Fairly strenuous cycling featuring longer days with some sustained climbs.
The season for this holiday is:
09 April 2020 - 30 June 2020
22 August 2020 - 17 October 2020
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| °C | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 17 | 13 |
| mm | 54 | 59 | 55 | 40 | 38 | 32 | 27 | 34 | 56 | 64 | 60 | 65 |
7 nights: 09 April 2020 - 30 June 2020 & 22 August 2020 - 17 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 9 - 30 Apr 2020 | £995 | £262 |
| 1 - 21 May 2020 | £1020 | £320 |
| 22 May - 23 Jun 2020 | £1045 | £325 |
| 22 Aug - 30 Sep 2020 | £1045 | £325 |
| 1 - 10 Oct 2020 | £1020 | £320 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£190 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £190 |
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 £100 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)
| Hotel San Paolo al Convento, Trani | ||
|---|---|---|
| Deluxe with harbour view: 09 Apr - 30 Jun 2020 | £7 | |
| Deluxe with harbour view: 22 Aug - 17 Oct 2020 | £7 |
| Masseria Lama di Luna, Montegrosso | ||
|---|---|---|
| Superior Murgia: 10 Apr - 30 Jun 2020 | £12 | |
| Superior Murgia: 22 Aug - 17 Oct 2020 | £12 |
| Locanda di San Martino, Matera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Junior suite: 09 Apr - 30 Jun 2020 | £25 | |
| Junior suite: 22 Aug - 17 Oct 2020 | £25 |
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.| Hotel San Paolo al Convento, Trani (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 09 Apr - 30 Jun 2020 | £84 | £136 |
| 22 Aug - 17 Oct 2020 | £84 | £136 |
| Locanda di San Martino, Matera (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 09 Apr - 30 Jun 2020 | £98 | £142 |
| 22 Aug - 17 Oct 2020 | £98 | £142 |
Travelling from the UK
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bristol - Brindisi | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh - Bari (via Frankfurt) | Lufthansa |
| Edinburgh - Brindisi (via Milan Bergamo) | Ryanair |
| Edingburgh - Bari (via Munich) | Lufthansa |
| 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 |
| Heathrow - Brindisi (via Rome Fiumicino) | 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.
Connecting travel options - flying via Bari
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| direct taxi Bari airport to hotel (0h45) | £36 | flexible |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| direct taxi hotel to Bari airport (1h15) | £46 | flexible |
Connecting travel options - flying via Brindisi
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| rail Brindisi to Trani (1h50-2h30), own taxi Trani to hotel (0h10, pay locally) or walk (0h20) | £32 | 1700 |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| direct taxi hotel to Brindisi airport (2h) | £86 | flexible |
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 >
Highlights: it was all fantastic, really the best holiday we've been on through you so far. Beware the dogs on your route into Venosa - there is a route via the garden centre you can take to avoid them but it is very steep so you might have to push. Stop at the roman ruins on the way into Venosa, you're unlikely to go back to see them the next day. For matera: we did our own booking because your options were all full - but Matera is full of hotels so it's not that difficult and it's definitely special to stay in the Sassi part of town despite the tourists. A unique experience! One other suggestion for the circular route day from Venosa: with the prospect of 92km the following day, the longer option was a bit too long but the shorter option was too short, so you might work out a slightly longer short route. We don't tend to do wine-tasting while we cycle so there wasn't much point putting that in as an option! Wine is definitely for the end of the day!
Thank you for your helpful comments and suggestions. Others haven't mentioned the dogs but we will monitor this section closely should an alternative route be preferable.
Inntravel provided an excellent service. The hotels all different and unique, we loved them all. Some of the hills are steep and long. Just remember it's a holiday so take your time, even walk a bit. The views from the top are worth the effort.
Matera is stunning, worth extending the stay here for a couple of days. Lots of excellent cafes, bars and restaurants, but two particular recommendations for dinner are the Taverna Re Manfredi (owned by the vineyard outside Venosa which is recommended in the cycling notes - visit that too!) and Dimora Ulmo, more expensive tasting menus, but the food, staff and the setting make it an evening to remember.
Highlights: it was all fantastic, really the best holiday we've been on through you so far. Beware the dogs on your route into Venosa - there is a route via the garden centre you can take to avoid them but it is very steep so you might have to push. Stop at the roman ruins on the way into Venosa, you're unlikely to go back to see them the next day. For matera: we did our own booking because your options were all full - but Matera is full of hotels so it's not that difficult and it's definitely special to stay in the Sassi part of town despite the tourists. A unique experience! One other suggestion for the circular route day from Venosa: with the prospect of 92km the following day, the longer option was a bit too long but the shorter option was too short, so you might work out a slightly longer short route. We don't tend to do wine-tasting while we cycle so there wasn't much point putting that in as an option! Wine is definitely for the end of the day!
