Hike, E-Bike and Feast in Italy's Puglia and Matera

This was my first time solo travelling and I had so much fun with a fantastic group . The hiking and biking was great and there were lots of other interesting events/ activities . I particularly enjoyed seeing the mozzarella and burrata making ( then eating it ) I definitely felt I got to know the heritage of the area. Matera was particularly interesting . Our guide for the week , Ioana , could not have been better . She was very knowledgeable, kept us on track and offered fabulous insights into the culture of the areas visited . A very positive experience all round .

Experiences were disappointing along with the hiking and biking terrain. . .

I want to start by saying that our tour guide Tancredi is amazing. Incredibly knowledgeable and attentive. My criticism is of the product. I could not recommend this tour, as-is, to any of my clients or friends. But I could with some small changes.

It feels like you're doing too much in a short period of time, which you are. But it doesn't have to be that way. In the case of both hikes, you spend at least an hour on each one in sub-optimal situations --- walking through neighborhoods or over highway overpasses, passed a prison, or under giant power lines. It isn't pretty and you're having to do that when you're tired and hungry. In the case of both hikes, you could decide to end them an hour or so earlier and arrange transportation to pick you up and take you to your next destination. To walk from the wilderness through the outskirts of a place then into the place -- not only are you spending time in the underbelly, industrial areas or generic suburbs, but you're also wasting time that you could spend in the towns. On both hike days a majority of the people in my group commented that they wanted more time in our lunch stop towns.

I thought the accommodations were wonderful as were most of the meals which were very good and authentic experiences for the most part. For the second hike day -- rather than carry a lunch in your bag all day in the sun and have it be the sad and mediocre lunch that it was, instead, end the hike early, drive into town and have lunch there.

Thanks!

Beautiful food and walks - especially enjoyed the food demonstrations! Cycles were longer than other trips but all manageable.

What a wonderful trip. So well organised. Fabulous places, 2 great bike rides and 2 walks. Tancredi, our wonderful guide, and Vincenzo, our cycle guide, were amazing. Very knowledgeable and always enthusiastic and helpful. So many different food experiences too. 2 different hotels, both beautiful and great food. I loved it!!

What a fantastic experience this trip was, everything went according to plan, both the guides Tancredi and Vincenzo were brilliant, the hotels lovely, all food amazing and the experiences all great fun. The dynamics of the group of 14 could not have been better and we all bonded as a solid group, which was incredible for 14 strangers. I had never done a trip like this before and was quite nervous about many aspects, but it totally exceeded my expectations. 12 out of 10

From start to finish, this trip was an absolute delight. The accommodations were both beautiful and unique, offering the perfect blend of comfort and character. Every meal was fantastic—fresh, flavourful, and thoughtfully prepared.

The experiences throughout the journey were truly memorable. I especially loved the hikes and e-bike trails, which offered stunning views and just the right amount of challenge. I loved learning to make pasta and finding out how mozzarella and burrata is made. The guides Tancredi and Vincenzo were brilliant—knowledgeable, friendly, and full of enthusiasm that made every day special. Not forgetting Luigi who made sure we were safe on our bikes.

To top it all off, we were lucky to share the adventure with a fabulous group of people whose energy and camaraderie made the trip even more enjoyable.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun, active, and unforgettable experience!

This trip was a great quick trip away experiencing a taste of Italy. Our guide Tancredi was great, he had lots of knowledge about the areas we visited and taught us lots of the local history. The itinerary worked well and we managed to fit a lot in, in a small space of time. There was not much 'free time' as i've experienced on previous trips however with this being a 5 day trip i feel it wasnt really needed. The Hikes were fun although i would class them as slightly more on the moderate rating, than easy. E-biking was amazing! Probably my favourite activity of the trip, Louigi and his team were so friendly and really made the experience. All round a great trip, would highly recommend!

I absolutely loved this trip. Tancredi led us with military precision (in a good way!) on our hikes and cycles throughout stunning scenery & into picturesque towns & villages. He was informative & entertaining about the history & culture of the area aided by the magnificent Vincenzo whose knowledge & enthusiasm for the local flora & fauna was infectious. The addition of wine-tasting, olive oil tasting & bread & pasta making demos was really enjoyable, interesting, informative & fun. The accommodation was very clean & comfortable & I really enjoyed sampling the delicious local food. Such a great way to see the area with like-minded people. I travelled with my sister & we had such a fun time with the other people in our group (11 of us. ) I would give this trip a 10/10 & if you’re thinking about it, do it!

This was my first trip with MBA and I was so impressed! Everything was very well organised, clear instructions, great guide and superb group. The itinerary was very busy and at times the hikes felt a bit more difficult than they were rated, but everyone took this in stride, usually with an aperol spritz in hand. This was a great way to see some of the lesser known sights of Italy and learn about the delicious regional food and wine, I'm so pleased I went.

