Easy-to-moderate cycling featuring undulating routes with more frequent short ascents, and a mix of shorter and longer days.
The season for this holiday is:
01 April 2019 - 30 June 2019
01 September 2019 - 31 October 2019
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| °C | 13 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 14 |
| mm | 81 | 65 | 73 | 43 | 32 | 22 | 16 | 31 | 57 | 87 | 90 | 82 |
8 nights: 01 April 2019 - 30 June 2019 & 01 September 2019 - 31 October 2019
Start any day except Sunday | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 24 Apr 2019 | £1260 | £200 |
| 25 Apr - 23 May 2019 | £1295 | £210 |
| 24 - 30 May 2019 | £1355 | £215 |
| 31 May - 22 Jun 2019 | £1395 | £230 |
| 1 - 13 Sep 2019 | £1395 | £230 |
| 14 - 23 Sep 2019 | £1355 | £215 |
| 24 Sep - 23 Oct 2019 | £1295 | £210 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£105 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £195 |
Includes accommodation, meals, bike hire, luggage transfers and any other services integral to the holiday as described, plus cycling notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.
Electric bikes available: add £90 per person
Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.
Room upgrades (£ per person per night)
| Masseria Alcorico, Gagliano del Capo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sea view with terrace: 01 Apr - 30 Jun 2019 | £5 | |
| Sea view with terrace: 04 Sep - 31 Oct 2019 | £5 |
Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room
Prices include an extra day’s hire of a standard bike and of an e-bike.| Masseria Copertini, Vernole (with dinner) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr - 30 Jun 2019 | £124 | £154 |
| 01 Sep - 31 Oct 2019 | £124 | £154 |
| Masseria Panareo, near Porto Badisco (with dinner) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr - 31 May 2019 | £105 | £135 |
| 01 Jun - 30 Jun 2019 | £120 | £158 |
| 01 Sep - 14 Sep 2019 | £120 | £158 |
| 15 Sep - 31 Oct 2019 | £105 | £135 |
| Masseria Alcorico, Gagliano del Capo (with dinner) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr - 30 Jun 2019 | £108 | £114 |
| 04 Sep - 12 Sep 2019 | £120 | £126 |
| 13 Sep - 31 Oct 2019 | £108 | £120 |
| Al Pescatore Hotel & Restaurant, Gallipoli (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr - 17 Apr 2019 | £65 | £80 |
| 18 Apr - 31 May 2019 | £72 | £90 |
| 01 Jun - 28 Jun 2019 | £85 | £100 |
| 29 Jun - 30 Jun 2019 | £108 | £132 |
| 01 Sep - 14 Sep 2019 | £108 | £132 |
| 15 Sep - 12 Oct 2019 | £85 | £100 |
| 13 Oct - 31 Oct 2019 | £72 | £90 |
| Masseria Chicco Rizzo, Sternatia (with dinner) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr - 14 Apr 2019 | £114 | £146 |
| 15 Apr - 17 Apr 2019 | £128 | £160 |
| 18 Apr - 30 Apr 2019 | £114 | £146 |
| 01 May - 30 Jun 2019 | £128 | £160 |
| 01 Sep - 29 Sep 2019 | £128 | £160 |
| 30 Sep - 31 Oct 2019 | £114 | £146 |
Travelling from the UK
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Glasgow - Bari (via Frankfurt) | Lufthansa |
| Glasgow - Bari (via Munich) | Lufthansa |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Liverpool - Bari | Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Gatwick - Bari | British Airways, easyJet |
| Gatwick - Brindisi | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Heathrow - Brindisi | British Airways |
| Heathrow - Brindisi (via Milan Linate) | Alitalia |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Luton - Bari | Wizz Air |
This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service (£60 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.
If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?
We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >
With winter approaching and both myself and my wife having had a tough year, the choice of cycling in Puglia was a perfect last minute October break. We had sunshine, history, quiet roads and comfortable accommodation at the end of a days cycling. The simple but delicious Southern Italian food was as good as its reputation and the hosts of the Masserias alweays keen to accomodate. We were lucky to have had such wonderful weather but a fabulous weeks break gave us the last of the sunshine before winter in the UK.
We had excellent weather for mid/late October. The sea bathing was a bonus and to be recommended. The pools at the second and final locations were of excellent quality.
