Day 1: Arrival at Bari airport, transfer to your hotel and accommodation. In the afternoon, visit the old city: Basilica of Saint Nicholas with its monumental crypt, the Romanesque Cathedral of San Sabino, the Norman-Swabian Castle and the nineteenth century “Murat” quarter. Dinner and overnight.

 

Day 2: CASTEL DEL MONTE – TRANI: After breakfast at the hotel, departure for a visit of Castel del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage site, a fascinating octagonal castle built by Frederick Il von Hohenstaufen, located 18 km away from Andria. Lunch in an amazing Masseria to taste the country cooking. In the afternoon, visit Trani to see the Cathedral, which is one of a kind for its style and its position by the sea. Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

 

Day 3: ALBEROBELLO – LECCE: After breakfast at the hotel, departure for Alberobello, the only city in the world built with dry-stone dwellings known as Trulli, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Stop at the Museum of Wine: light lunch and wine tasting. Then the tour proceeds to Ostuni, commonly referred to as “The White Town” with narrow winding streets in its old city. Arrival in Lecce in the evening and accommodation at the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

 

Day 4: LECCE – GALATINA: In the morning, after breakfast at the hotel, visit Lecce, the capital of Baroque. Piazza Duomo, Santa Croce, the Roman Amphitheatre and the workshops of paper-mâché cannot be missed. After lunch at the restaurant, in the afternoon, departure for Galatina, to admire the Basilica of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria in late Gothic style, very unusual in Apulia, with inner walls covered with frescoes. Back to the hotel in the evening. Dinner and overnight.

 

Day 5: SALENTO AREA – COOKING EXPERIENCE: After breakfast at the hotel, departure to a location in the Salento area for a cooking experience, which will begin with a walk to the fruit and vegetable market to buy fresh seasonal vegetables. Back at the school, you will start cooking. After so much hard work, you will enjoy lunch with what you have cooked during the lesson and other complimentary dishes, water, wine, coffee, liqueur, and other feel-good treats. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

 

Day 6: SANTA MARIA DI LEUCA – OTRANTO: The whole day is dedicated to the excursion along the coastline of the Salentine peninsula. Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the Santa Maria di Leuca area, ltaly’s extreme tip. Mini cruise along the coast and the sea caves. Lunch in a restaurant with a fish-based menu. In the afternoon, visit of Otranto, ltaly’s easternmost town. Visit of the Cathedral with its floor mosaic representing the Tree of Life and the narrow streets of the historical centre. In the evening, back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

 

 

Day 7: SALENTO AREA – WINE TASTING – GALLIPOLI: After breakfast at the hotel, the day will start with a visit of the Museo del Negroamaro, where it is possible to see all the tools once used for land cultivation and for wine production. After it, you will join a guided tour of an amazing wine cellar and vineyards in the Salento area. At the end of the visit, you will enjoy a tasting of 4 wines combined with typical products, listening to the description of the wine process. Lunch in a restaurant on the way to Gallipoli. In the afternoon guided visit of the so-called “pearl of the Ionian sea”: you will see the modern town, called “Borgo” and located on a promontory and the old town, called “City”, built on a little island opposite the Borgo and connected to the mainland via a bridge. Visit to an ancient subterranean oil-mill. Back to the hotel; dinner and overnight.

 

 

Day 8: Breakfast, transfer to Bari or Brindisi airport and end of our services.

 

 

HOTELS OR SIMILAR

Bari: Hotel Barion****; Palace Hotel****
Lecce: Grand Hotel Tiziano****; Best Western Leone di Messapia****

 

PRICE INCLUDES

GT bus at disposal for the entire duration of the tour; Accommodation in 4-star hotels; 7 dinners; guided visit of Bari; visit of Castel del Monte with audioguide; lunch in a typical masseria in Castel del Monte area; guided visit of Trani; guided visit of Alberobello; visit of Museum of Wine with tasting; lunch in a restaurant in Alberobello; guided visit of Ostuni; guided visit of Lecce; lunch at restaurant in Lecce; guided visit of Galatina; cooking experience in Salento area with final lunch; mini-cruise from Torre Vado along the coastline of Salentine coast; fish-based menu in Santa Maria di Leuca; guided visit of Otranto; visit of Museo del Negroamaro; visit of a wine cellar and vineyards and wine tasting in Salento area; lunch at restaurant in Salento area; guided visit of Gallipoli; visit of subterranean oil-mill in Gallipoli.

 

 

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

Drinks at meals; Entrance tickets to museums/monuments unless differently stated; Bus ZTL and parking fees; Tips and extras; Tourism city tax, compulsory to be paid on site; Surcharges applicable during peak periods, trade fairs, meetings, congresses, events, bank holidays, weekends etc; Everything that is not mentioned at the voice “Price includes”.