance: 60 km / 37 mi

Day 4: From Manduria to Gallipoli

This morning you will reach Torre Colimena and the Salt pan.

You will then follow the coast by bike in the next few days. Accompanied by the blue of the sea, between ancient coastal towers and fine sand, you will reach Porto Cesareo, where it is advisable to enjoy a good lunch fish-based: seafood, mussels, clams and the delicious sea urchins will delight your palate.

Rolling south, your present destination will be the Greek Kale Polis, today's Gallipoli, with one of the most beautiful historic centers of Salento and its streets full of shops, restaurants, churches and views of the sea that surrounds it.

Overnight in Gallipoli.

Distance: 70 km / 43 mi

Day 5: From Gallipoli to Leuca

Before continuing to explore Puglia by bike and leave the pretty Gallipoli, they recommend a morning dip in the small beach of Purità: in the background the island with the lighthouse of Sant'Andrea.

Today you will have kilometers of low and sandy coast washed by a sea that has nothing to envy to the Caribbean beaches: follow your instinct to choose your corner of paradise to enjoy the sun of the Ionian Sea.

At the end of the day you will reach the heel of Italy. From the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary, you can admire the stairs of the monumental fountain built to honour the end of the Apulian aqueduct, the longest and most complex in Europe.

Overnight in Santa Maria di Leuca.

Distance: 50 km / 31 mi

Day 6: From Leuca to Otranto

Cycling along the coast road, which rises and falls following the shape of the jagged coast, it will sometimes seem that you can see the Balkan mountains of Albania in the clouds. The event usually happens if in aid of your ride there will be the dry and fresh Tramontana wind; on the contrary, if the day will be ventilated by the Scirocco, you will have the wind perfectly in favor and also this day will be easy and pleasant.

Choose the descent that will take you to admire and rest in one of the many coves of the coasts. Discover for example the bay of Acquaviva, or if you like snorkeling, try to make you fascinate of the colors of the Grotta Azzurra; then again, a few kilometers from the arrival of Porto Badisco, where the "Grotta dei Cervi", archaeological wonder of Puglia, is located.

After crossing the Canale d’Otranto, you will arrive in the easternmost town of Italy, where you will stay overnight.

Distance: 50 km / 31 mi

Day 7: From Otranto to Lecce

It will be hard to leave the enchanting city of Otranto.

Through the narrow streets that lead to the Cathedral, you will discover the history linked to the 800 Martyrs beheaded by the troops of Gedik Ahmet Pascià after having besieged the city for two weeks. It was 1480 but the fact still echoes in the western world; later Charles V wanted to give the Salento district the name of Terra d’Otranto.

Here the low and jagged coast offers restorative baths in authentic natural pools, such as the wonderful Grotta della Poesia near Roca. Then the last stretch along the path in the WWF coastal reserve "Le Cesine" and then definitively abandon the coast and head towards Lecce. A few kilometers from the arrival you will meet the fortified citadel of Acaya, halfway between Lecce and the sea. The Castle is an example of the first experiments in 16th-century military architecture commissioned by Giangiacomo d’Acaya who also redesigned the entire village, to the point that the city changed its name in his honor, from Segine to Acaya.

Leaving Acaya you will travel the last narrow country roads before reaching your final destination.

Overnight in Lecce.

Distance: 55 km / 34 mi

Day 8: Lecce

After breakfast end of services.

Do not let your holiday end without spending a few hours in Lecce, the Florence of the South: get lost in its historical centre, which will surprise you with a harmonious Baroque style. The stone which decorates many of the old town churches is called "Lecce Stone": white, weather-resistant and easy to work. Many of the most famous stonecutter artisans between 1600 and 1700 came here to work it and to decore palaces and churches facades today still intact.

Tour programme variations

Due to organizational reasons, weather conditions or provisions issued by local authorities, the itinerary may be subject to some changes before and/or during the holiday.

Along the way you may find temporary deviations (for example road works) which cannot be foreseen; in this case each biker can decide autonomously how to deal with these stretches.

Technical data

This Puglia tour is suitable to anyone with a minimum of training to the bicycle. The daily mileage goes from 40 to 70 daily kilometers (25 to 43 miles), and you can stop at your leisure, or according to their advice, for visits and refreshments.

The bike will be a way to work off the good food and enjoy the many landscapes offered by this land. There will also be strictly cultural moments and the possibility of a refreshing swim in the clear sea of Puglia.

Support

The morning of the second day, after breakfast, you will have a welcome briefing. Slow Active Tours will take care of your luggage while you are cycling. In case of need you can call their emergency number on from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anytime, the staff will be available to make your holiday quiet and serene.

Travel documents

A few days before departure you will receive by email the service list with instructions for using the travel app.

During your welcome briefing you will receive:

Updated service list
Luggage labels
Requested rental bikes

Bike rental and equipment

6 days trek bike rental: 110 EUR
6 days gravel bike rental: 160 EUR
6 days E-bike rental: 240 EUR
6 days helmet rental: 15 EUR

Food

Daily breakfast is included in the price.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

How to get there

Recommended Airports

BRI

Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport

56 km

Transfer available for additional US$ 81 per person

BDS

Brindisi – Salento Airport

61 km

Transfer available for additional US$ 81 per person

Driving directions from A14 Bologna-Taranto and the A16 Napoli-Canosa

Exit the motorway in Bari Nord and continue along the SS16 to Monopoli and continue on the SP113 towards Alberobello.

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at either Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport (BRI) or Brindisi – Salento Airport (BDS). Transfers from these airports are not included in the price.

From both airports, you should get to Bari train station by shuttle bus service or train, and from here continue with the Trenitalia to Alberobello.

Arrival by train

Buses and trains of the Trenitalia easily connect Alberobello with the railway stations of Bari, Taranto and Lecce.

Airport: Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport Airport transfer available: Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport (US$ 81 per person) Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.

Airport: Brindisi – Salento Airport Airport transfer available: Brindisi – Salento Airport (US$ 81 per person) Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.

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