Puglia Cycling Tour

A land of discovery, adventure and wild beauty

Illustration displaying a cycling tour duration of nine days and eight nights
Illustration displaying eight days of riding on a cycling tour
Mountain Illustration displaying a cycling tour difficulty rating of six out of ten

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.

Aperitivo by the sea in Puglia
Two riders cycling past the iconic trulli in Puglia
A couple riding by the sea in Puglia
Three riders under a stone arch in Puglia

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.

Today’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

A ride profile from Polignano a Mare

Today’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

A ride profile to Locorotondo

Today 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

A ride profile that takes us through Ostuni

Today 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

A ride profile that takes us to the sea

Today’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

A ride profile of ride in the Salento

Today’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

A ride profile that takes us to Otranto

Today’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

A ride profile around Taranto

Our 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

A ride profile that takes us into Lecce

Pricing & Dates

7595
per person twin share / Maximum 14 guests

Show Price As

2024

2nd to 10th September 2024 – Sold Out
1995 (deposit)
13th to 21st September 2024 – Sold Out
1995 (deposit)

2025

11th to 19th September 2025
1995 (deposit)
Want to enjoy cycling in Puglia, Italy, on your very own tour? Ask us about a privately run tour for your group.
A map of Puglia

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

Puglian cucina povera

Accommodation & Meals

A rider getting their hire bike adjusted on a Italian cycling holiday

Ride Support

White wine, red wine and taralini

Transfers & Activities

Two piece italian made cycling kit

Ride Kit

Not Included

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?

See our FAQs page for answers to common questions.

Bike Hire & Gear

Carbon Road Bike with Electronic Shifting

You can choose to hire a Wilier Cento 10SL carbon road bike with Sram Rival Etap, a compact crankset, with a 32 rear cassette & disc brakes.

Carbon Road Bike with Mechanical Shifting

You can choose to hire a Bianchi Sprint with mechanical Shimano Ultegra groupset, a compact crankset, with a 32 rear cassette & disc brakes.

Non-Riding Partners

As part of our Puglia cycling holiday, non-riding partners enjoy an active and dedicated travel program, designed to deliver a diverse range of activities and the best experiences Puglia has to offer. Whether its guided walks along the Salento coast or of historic towns and their unique architecture including the trulli of Alberobello or the stunning whitewashed villages of Ostuni and Locorotondo, or exploring ancient olive groves, and enjoying private olive oil tastings and cooking classes, non riding partners experience the beauty and uniqueness of each area we visit. With an itinerary curated by Nancy and delivered together with a range of partners and guides whom she personally selects, 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.

The old whites washed towns of Puglia
Riding by the sea in Puglia
The white washed lanes of Locorotondo

Accommodation

Enjoy our personally chosen range of typical Pugliese accommodation. From staying in restored trulli, magnificent seaside villas with views over turquoise waters, historic masserie in quiet countryside locations where working family farms are still producing wine and olive oil, this diverse experience brings together the beauty of ancient, historic Puglia with the hip, modern and restored Puglia.
the white washed streets in Puglia
A room with a sea view in Puglia
The sea view from the terrace
A beautiful room in Puglia
Beautiful accommodation in Puglia
A beautiful room in Puglia

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.

Pasta with vongole in Puglia
Fritto misto a mare and an octopus salad
Breakfast in Puglia
A seafood lunch inPuglia
Aperitivo in puglia
Gelato and coffee in puglia

Testimonials

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