Bike & Wine tour of Puglia
Self-guided – 8 days
Puglia has become more and more important in local and international markets for the variety and quality of its wines: vigorous reds, floral and fruity rosé, fresh and pleasantly acidic white wine.
During this holiday, we will let you discover this real treasure kept in a unique sunny landscape with immense fields and vineyards, ancient history and authentic culture, Mediterranean scents and mouth-watering specialties!
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Itinerary
DAY 1: GIOIA DEL COLLE
Arrival and check in. Welcome briefing and bike fit with a member of Puglia Cycle Tours crew.
DAY 2: GIOIA DEL COLLE - MASSERIA AMASTUOLA
+/- 55 km
Your cycling holiday starts from Gioia del Colle, renowned not just for its ancient history, but also for the PDO dairy products (like the delicious mozzarella!) and elegant Primitivo wine from the red grapes ripening on a gentle hill of the Murge plateau. From here, you cycle across countryside lanes and wheat fields, towards the “Terra delle Gravine” (Ravines Land). Your destination is an extraordinary wine resort: a masseria (typical fortified farmhouse) with a vineyard garden designed by the landscape architect Fernando Caruncho.
PDO products in Gioia del Colle (mozzarella cheese and Primitivo red wine) – Ravines Land – Garden-vineyard in the surroundings Crispiano
DAY 3: MASSERIA AMASTUOLA - LOCOROTONDO
+/- 56 km
Today it is time to explore the Itria Valley, the very heart of Puglia: a fascinating scenery dotted by dry–stone walls, old masserie and “trulli”, our typical conic roofed rural houses. This is the homeland of the white grapes, whose acidity and aroma are among the most beautiful expressions of the climate and the karstic nature of this hilly area.
You discover the baroque town of Martina Franca and indulge a stroll in Alberobello, UNESCO site and world capital of the Trulli, until you reach Locorotondo, with its panoramic balcony overlooking the valley.
Itria Valley Countryside – Baroque old town of Martina Franca – Trulli in Alberobello – Locorotondo old town and balconies – White vines
DAY 4: LOCOROTONDO - OSTUNI
+/- 55 km
Continue your ride on the Apulian Aqueduct cycling route, the “Ciclovia dell’Acquedotto”: a quiet and even path running in the lush countryside, amongst oaks, olive trees and trulli. After a stop by Ceglie Messapica, our cornerstone for good cuisine, you ride down to Ostuni. The white town will stand among groves of century and thousand-year old live trees: as you can imagine oil is the major speciality here, but do not worry at all, Ostuni PDO wines are worth a visit too!
Aqueduct cycle route – Historic town and food specialties in Ceglie Messapica – Ostuni, the white town – Ostuni PDO wines
DAY 5: OSTUNI - MANDURIA
+/- 54 km
It’s time to leave the labyrinthine alleys and whitewashed houses of Ostuni to taste another version of the Primitivo: the ruby-red Manduria PDO, a more full-bodied wine than its oldest relative (it is in Gioia del Colle that you find the first evidence of the cultivation of this vine), just like the sunny lands close to the sea. Here in Manduria you can discover this Apulian excellence, as well as the history of a town that dates back to the Roman domination.
Old town of Francavilla Fontana – Oria Castle – Museum and PDO Primitivo red wine in Manduria
DAY 6: MANDURIA - GUAGNANO
+/- 48 km
From Manduria to the little town of Guagnano, plunged in one of the most famous wine production areas of Puglia region. This area is indeed the capital of the Negroamaro red wine, which you can also taste in the Salice Salentino PDO, blended with black Malvasia or Primitivo above all. By the way, if you need to cool off along the way, take advantage of the sandy shores of Punta Prosciutto and Torre Lapillo, very famous amongst locals!
Sandy beaches on the Ionian coast – Negroamaro and Salice Salentino DOC wine
DAY 7: GUAGNANO - BRINDISI
+/- 57 km
Across vineyards and olive groves, alongside dry–stone walls and imposing “pajare” (Salento typical “trulli” with a square base), you will finally arrive to Brindisi.
It’s not just a strategical outpost since the Greek period, an important commercial harbour and lively centre, but also the town that gives the name to the Brindisi PDO, counting several red and white wines made of local grapes that are the result of karstic soil, sea breezes and balanced solar exposition. You deserve a taste to say goodbye to Puglia!
Typical Salento countryside (olive groves, vineyards and pajare) – Brindisi old town and seafront – Brindisi DOC wine
DAY 8: BRINDISI
Check out and end of services
March and November: € 1190,00 per person
April and October: € 1340,00 per person
May, June and September: € 1450,00 per person
Tour available all year from March to November. Write to us and ask for availabilities.
- 7 nights in typical guest houses or 4-star hotels with breakfast
- 7 wine experiences
- day 2: 1 dinner (beverage not included)
- day 7: 1 dinner with wine pairing
- Luggage transport
- GPS device with uploaded tracks
- Medical and luggage insurance
- FULL assistance
City taxes to pay on site, where required.
Below are some extra services you can add to your tour. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
- Hybrid bicycle rental: € 90,00
- E-bike rental: € 210,00
- Road bike rental: € 250,00
- Smartphone with mobile and GPS Navigation App: € 20,00
- Pannier rental: € 25,00 (each)
- Helmet rental: € 10,00
- Half board supplement (dinners – beverage not included): on request
- Single room supplement: € 30,00 per night
- Private Transfers: on request
We have selected for you the best typical guest houses or 4-star hotels (depending on availability), bike-friendly accommodations in Puglia, equipped with all the comforts a bicycle traveller may need.
On request and upon availability we can offer 5-star accommodation options, too.
This is a self-guided tour, i.e. you are free to ride at your own pace. We book your hotels, we provide assistance and the Garmin GPS navigators with which you will be able to follow the path that we have planned for you.
During the tour, you will probably meet other guests lodging in the same accommodations for the same tour or similar. Aside from the pleasure of getting to know other bicycle lovers, you will always be free in departure and arrival times.
Our Bike&Wine tour tells the story of Puglia in every way, including the altimetry. Puglia is a hilly region surrounded by the sea, and this is exactly what you will find stage after stage. Some will be almost completely flat, others will be fun ups and downs, there may even be short climbs that will ask you to bring out the cyclist in you, maybe just for a few hundred meters. On average, every day there will be between forty and fifty kilometres to cover.
We thought of a route that would succeed in the difficult task of showing you the most beautiful corners of our region, cycling on the most evocative routes, from a wine-growing and other points of view. The tour is suitable for all ages and anyone who has a minimum of training in cycling.
In any case, it will be a pleasure for us to listen to your possible needs and personalize the tour, always offering you the best experience.
Gioia del Colle is easily connected with Bari airport. A metro and several shuttles (but also trains, taxi and hire cabs) let you get to Bari central train station in a few minutes. Here you can take one of the many daily trains of the Ferrovie dello Stato to Gioia del Colle. The same is the case for Bari port, located a few steps away from the Central Station.
If you are travelling by car, take the Bologna-Taranto highway (A14) until you get to the exit “Gioia del Colle”.
Anyway, a private transfer service with driver from all Apulian airports, stations and ports is also available on request.
FULL assistance
Customers have one of our assistants at their disposal 24 hours a day, in case of any problem or need.
In the event of a bicycle failure, he/she will sort the problem out or suggest how to.
On the day of arrival, the guests meet our assistant for a welcome briefing and bike fit, during which he supplies them with the equipment (maps, GPS device, etc.), giving useful information about the route and the working of the GPS.