We thought the whole holiday was wonderful. We were lucky that we had total sunshine for the cycling but not too hot (October). The scenery, at times, was breathtaking. I think summertime heat and increased traffic might make the holiday a less pleasant experience. Heavy traffic on one route was the only problem we encountered. Inntravel's organisation of our extended holiday, at short notice, was superb.
With winter approaching and both myself and my wife having had a tough year, the choice of cycling in Puglia was a perfect last minute October break. We had sunshine, history, quiet roads and comfortable accommodation at the end of a days cycling. The simple but delicious Southern Italian food was as good as its reputation and the hosts of the Masserias alweays keen to accomodate. We were lucky to have had such wonderful weather but a fabulous weeks break gave us the last of the sunshine before winter in the UK.
We had excellent weather for mid/late October. The sea bathing was a bonus and to be recommended. The pools at the second and final locations were of excellent quality.
We thought the whole holiday was wonderful. We were lucky that we had total sunshine for the cycling but not too hot (October). The scenery, at times, was breathtaking. I think summertime heat and increased traffic might make the holiday a less pleasant experience. Heavy traffic on one route was the only problem we encountered. Inntravel's organisation of our extended holiday, at short notice, was superb.
E-bikes enabled us to have a sightseeing holiday without having to concentrate on making progress or climbing hills. After our first experience with e-bikes, we will definitely consider using them again. The meal on the first night at M Copertini was very good and the welcome and services at M Chicco Rizzo were excellent. The suggestion of La Vinaigrette in Gallipoli was very successful.
My personal highlight was arriving at Masseria Panareo - a wonderful reward for a rather challenging climb at the end of the day. In Lecce - I would recommend "Boccon Divino" in Via Libertini for lunch - the 15 euro 2 courses with wine was amazing.
This was the first time that I had used an electric bike. The bikes were delivered to Masseria Copertini (we were told) in the evening of our first day. It would have been useful to have been able to see the bike man, just to have a run through of how to operate the electric bike. The two 'reps' spoke very little English and didn't seem to know anything about how the bikes worked. The first hour cycling was very much trial and error. I got there in the end, but it was very much a voyage of discovery!
We loved the coastal cycling routes. The scenery was breathtaking, particularly on the way to Masseria Panaero, through Ortranto and on the third day to Masseria Alcorico. We found the inland cycle routes rather boring, to be honest, particularly the route that included Poggiardo. If there is any way to offer alternative routes that take in more of the coastline, even if it meant looping back on yourself, I think this would be more interesting.
You did warn us about the sleepy villages. However we werent quite prepared for how run down some of these places are - and most everywhere was closed. Whether May is too early in the season, I dont know, but we did find it hard to come across open restautants etc., particularly on the route to Gallipoli. We had to retrace our route to go back to the one area that we thought we would find open restaurants. The ones you mentioned in the route guide were all closed.
Not that InnTravel can do anything about this, but we were dismayed at the amount of rubbish along the roadsides and more especially in the towns. There were many dumped mattresses, electrical equipment, bottles (some of which were broken and you had to watch the bike tyres), we even saw a dead cat, at the side of the road. This sometimes spoiled the cycling for us and, especially in the towns and villages, we just couldn't understand why there was so much rubbish around. The locals seemed to be oblivious to it. When we took the train into Lecce, the rubbish bins round the station were overflowing and I have never seen so much rubbish alongside the train tracks and around the station - and I am a regular train traveller in the UK, so am used to seeing an amount of rubbish.
We could really have done with an extra night in Gallipoli. Becasue of the very long ride to get there, we had no time to explore this fascinating town, as we were off early the next day. I realise that you did offer an extra night in Gallipoli, and with hindsight, I wish we had thought about that, but you may like to think about pushing this more, or making it part of the itinerary.
We had a wonderful holiday in Puglia - our first time to visit this area - and it was our third cycling holiday. The food in both Masseria Copertini and Masseria Alcorico was exceptionally good and in all accommodation we were welcomed warmly by families/staff. The rooms and terrace in Masseria Panareo and rooms & pool in Masseria Chicco Rizzo were wonderful. Not all hotels had their pools open at this time of year. The bikes were excellent, the maps & routes accurate with interesting information and we particularly enjoyed the minor roads through olive groves on the circuits near Otranto and Gagliano del Capo.
