Essential Puglia - Art & architecture in the heel of Italy

8 days
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Small Group Tour
The heel and spur of boot-shaped Italy, Puglia is now returning to the limelight after being ignored or disparaged for centuries. While the sobriquet ‘the new Tuscany’ is a lazy cliché and dangerously misleading (with its raw limestone landscape Puglia looks and feels like a different country), it is the case that only in the last couple of decades have Italo...
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Overview

Trip type
Small Group Tour
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Fascinating architecture, especially Norman and Baroque
    • Exceptionally attractive streetscapes in hilltop towns and coastal cities
    • Distinctive, dramatic limestone landscapes
    • See also the well preserved Roman theatre

What's this trip about?

    The heel and spur of boot-shaped Italy, Puglia is now returning to the limelight after being ignored or disparaged for centuries. While the sobriquet ‘the new Tuscany’ is a lazy cliché and dangerously misleading (with its raw limestone landscape Puglia looks and feels like a different country), it is the case that only in the last couple of decades have Italophiles and discerning travellers been taking the region seriously.

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Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeSmall Group - max of 22 people
Age range36 years and up
Flights and transportAll internal ground transport included
Start CityBitonto
End CityOstuni

Travel Themes

  • Cultural

Destinations

Activities

  • Culture
  • Historic Sightseeing
  • History

Min Group Size

  • Min Group Size: 10

Max Group Size

  • Max Group Size: 22

Trip includes

    • Flights (economy class) on scheduled Alitalia flights (Airbus 32S and Embraer 90)
    • Travel by private coach
    • Hotel accommodation
    • Wine, water and coffee
    • All admissions
    • All tips and taxes
    • The services of the lecturer

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Itinerary

Day 1

Bitonto. Fly at c. 9.00am from London City to Bari via Milan Linate (Alitalia). Drive to Bitonto, which has one of the finest of Romanesque cathedrals in the region, with good sculpture and an Early Christian lower church. Continue to Trani, where the first three nights are spent.

Day 2

Trani, Castel del Monte. A walk along the harbour of the small city of Trani includes the 12th-century church of Ognissanti and the magically beautiful Romanesque cathedral perched on the waterfront. In the afternoon drive out to Castel del Monte. Situated on an isola...

Day 3

Monte Sant’Angelo, Santa Maria di Siponto. High on the southern slopes of Monte Gargano sits Monte Sant’Angelo, where the apparition of the Archangel Michael in the 5th century has made the grotto sanctuary a popular destination for pilgrims. The massive castle was st...

Day 4

Bari. Capital of Puglia, Bari has a wonderful walled mediaeval quarter beside the sea, extensive and unspoilt. The Basilica of San Nicola, begun in 1087, is not only the first but also the greatest of Puglian Romanesque churches; the episcopal throne here is remarkabl...

Day 5

Martina Franca, Brindisi. Before leaving Martina Franca, see the 17th-century Palazzo Ducale with its fine Baroque façade and the cathedral of San Martino. Possessing the safest natural harbour on the Adriatic, Brindisi has been of intermittent strategic importance fo...

Day 6

Lecce, Galatina. Lecce is distinguished by an elaborate style of Baroque and Rococo decoration wrought in the soft, honey-coloured tufa of the region. The outstanding examples are the cathedral and the church of Santa Croce. See also the well preserved Roman theatre. ...

Day 7

Casarano, Gallipoli, Otranto. Explore the Salentine Peninsula, the southernmost tip of the heel of Italy. Gallipoli was the centre of Byzantine Italy until conquered by the Normans in 1071. The highly picturesque old town is on an off-shore island protruding into the ...

Day 8

Ostuni. Ostuni is another delightful white-washed hilltop town with bemusingly winding streets. At its centre is a late Gothic cathedral with three fine rose windows. Fly from Bari via Milan Linate, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 8.45pm.

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Dates & Availability

Price From $2,592
Price per day$324
Single supplement (single occupancy)$2,860
Last Updated: 7/16/2018

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Martin Randall Travel.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

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Logistics

What's excluded

    • Personal Expenses

Accommodation

Hotel San Paolo al Convento, Trani: a charming 4-star hotel converted from a 15th-century convent, although service and maintenance are not always quite up to standard. Relais Villa San Martino, Near Martina Franca: a converted villa 3 km outside the town. Rooms are tastefully and individually decorated but vary in size. Patria Palace Hotel, Lecce: a stylish 5-star hotel in an excellent location near the church of Santa Croce. Rooms are spacious and elegantly furnished. Single rooms are doubles for sole use throughout.

Cancellation policy

If you have to cancel your participation on a tour, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before the tour the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of the tour will be due:

between 56 and 29 days: 40%

between 28 and 15 days: 60%

between 14 days and 3 days: 80%

within 48 hours: 100%

If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room or cabin but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate on the tour, the companion will be liable to pay the stipulated single supplement.

We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.

Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included

All breakfasts and five dinners 

Age Requirements
36 years and up
Additional Information
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Trip ID
martin-EssPugMar

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