Lovely mix of walking, cycling, beautiful scenery and culture not to mention the fantastic company and enthusiastic guides. A new trip so it does need some refining then it would be worthy of 5 stars.

Well organised with excellent guides. Quite busy but you can opt out of some of the afternoon events if you want more free time. Generally a decent level of food and accommodations.

Positives

• Tour guides - Tancredi - fantastic. Luigi and Vincenzo for the bikes - so passionate and genuinely lovely. 10/10 for all the guides.
• Olive oil tour at the masseria. That was excellent and delivered with such passion. Loved it !
• Hostel in Matera was excellent.
• Hiking and biking was really good

What could be improved

• Accommodation at the Masseria. 1) Water not drinkable and they wanted to charge us for bottled water to drink. Poor experience. Not thought through. 2) swimming pool empty. We were all looking forward to a swim. Should have been some note about it as the trip content talked about “relaxing by the pool”
• spent too much time in a town on the 2nd bike day meaning we had no time at Alberobello. This should have been one of the highlights of the tour and we had literally 5 mins there. I know the guides felt it was a busy tourist place but were tourists keen to see the Trullis. *Other MBA tours for the hikes the guides typically carry some snacks and coffee etc. that would have been really welcome to break up the long hikes or bike rides. Not a problem, just a suggestion of how to make it even better

I attended this trip in April 2025 with my son. There were 11 of us in the group (a mix of couples, friends and singles) and everyone was incredibly friendly which made it a great week, very sociable and lots of fun. Weather was a bit mixed, so we needed to pack for all seasons - but that's April for you!! Our guide for the week was Tancredi, who was amazing. Before we arrived in Italy he posted information on the What's App group that was set up for the week, including transfer information from the airport and where and when we would meet on the first evening for our initial meet-up and briefing. We booked a transfer from Bari to Matera rather than catching the bus, but some of our group did take the bus and said it was very easy. If you are thinking of a transfer, it's worth asking the others on the What's App group if they are too before you book it, so you can share and reduce the cost per person - for us it was Euros 120 per car. Throughout the week Tancredi would brief us each morning on the plan for the day and each evening on the plan for the next day, so we knew exactly what we would be doing, where and when. He was also very helpful recommending places to eat for lunch and dinner when this was not pre-arranged as part of the holiday. Tancredi was also our walking guide and throughout the week was able to share information on the geography, geology, history, flora and fauna of the region. For the two cycle rides we were led by Vincenzo who was equally enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The week was action packed and so was great value. In addition to the two hikes and two bike rides there was also a trip to a bakery to see how they make the local bread and some of us got to have a go at bread making. There was a pasta making demonstration and again some of us got to have a go. The visit to the dairy farm and cheese making session to see how mozzarella and burrata was made was fascinating. The Masseria we stayed in at the Olive Oil Farm was fabulous (even though the pool was not open in April) and the tour of how they used to press olive oil and the olive oil tasting was great. The local wine tasting on the last night was excellent. Overall it was an amazing week to a wonderful part of Italy that would suit anyone looking to visit Puglia and who likes an action packed week that combines a foodie experience with being active in the outdoors. The only thing I would say is you do need a reasonable level of fitness for this trip. The bike rides were 45-50km each, and whilst they were e-bikes we did complete each journey in 3-4 hours so you needed to keep the pace up. Ditto with the walks which were 10km and 16km each - again completed in 3-4 hours so not much time for dawdling. But if this works for you and you are looking for an active outdoor break with some great foodie options then sign up !! We did and had a wonderful week!!

Loved my first MBA trip, very well organised. First hotel was lovely, Masseria pool had no water, which was a shame, and drinking water needs to be included as not potable - shouldn't be limited to one bottle a day when walking and hiking. Great additional activities, especially loved the cheese tasting at the farm but could have done with a little more down time, say to enjoy the pool had it had water. First hike more interesting than second, a break mid way would have been good. more so on the 2nd hike. Guides were very good. Think an older demographic would have struggled with some of the walking even though rated easy. All in all a great trip. We got lucky with the group and clicked straight away. Some great laughs had. Lots of limoncello drunk. Would definitely recommend!

Great vibe on the trip, fantastic people with enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides. Transportation ran like clockwork. A special shout out to Tancredi. The walks and cycling were consistent with the easy classification although we would have preferred a little more flexibility on the down time in some of the places we visited. Negative point was swimming pool was empty at the Masseria and this was unexpected as we had assumed the season had started, although I accept it was early in the season.

Nice mix of hiking, cycling and food demonstrations. Guides were fantastic, group was gorgeous - lovely week.