TOURS | PUGLIA
Pleasures of Puglia Indulge in la dolce vita along Italy’s southern Adriatic coast.
BY IRVINA LEW
I
talians have long enjoyed seaside beaches; medieval hilltop villages; and amazing local produce, wine, fish and cheese in Puglia, which they call Apulia. The breathtakingly beautiful region is easily reached from Rome; hour-long flights connect with Bari or Brindisi, 75 miles farther south. A coastal drive — or an hour-long train ride — links these two major cities, following a two-lane autostrada past scraggly shrubs, windswept trees and whitewashed houses. However, many travelers choose appealing tour options to enhance their visits to the southeast coast of the Adriatic Sea. Tauck offers a comfortably luxe and convenient way to explore the region on an escorted, eight-day land journey from Bari for about 24 guests. Participants enjoy guided walking tours and, among the 15 meals, one lunch in a winery. Guests stay two nights in each of three destinations: Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the Sassi cave dwellings date to 7000 B.C. and where some streets are actually cavern roofs; Lecce, a beach-studded, Baroque-style city dubbed the Florence of the South and located 25 miles south of Brindisi; and Savelletri di Fasano, with accommodations at Masseria Torre Cocarro, set in a 500-year-old fortified farmhouse. The trip includes a visit to must-see Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the medieval città bianche (white villages) in the Itria Valley, famous for its 1,500 trulli, cylindrical houses made of limestone slabs topped with a cone-shaped roof. If you prefer to tour the region from the comfort of one home base, stay at a well-located hotel where the concierge sources bespoke guest activities with a local provider. Indigenus Experiences provides personalized experiences for guests at two luxury properties: Borgo Egnazia, an exclusive, recently constructed, white-stone, pedestrian village-like complex and a member of Leading Hotels of the World; and its sister property, Masseria San Domenico, a 14th-century fortified stone farmhouse with a Templar-era tower tall enough to spot invaders on the Adriatic. Located in Savelletri di Fasano, midway between Bari and Brindisi, these two 5-star golf and spa resorts sit about three miles apart on the same estate amid a 1,000tree olive grove and vegetable gardens and adjacent to the golf course and beach. Tailor-made excursions include private dining (and mozzarella making) in a trullo, cheese making in a farmhouse, seasonal grape or olive harvesting, touring a ceramic studio, cruising on a yacht or driving a vintage car. It also organizes regional tours to iconic destinations. Folks who stay in Bari or Lecce will find the array of private and small-group tour options organized by Viator most convenient. Viator offers guided daytrip adventures from either city to Alberobello, Polignano a Mare and Monopoli. From Lecce,
one option includes sightseeing in Ostuni, a whitewashed town where the cathedral combines Gothic, Romanesque and Byzantine elements. Or book a Viator boat trip to the caves in Polignano a Mare, a tour to Matera or food-focused activities like street food tasting, wine tasting and orecchiette making (the ear-shaped pasta typical of the region).
Charming Old Towns: Monopoli in Bari Province (top); and Alberobello’s medieval trulli, built with dry limestone walls and conical roofs (bottom) PHOTOS: © STEFANO VALERI | DREAMSTIME.COM, © IONUT DAVID | DREAMSTIME.COM
AUGUST 2022 globaltravelerusa.com
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