Puglia Cycling Tour
A land of discovery, adventure and wild beauty
Overview of our Cycling Holidays in Puglia
Puglia is a land of discovery and adventure; it’s the perfect place to explore on a bike.
With its quiet roads lined with rock walls and majestic olive groves, to its coastal roads set along dramatic cliffs with white sand beaches and turquoise waters, this still largely undiscovered region of Italy rewards you at every turn and along every open plain. Its wild beauty and landscapes dotted with fairytale trulli and the twisted trunks of ancient olive trees standing still in time, captivate your spirit and your heart.
Still very much by Italians for Italians, this land between two seas, the Ionian and Adriatic, provides much more than a cycling trip. It’s a place to visit sooner rather than later as the word is definitely out, and our journey through its back roads will only leave you wanting more.
Expect long, warm summer days, spectacular and diverse scenery across the hills of the Valle d’Itria through to the open plains of the Salento, afternoons to relax and soak up the sun with swims in the turquoise seas and explorations of the historically significant and beautiful towns in which we stay.
Our journey through its authentic food and wine culture and diverse blend of unique accommodation styles including masserie, trulli and noble residences will see your Puglia discovery take you behind the postcard scenes.
Enjoy the slow pace of life and the so very southern Italian culture, the history and of course, the wonderful home grown food and wine on our Puglia cycling tour.
Get ready for a trip of true discovery – both on and off the bike.
Puglia Cycling Tour Ride Itinerary
Experience cycling in Puglia, Italy.
Our daily rides through Puglia ensure you get to experience all of the landscapes it has to offer, from the stunning scenes along the coastal roads, the ancient olive groves of the Valle d’Itria and Salento, and the towns and villages through which we pass and stay. You’ll enjoy cycling through Puglia, Italy, with its wild beauty and stunning, open landscapes, and finishing each day’s ride, with time to reflect and enjoy the beautiful places we stay.
Welcome to Puglia, ItalyToday’s warm up ride will see us hug the coast and meander down to a little coastal hamlet, as we work the kinks out of our legs and make the final adjustments to our bikes before turning inland and riding amongst the quintessential Puglian landscape of olive groves, dissected by tiny roads lined with low rock walls.
Highlight: The southern Italian landscape.
Distance: 43.7km
Elevation: 292m
Into the land of Fairy CastlesToday’s ride will see us leave the coast and head inland to the Valle d’Itria, also called “Trulli Valley” and the highest concentration of olive trees in Italy. We will ride through a number of small towns before reaching Alberobello, the UNESCO World Heritage town made up of 1500 Trulli before rolling to a stop at our sensational villa for the next three nights.
Highlight: Riding through the lanes and backroads lined with the fairy castle like trulli.
Distance: 64.6km
Elevation: 881m
To Ostuni & BeyondToday we will roll along The Wine Road “DOC Locorotondo and Martina’ as we roll our way to Ostuni. It is a day of quiet backroads, with the sensational untouched Puglian landscape of olive groves, vineyards, trulli and beautiful rock wall lined roads everywhere you turn.
Highlight: Lunch in the town of Ostuni
Distance: 90km
Elevation: 1007m
Off to the BeachToday is our long, but very flat day on the bike, with also 724m of descending. This is a day where we head to the coast and the beautiful Ionian Sea, heading in the direction of Porto Cesareo, a beautiful part of the western coast of Puglia, with a long sandy beach and stunning blue sea with shallow waters.
Enjoy the views as we hug the coastline on the way to our masseria, stopping for lunch at a seaside friggitoria or “fried fish shack”.
Highlight: The contrast of landscape as we move from inland and hit the coast.
Distance: 117.4km
Elevation: 485m
The Gallipoli CoastToday’s ride will take us through the diverse terrain of the Salento peninsula, before we circle back toward the coast north of gallipoli.
Highlight: The opportunity to swim in the crystal clear waters of the Ionian Sea
Distance: 73.9km
Elevation: 514m
Along the Coast RoadToday’s ride is a highlight as we once again hug the coast and quite literally ride around the heel of Italy. We will ride the undulating road past all of the little towns that line a coast renowned for its stunning sandy beaches, as you head further south, it’ll be hard to keep your eyes on the roads as you are treated to the spectacular views over the Adriatic sea.
Highlight: The continual view on our right as we move from the Ionian to the Adriatic sea.
