Cycling Tours in italy

Contrasts of Puglia Cycling

• Beautifully unspoiled region, full of contrasts: white sand beaches, crystal clear seas, ancient olive orchards, flourishing vineyards
• Interest-packed cycling routes: historic wine towns, colorful fishing villages, tiny white hamlets unchanged over the years
• Hand-picked hotels including 2 nights in a unique trullo house; traditional cuisine, excellent wines, lovely friendly people
• Swimming possibilities on most days

An outright winner when launched last year, this independent 7-night cycling holiday explores a sun-soaked region of empty beaches, unspoilt villages, and low fertile hills rolling down into the clear emarald seas of the Adriatic.

Firmly tucked away “on the heel of Italy’s boot” , Puglia offers extraordinary variety and beauty with a dramatically rugged coast providing total contrast to the lush interior. Your holiday starts just ouside the historic town ofMonopoli where you spend the first 2 nights. You then pedal north up the coast, passing hidden coves and gold sand beaches, where you have the chance to lunch in colorful fishing villages before heading inland. Here, you’ll be intoxicated by the rich colors of the landscape – olive groves, fruit orchards, vineyards and ruby-red fields – all intensified by the wonderful limpid light of the Adriatic. Highlights include staying in unique Alberobello – a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site – and visiting the postcard-pretty white village of Ostuni as you wind your way back towards the sea.

Your accommodation is as varied as the landscape, with each place having been specially chosen for its unique charm and character. In Monopoli, you stay in a lovingly restored 7-room agriturismo just 15 minutes by bike from the sea; in Conversano, your beautiful C12 former court house, with barrel-vaulted ceilings, is just a stone’s throw from the elegant Romanesque cathedral; in Alberobello, you cannot fail to be seduced by the authentic trullo houses – limestone dwellings with conical roofs that are the architectural symbol of Puglia - and, in Pezze di Grecco, you end your holiday with 2 nights in a beautifully restored C17 masseria (fortified farmhouse) with lovely pool, open courtyard and  500 ares of ancient palms and olive trees.

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