These specific small group tours are from Matera:
Monday: Lecce & Gallipoli. Price €265 euros per person, including tickets to museums & a coffee break
While in Matera you cannot miss a visit to Lecce, the baroque capital of the south or Gallipoli, a quaint fishing village on the Ionian Coast. Gallipoli's name comes from the Greek “Kalle Polis”, which literally translates to "beautiful city". In Lecce we will tour the sprawling town center, visit the incredible churches and the Roman amphitheater. In Gallipoli, we will wander through the amazing maze of alleys, visit the Cathedral as well as an underground oil mill dating back to the 14th century. Optional lunch at fantastic fish restaurant Puritate in Gallipoli (65 Euros extra) and/or winetasting at a local winery (35 Euros extra). After lunch we can stop for coffee at one of Gallipoli's amazing beach clubs.
Departure from your hotel at 9.00 am, return at 6.00 pm.
Tuesday: Tour of the Salento Wineries. Price € 335 euros per person, including lunch at one of the wineries.
Also available every day of the week as a private tour with 48 hours advance notice
Visit two wineries in the Primitivo / Negroamaro area of Salice Salentino (between Brindisi and Lecce) and taste their award winning wines and delicious food. Learn food and wine pairing basics so you can create your own pairings. You’ll also learn what to look for in a recipe in order to make great wine matches. A great food and wine pairing creates a balance between the components of a dish and the characteristics of a wine.
Departure from your hotel at 10 am, return at 5,30 pm.
Walking tour of Matera. Price €115 Euros per person, including entrance to museums & churches.
A visit to the famous "Sassi" (cave dwellings) of Matera, which are now protected under the Unesco World Heritage Site, allows you to step back in history. Matera is said to be one of the world's oldest towns. Your first glimpse of the "Sassi" will leave a lasting impact. Haunting and beautiful, the Sassi sprawl below the rim of a yawning ravine like a giant nativity scene. Although many buildings are crumbling, others have been restored and transformed into cosy abodes, restaurants and cave hotels. Optional memorable 3 course lunch at amazing "Falco Grillaio" or "Panecotto" in Matera (45 Euros extra), "Abbondanza" (65 Euros extra).
Departure from your hotel at 10.00, return at 13.00 pm.
Enjoy an informative BBC video of Matera
Thursday: Cisternino, Alberobello and Polignano. Price €235 euros per person, including entrance to museums.
Alberobello the only town in Puglia entirely built of the famous trulli. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a incredible place to explore by foot. Next we'll visit the breathtaking Polignano a Mare, which is an amazing medieval town clinging to the Adriatic cliffs. We'll end the day in quaint Cisternino, a white washed town in the Itria Valley with dreamy alleyways and sweeping views of the valley. Optional 3 course lunch at family-run "Cantina" in Alberobello (n.1 on Tripadvisor, extra €60 Euros) and/or a winetasting at the Wine Museum of Cantina Albea (35 Euros pp). We can also add an optional 2 hour boat tour of the caves of Polignano for an extra €45 euros per person.
Departure your hotel at 9.00 am, return at 6.00
Video of Polignano a Mare
Thursday: Visit Alberobello ONLY for a half day tour (9am to 1pm) from Matera at 225 Euros per person.
Thursday: Visit Polignano a Mare for a half day 2pm to 6pm from Matera at 225 Euros per person. Optional boat excursion to visit the sea caves of Polignano from a boat for € 50 per person extra.
Friday: Lecce and Gallipoli. Price 265 Euros per person, including ticket to museum.
While in Puglia you cannot miss a visit to Lecce, the baroque capital of the south or Gallipoli, a quaint fishing village on the Ionian Coast. Gallipoli's name comes from the Greek “Kalle Polis”, which literally translates to "beautiful city". In Lecce we will tour the sprawling town center, visit the incredible churches and the Roman amphitheater. In Gallipoli, we will wander through the amazing maze of alleys, visit the Cathedral as well as an underground oil mill dating back to the 14th century. Optional lunch at fantastic fish restaurant Puritate in Gallipoli (65 Euros extra) and/or winetasting at a local winery (35 Euros extra). After lunch we can stop for coffee at one of Gallipoli's amazing beach clubs.
Saturday: Trani & Castel del Monte. Price € 265 Euros including ticket to the castle and guided tour.
Departure from hotel 8.30am, return at 6.30pm
Castel del Monte, built in 1240, was one of Frederick II Hoenstaufen's favourite residences. He was one of the first modern rulers in European history and had the good fortune to have grown up in Sicily and Puglia in a mixed culture that uniquely combined elements of antiquity, Arabic and Jewish wisdom, the Occidental spirit of the Middle Ages, and Norman realism. The intellectual life of his court reflected this heritage. A courtly “republic of scholars,” it nurtured and fostered the natural sciences as well as philosophy, poetry, and mathematics, and translations as well as original writing, both in Latin and in the vernacular (early Italian). The pursuit of knowledge without special respect for traditional authorities was characteristic of Frederick and his court. Optional lunch at Corte in Fiore in Trani (65 Euros) or Montegusto in Castel del Monte (45 Euros). Optional wine tasting at 45 Euros per person.
Sunday: Lecce, Otranto & Castro. Price €265 Euros per person.
Otranto is famed for its cathedral with fantastic mosaics, as well as for its medieval castle that inspired Horace Walpole's novel. We will visit this seaside town from where crusaders and knight templars would leave for the Holy Land. Optional lunch at "Grotta del Conte" (55 Euros pp) in Castro, a small and fascinating fishing village, or at Tricase's "Anime Sante" run by local fishermen (70 Euros pp). Optional boat excursion from 50 Euros pp.
Departure at 9.00 am, return at 6.30 pm.
Note: we offer optional lunches at award winning restaurants for €50 to €75 per person, wine is included.
Visits to award winning wineries ranges between €45 - €65 per person.