Trip Ref #10342
DURATION
LOCATION
ANNUAL LEAVE
SEASON
GROUP SIZE
MEETING POINT
ACCOMMODATION
Guesthouse · Hotel
DIFFICULTY
No previous experience is necessary, but you'll need to be reasonably fit and able to handle 3-6hrs of activity each day
Trek ancient olive groves, beautiful white-washed hill villages and the UNESCO-listed cave dwellings of Matera
Pedal countryside to coast, along rural pathways and through rolling vineyards, and discover the grottoes of the Castellana Caves
Munch on rustic Pugliese dishes made with the region's olive oil, all washed down with local wine
Bed down in a restored farmhouse overlooking the sea, a traditional trullo in Alberobello, and a historic hillside hotel
Day 1
The White City
Hiking
Meet your host at Bari Airport and drive approx 1.5 hours to Ostuni, where whitewashed buildings line the streets. Explore the town, before hiking along the hills through olive trees and vineyards overlooking the Adriatic coast to reach an Apulian farm where you’ll spend the night.
Day 2
Ready to ride
Cycling
Set off early as you cycle from the countryside to the coast, along small roads lined by stone walls, passing historic farms, fields and trulli houses. Take a pit stop at a local oil mill to learn all things olive oil before reaching the end of your ride at the beach. After lunch, you’ll transfer by vehicle to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Alberobello before a delicious dinner and bedding down in a real trullo.
Day 3
Crossing the Itria Valley
Hiking
Lace up your boots and hike to Locorotondo, a place truly deserving of the accolade 'borghi più belli d'Italia' (one of the most beautiful villages in Italy). The trail crosses the Itria Valley, along narrow tracks and past ancient olive trees, vineyards and trulli. Return to Alberobello by train in time for some wine tasting before exploring the town and having dinner in one of Alberobello many restaurants.
Day 4
Castellana Caves (another UNESCO World Heritage site)
Hiking
After breakfast, you’ll jump in the van and head for the ancient UNESCO-listed town of Matera. Along the way stop and explore the Castellana Caves, one of the largest cave systems in Italy. Continue onto Matera (you’ll know you’ve arrived from the unique landscape and cave dwellings), explore the old streets and hidden corners, before sitting down with your crew for a final feast.
Day 5
Head for home
Enjoy a final breakfast with your guides and fellow explorers and then head back to the Bari Airport in time for your journey home.
Included
Guides
Expert, English-speaking local guides
Accommodation
1 night in an Apulian farmhouse, 2 in a trullo and 1 in a hotel
Meals
All breakfasts, lunches and 3 dinners
Transfers
Transfers to and from Bari Airport, and everything in between
Equipment
All your biking equipment
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Personal expenses
Visas where required
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 5
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Dine on mouthwatering and organic homemade Pugliese dishes with a perfect wine pairing throughout the trip. Puglia is a region of farmers, responsible for producing the vast majority of Italy’s olive oil, durum wheat and wild greens. Your meals can include Focaccia (an olive oil-based soft bread with potato and tomato), Polpette (meatballs), Orecchiette (a Puglian pasta), Involtini di Carne (meat wrapped with garlic and spices) and a surprise Dolce (sweet) for dessert.
Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for - please just request on your passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Ostuni
You’ll be staying in twin (or double on request) rooms at the Masseria Morrone in Ostuni, a renovated farmhouse surrounded by olive groves and set on a hillside overlooking the sea. It offers country-style rooms and a furnished sun terrace. Rooms feature wrought-iron beds, handmade wooden furnishings, and stone walls. The private bathroom has a shower and bidet.
Alberobello
You’ll be staying in twin (or double on request) rooms at the Trulli e Puglia in Alberobello. Classically restored, each trullo has a singular, centred cone-shaped ceiling and traditional Pugliese interior design - true to their roots with elegant simplicity.
Matera
You’ll be staying in twin (or double on request) rooms at the Sassi Hotel or similar in Matera. Hotel Sassi is an 18th-century hotel located within the Sasso Barisano district and is surrounded by terraces overlooking the Romanesque Cathedral and amazing views of The Sassi.
Upgrades
Due to the limited number of rooms, it is not possible to request a private room upgrade for this trip.
Logistics
Starts
Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport
11:00 on Day 1
Ends
Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport
11:00 on Day 5
Transfers
Your adventure begins at 11:00 on Day 1 when your host will meet you at Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport. A single group transfer by minibus is then taken to Ostuni. After breakfast on the final day, your host will then take you back to the airport for your onward journey.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport from airports across the UK and Europe.
There is time to catch an afternoon flight home from Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport any time from 13:00 onwards, or depart the next day.
For those who wish to avoid flying, Bari Centrale is well connected with high-speed trains from London via Zurich and Rome. The journey will take an average of 23 hours and usually involve 3 changes.
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In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What do I need to bring?
BAGS
Soft duffel bag or rucksack
Daypack (35+ litres)
CLOTHES
Waterproof and windproof jacket
Fleece jacket or similar
Trousers/shorts/skirts for hiking
T-shirts
Underwear & socks
Swimsuit
Sunglasses
Sunhat
Something to sleep in
Waterproof hiking boots (worn-in)
Lightweight shoes for around town
OTHER
Universal travel plug adapter
Power bank or solar charger
Passports (and visas)
Travel Insurance documents
Suncream
Personal first-aid kit (inc. blister treatment)
Personal items (biodegradable toiletries, sanitary wear etc)
Alcohol hand-gel
Face mask
Reusable water bottle (x1 litre)
OPTIONAL
Earplugs
Energy bars and snacks
Camera
No optional extras are available for this trip.
A really fun and relaxing trip. The accommodation is authentic and interesting and the places you visit are quaint and off the typical tourist path. Our group was fab (everyone was a professional in their 30s and 40s). The cycling was shorter than advertised (14km) as our group requested time at the beach and the hiking was chilled and fairly flat across a range of terrain. The caves are awesome and the little villages you visit are unique. A great trip to add onto a bigger tour of Italy, or for someone who’s been before and wants a new flavour of the country!
As a first trip was MBA it was everything we expected. The trip was the first time it had been run but the itinerary was great. A few changes and it would be 5*.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 138kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
No particular level of skill is needed, but you do need a good level of walking and cycling fitness. You should be capable of hiking up to 12km (4–6 hrs) without major discomfort over some steep and rocky terrain.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
From May to October the daytime temperatures range from 22 – 30 °C and cool off to 11 – 18 °C at night. From November to April the daytime temperatures range from 14 –18 °C and cool off to 10 – 13 °C at night. Rain is uncommon, so you're sure to get a lot of sun.
For current advice about travelling in Italy, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.
Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
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