Stay in the beautiful beach resort of Torre Canne during this seven-night tour of Puglia and take in its innumerable highlights and hidden gems.
Choose between a number of optional excursions, or enjoy free time exploring your hotel's facilities and the surrounding area. You could visit the enchanting town Polignano a Mare, perched high upon limestone cliffs and known for its sparkling blue waters. Further excursions include trips to the famous cave network at Castellana, wine tasting at a local vineyard in Locorotondo, and a stroll around the baroque old town of Martina France, whose narrow streets will enthral you.
Included in your tour are two full-day excursions to Apulia and Lecce. In Apulia, visit the stunning hill-town of Ostuni, known for its whitewashed houses and cobbled streets set on three hills. Here, lose yourself amongst the cobbled narrow streets and admire the views. Later, you'll see the iconic Trulli houses in Alberobello. The famous dry stone houses have conical rooves and are unique to the region - found in clusters, to create one of Italy's most stunning sights.
Lecce is a beautiful baroque city, with architecture at every turn. Wander around the central square, the Piazza del Duomo; see the well preserved ruins of the Roman amphitheatre; and stroll through the charming streets, admiring the basilicas as you see why Lecce is known as the 'Florence of the South'.
There will also be time to explore the Sassi cave complex at Matera - where churches, houses and monasteries are dug into the mountainside, and until only 40 years ago, were still inhabited. The labyrinth town is intriguing and truly unique.
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Fly from London to Bari (regional airports may be available on request). Upon arrival, meet your tour manager and transfer by coach to your comfortable beachside hotel in Torre Canne. Settle in, and depending on your flight time, perhaps enjoy a refreshing drink on the terrace before dinner.
Today, you're free to rest, relax in the hotel and make the most of your waterside location. Take a dip in the pool, pay a visit to the hotel's fitness centre or simply curl up with a book on a terrace or in a lounge. If you feel like exploring further afield, you can rent bicycles from the hotel, or stroll into the nearby fishing port and the small resort of Torre Canne to see its tiny harbour and lighthouse.
Alternatively, join the optional excursion to visit the white-washed houses and the imposing Bell Tower of Monopoli. After which, it's on to breathtaking Polignano a Mare, perched on a cliff edge overlooking the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic, it offers some of the best beaches in Italy.
After breakfast, your included excursion is a perfect introduction to the unique region of Apulia, or Puglia. It begins with a visit to the stunning hill-town of Ostuni, one of Southern Italy's most spectacular locations - its whitewashed houses and cobbled streets set on three hills. The town's maze of alleyways is perfect for wandering and opens out to reveal some spectacular views, while the old town's beautiful squares offer several bars and cafés from which to watch the world go by.
Leaving Ostuni, travel back across the vine- and olive-covered landscape dotted with conical Trulli houses, to Alberobello. Here, hundreds of the whitewashed buildings with their tapered roofs cluster together to create one of Italy's most arresting sights.
Return to Torre Canne for dinner, at the end of a fascinating day.
After breakfast, visit the Baroque treasure-chest of Lecce, one of Southern Italy's most appealing cities. Your tour will include the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of this historic trading centre, where elegant buildings, ornate churches and marbled courtyards reflect the town's past importance. Explore the old town, which surrounds the ruins of a great Roman amphitheatre, one of several Roman remnants in the city, before we return to Torre Canne in time for dinner.
Spend another day relaxing at your hotel, perhaps enjoying a dip in the pool or the sea, or catching some sun in the hotel's gardens.
After breakfast, you'll head into the neighbouring province of Basilicata, to Matera. This enthralling labyrinth of a town is a cultured oasis in an otherwise sparsely populated landscape, and is famed for the extraordinary Sassi. This maze of ancient cave-dwellings was inhabited as recently as 40 years ago, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Arriving in Matera in time for lunch (not included), you'll have the opportunity to discover the history of this fascinating place, with its chiese rupestri (churches hewn from the rocks), and to wander through its ancient streets and colourful piazzas.
After a fascinating day you'll head back into Puglia and return to the shores of the blue Adriatic.
The final day of your holiday offers a last chance to rest and relax at the hotel or in Torre Canne, or to join a last optional excursion - this time into the Apulian countryside.
First stop on the tour will be the extraordinary caves at Castellana, an underground network of towering stalagmites and stalactites and vast, cool caverns formed over the centuries.
Your second stop is the majestic, whitewashed, circular hill-town of Locorotondo. Here, the surrounding vineyards are famed for their crisp white wines, and you'll visit a local cellar for the opportunity to taste the local vintages, as well as some other regional specialities.
You round off an enjoyable day with a short call in the historic town of Martina Franca, where an enthralling Baroque heart is hidden behind the modern buildings of the new town.
Say goodbye to your Apulian hosts, and transfer by coach to Bari airport for your return flight at the end of a fascinating, relaxing tour of Puglia.
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