Distance: 115.5km
Elevation: 1105m
The Salento ExpressToday’s ride is a spectacular off the beaten path loop that sees us roll past beaches with fine white sand and will see us riding deeper into the Salento Peninsula, past the ancient groves of olive trees and quiet undisturbed country side, before turning back toward our charming seaside villa.
Highlight: A flat and fast loop through a secluded land.
Distance: 62.9km
Elevation: 349m
Through the Ancient GroveOur final ride is another that encapsulates all of the adventure from the Puglian landscape. We are once again off the beaten path, following rambling backroads that are lined with small rock walls, creating a border to the flat lands beyond, filled with olive groves. This is a day to appreciate the quiet isolation of the country, before arriving in to the spectacular town of Lecce.
Highlight: Rolling through a grove of ancient olive trees that stand quietly together.
Distance: 77.8km
Elevation: 441m
Pricing & Dates
7295
per person twin share / Maximum 14 guests
Show Price As
2023
2024
Start Location & Details
City: Bari, Italy
Pick Up Location: Bari Centrale Train Station, Bari
Pick Up Time: 11:00am
Finish Location & Details
City: Bari, Italy
Drop Off Location: Bari Centrale Train Station, Bari
Drop Off Time: 11:30am
Inclusions & Details
Accommodation & Meals
- 8 nights accommodation is included in our Puglia cycling tours, twin share with your own private bathroom.
- Single occupancy available. Talk to us when booking
- All breakfasts and dinners at a range of our favourite restaurants, osteria’s and home cooked locations, including nightly aperitivo hour and local wines and beers at each dinner.
- Lunches on the road
Ride Support
- Professional bilingual ride guides with extensive cycling experience, local knowledge and first aid experience, ensuring your riding experiences are truly local and take in many of the undiscovered back roads and rolling hills of this spectacular and diverse region.
- Unique routes, available on our GPS are provided as part of our cycling tour in Puglia, Italy.
- Support van on daily rides, with mechanical support and your safety as our priority.
- Nutritious energy snacks and hydration are provided
Transfers & Activities
- All transfers / transportation from pick up to drop off, including baggage and bike transportation.
- Wine tastings and activities as outlined in the detailed tour itinerary.
Ride Kit
- 2 piece, Italian made A’QTO Cycling Kit including jersey and bib shorts.
- Laundry for your cycling clothing.
Not Included
- Airfare.
- Bike hire.
- Travel insurance.
While airfare, bike hire and travel insurance are not included in the Tour cost, they can be fully arranged for you. Talk to us when booking.
Have More Questions About Our Puglia Cycling Tour?
Bike Hire & Gear
Full Carbon Road Bikes
You can choose to hire a Pinarello or Bianchi with a compact crankset.
GPS
An easy to use GPS is provided for your use for the duration of the tour with our daily rides pre installed.
Non-Riding Partners
As part of our Puglia cycling holiday, non-riding partners enjoy a customised travel program, designed to deliver a diverse range of activities and the best experiences Puglia has to offer. Whether its guided walks of historic towns and their unique architecture including the trulli of Alberobello or the stunning whitewashed villages of Ostuni and Locorotondo, or exploring caves and olive groves, enjoying private olive oil tastings and cooking classes, non riding partners experience the beauty and uniqueness of each area we visit. Nancy personally hosts non-riding guests each day with a select range of activities to suit the group. It’s sure to be a holiday in Puglia you’ll never forget.
As our non-riding partner program is an active adventure, there is a minimum walking requirement for non-riding guests for each tour. Please enquire when booking.
Accommodation
Food & Wine
Eating and drinking is a highlight in Puglia.
With its rich copper-toned soils, the raw materials for much of Italy’s olive oil, wine and pasta, are grown here, giving rise to a cucina that is steeped in simple, organic produce – from delicious cheeses, artisanal olive oils and the famous orrechiette pasta with locally grown rape, to freshly caught seafood and the charcoal cooked meats of the butchers of Cisternino, your palate will delight in the array of taste sensations of Puglia.
Light refreshing white wines such as Fiano, through to sensational Rose’s and the earthy reds of Primitivo blend perfectly with the cuisine…not to mention the incredible array of artisanal beers, made locally in Puglia.
Testimonials
I’LL BE COMING BACK FOR MORE
I was blown away by the whole Puglia experience & how your love & passion for Italy comes through in every part of the experience. I was after a cycling tour but got much more. Your kind heart & generosity & the fact I now consider you both wonderful friends means I’ll be coming back for more, here in Italy and back home.