All in all we had a wonderful 8 days. The hotels were all comfortable and served excellent local food. I would certainly cycle with Inntravel again.
We had a wonderful holiday, loved the cycling and seeing a beautiful rural and coastal part of Italy.
It was a great holiday which we both enjoyed from start to finish. Excellent cycling and wonderful places to stay. Getting to the very tip of the heel of Italy was particularly satisfying.
Stand out points:- dinner at Massaria Copertini - outstanding! The coastal ride from Vernole to Ortranto was stunning. Puglia generally is a fabulous area to visit.
First, third and last ‘hotels’ were very special. [Masseria Copertini, Masseria Alcorico & Masseria Chicco Rizzo]
Swimming in the Mediterranean was lovely and virtually empty beaches.
The cycling was well organised and well balanced.
Coastal routes were the best. A trip to Ortranto in the evening is a must - as better without bikes.
A great holiday through lovely scenery with just enough exercise to justify the substantial evening meals! Good arrangements, choice of routes and accommodation. On day 3 there is an excellent cafe at Castro Marina (in fact a choice of 2) down by the seafront promenade area - just follow signs to "Marina" and on day 1 in Torre dell'Orso, a lovely cafe with a terrace and lovely view of the bay, attached to a hotel and right at the base of the Torre, just 100m off to the left as you cycle along the one way system.
We love Italy and enjoyed the variety of this holiday. We felt it gave us a good coverage of southern Puglia with wonderful coastal views and interesting towns, Otranto, Gallipoli and Lecce especially. There is a lot of road cycling but generally there was not a great deal of traffic and the gradients were mostly manageable. Roadside rubbish is an issue but sadly one that seems to exist in a lot of southern Italy. We found the last day of cycling the least enjoyable being both a less interesting route and busier. Masseria Panareo was a real treat and we did not want to leave! Both this and Masseria Chicco Rizzo have stunning swimming pools. The bikes were brilliant with smooth gears, good brakes and easy to use panniers. Some of the road surfaces, especially around the towns and more built up areas, are poor and rather challenging for the backside, it might be worth considering extra padding!
This is a perfect way to explore an unspoilt part of Italy and enjoy the local produce in accommodation with plenty of character.
I believe that this trip is misrepresented in its description--Salento is an economically poor, harsh and rubbish strewn place with few sandy beaches interspersed with a cutting pumice coastline. The local food is predominated by tough durum based pasta with little herb or spice to enliven the pasta course--antipasta is varied and on occaisons very good. Little fish was available despite our gazes being longingly cast out to sea. The trip notes and routings are very poor indeed--this is our 6th Inntravel cycle experience and the worst thus far. It was not value for money.
We are sorry that you did not enjoy this holiday as much as others you have done with us. It is normally well received by customers and we are confident that it is appropriately represented in our brochure and on the website, and that our route notes are accurate, as borne out by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we receive.
Chicco Rizzo - the best hotel. Perfect pool, beautiful grounds, exceptional staff.
Torre Vado - great sandy beaches. 10 euros for loungers and parasol.
Gallipoli - interesting, buzzy town. A nice change from the countryside.
Profumo di Mare restaurant - a must. Fabulous giant prawns and the best fried bread( sounds odd but it works)
Cycling along the quiet lanes flanked by olive groves as far as the eye can see, breathing in scents of fennel, honeysuckle and oregano, the sun warm on your back - heaven!
Beautiful scenery, wild flowers, food and wine in an unspoilt part of Italy. Friendly reception in beautiful and varied accommodations.
An excellent trip. Beautiful sea views and olive groves. Bear in mind that coastal routes with cliffs do have occasional significant gradients. The notes on entry to Ortranto need to take account of a new bypass dual carriageway.
A fabulous holiday around beautiful countryside which ran like clockwork. We really enjoyed the route (which was generally easy to follow save a few gremlins in one way systems) and spent happy days cycling in the sun with plenty of coffee stops and sightseeing on the way. There are a few hills on Day 3 but other than that the cycling was very easy, including the optional 60km ride which we loved and which was completely flat so we thought was well worth doing. The bikes were very heavy but were fine for a week. The accommodation was a of a good standard and Masserias Panareo and Chicco Rizzo particularly stood out. Highlights of the trip from a sightseeing point of view were Gallipolli and Lecce - both beautiful places and because we were slightly off season both were quiet which added to their charm.