Thank you for your helpful comments and suggestions. Others haven't mentioned the dogs but we will monitor this section closely should an alternative route be preferable.
Inntravel provided an excellent service. The hotels all different and unique, we loved them all. Some of the hills are steep and long. Just remember it's a holiday so take your time, even walk a bit. The views from the top are worth the effort.
Matera is stunning, worth extending the stay here for a couple of days. Lots of excellent cafes, bars and restaurants, but two particular recommendations for dinner are the Taverna Re Manfredi (owned by the vineyard outside Venosa which is recommended in the cycling notes - visit that too!) and Dimora Ulmo, more expensive tasting menus, but the food, staff and the setting make it an evening to remember.
This was a fabulous holiday in a really beautiful part of Italy. The well-maintained bikes were perfect for the terrain and pace of the holiday. I loved my ebike very much and looked forward to riding it each day, especially on the long hills, when I could overtake the boys easily if I tried.
There is a sparcity of places to eat and drink on the routes - a little more information on available lunch/ drink/ coffee stops en route or small detours off route would be welcome. The holiday was excellent and the last two nights at Locanda de San Martino were magical and so different to most hotels.
We thoroughly enjoyed our journey on two wheels through Puglia and Basilicata. Great selection of quality accommodation in lovely locations, each one different from the previous one, and each one with its own charm. Nice combination of small hotels in interesting and picturesque towns, and agriturismo B&Bs in beautiful rural locations. Smooth and efficient airport and luggage transfers. Good-quality bikes and well-devised itineraries on relatively quiet roads, with courteous drivers and friendly local cyclists. Beautiful landscape and scenery - unexpectedly green and lush. We received a particularly warm welcome at the two agriturismo B&Bs, where the evening meals provided were excellent.
So many memorable moments - particular highlights include: The amazing view of the harbour and seaside cathedral from our room in Hotel San Paolo al Convento in Trani; Pedalling through torrential rain one afternoon, to find that our lovely hosts at Masseria Lama di Luna had been worried about us and had switched the heater on in our room, so that it would be nice and toasty when we arrived; Pedalling through the lovely countryside on Easter Monday, past families enjoying BBQs in the sunshine; Pedalling through Minervino Murge, feeling ever-so-slightly conspicuous in our lycra amongst all the chic ragazzi, enjoying their bank holiday passeggiata; Having a chat with a supermarket assistant in Venosa, who was keen to practise his English, and who was very interested to hear about our cycling holiday; Spending a lovely evening with Hilde, our very hospitable host at Agriturismo Bufalara, and making friends with her lovely dog, Tommy; Our first glimpse of the Matera 'sassi' as we navigated our way through the modern part of the town, turned a corner, and arrived at the viewpoint next to Convento di Sant'Agostino - most definitely a 'Wow!' moment; Saturday night passeggiata in Matera - so civilised! Matera is such a special place - it's well worth spending an extra night there to explore on foot.
I think it's a sign of a really good cycling holiday when you actually feel sad when you have to hand back the bikes on your final day!
Lovely cycling, generally little traffic and the hills all manageable.
We were lucky with the weather and had no rain, some of the higher more exposed sections are probably awful if it does rain!
we cycled the whole way to Bufalara from Venosa, be aware that although it looks downhill all the way, with a headwind you are pedalling most of it! No idea how common this is.
We experienced a sense of achievement at the end of our rides and this was delightfully rewarded in almost all cases by a lovely welcome and then stylish service and accommodation at the hotels provided for us. Once away from the coast there was a wonderful feeling of tranquility on the routes and the hill top towns. Venosa and Matera were well chosen destinations (indeed more could have been made of Venosa's castle museum.) The hostess at Grottole was so lovely, being so keen that we should enjoy our brief stay, even introducing us to her dogs. If anything we had expected prices in local bars and restaurants to be higher and so that was a bonus. They compared pretty much with UK.
The ride from La Bufalara by the lake was wonderful.
We did enjoy the Ebikes which made this trip a pleasure. Matera is a very special place, even though a big climb to get to it. Host advised us on excellent restaurants "Soul Kitchen" and "Osteria L'arco". The thermal baths in the hotel in Matera were very welcome to ease aching legs.