Puglia, Matera and Abruzzo Experience

2.650

Join us for a 10-day unique escorted tour to visit 3 of the most stunning Italian regions: Abruzzo with its charming mountain villages, 3 National Parks and the fascinating trabocchi (special fishing machines symbol of the area), Puglia with its UNESCO sites, castles, beautiful medieval towns and coastal villages, and Basilicata with the enchanting Matera, elected European capital of Culture for 2019. You will be part of a small group of people and will be able to embrace a deep cultural history of food, wine, art and living “La Dolce Vita”.

Type of tour: Escorted small group tour
Min/max people: from 1 pax
Length of stay: 10 days/ 9 nights
Arrival/Departure: Rome/Bari
Dates 2019: 3rd-12th April & 2nd-11th October

Description

Map

Highlights

  • An intimate tour of 16 people or fewer will give participants the chance to experience the human hospitality of local people and immerse themselves in the culture of Southern Italy
  • Visit 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites: Castel del Monte, the Trulli of Alberobello and the Sassi of Matera
  • Taste the most genuine local products directly from the source: wine, olive oil, confetti, focaccia and mozzarella cheese
  • Experience the authenticity and natural hospitality of the Abruzzo and Puglia people
  • Cook with local women and learn from them about the traditional recipes of Italian families
  • Fish and cook on a Trabocco fishing hut
  • Be involved in a unique Art experience with a local artist

Itinerary

Day 1: Rome Fiumicino airport pick up, Sulmona and welcome to Abruzzo dinner

Arrival at Rome Fiumicino airport. Pick up at 2:30 pm (we can organize a pre-tour accommodation in Rome).

Transfer to Sulmona, the town of the Roman poet Ovid.

Check in, relax and welcome dinner at Hotel Ovidius in the heart of Sulmona. Overnight.

Day 2: Sulmona, Confetti Museum & Wine tasting class with Sommelier

Enjoy a leisurely traditional breakfast of freshly baked bread, whole fruit country-style preserves, cake, pastries, coffee, tea and freshly squeezed juice.

Visit of the Confetti (sugar-coated almonds) Museum, where you can see a wide display of old-fashioned confectionery machines and equipment, memorabilia and precious, rare objects relating to the ancient Sulmonese art of confectionary.

After a confetti tasting we’ll have a tour of Sulmona’s historic centre with the Roman aqueduct on Piazza Garibaldi and the Church of Santa Maria Annunziata with its majestic bell tower.

After some free time for lunch at leisure, explore Sulmona at your own pace for shopping and meeting local artisans.

In late afternoon we’ll have a wine tasting class with a professional sommelier for a couple of hours in the centre of Sulmona and learn all about Abruzzo wines.

You’ll taste try 3 different wines from local vineyards, with pairings from local cheeses, salami and other specialties.

Dinner at leisure and overnight.

Day 3: Abruzzo mountains landscapes, Scanno and Vasto on the Adriatic Coast 

Breakfast. After check out, we’ll drive across the wonderful Abruzzo mountains and National Parks to the ancient Roman town of Vasto on the Adriatic Coast, where you will be staying for the next 3 nights

On the way to Vasto, we’ll visit the enchanting Hermitage of San Domenico in Villalago and the village of Scanno (one of the most beautiful villages of Italy) on the mountains

Lunch in a traditional restaurant in Scanno.

Transfer to Vasto, check in at Hotel San Marco in the historical downtown.

After a short break, we’ll go on a guided visit of Vasto’s historic center.

We’ll explore Loggia Amblingh, a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline, the old town with its medieval Castle, charming lanes, a tower, the Cathedral and Piazza Rossetti, dedicated to Gabriele Rossetti, a poet from the town and father of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Dinner in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto. Overnight.

Day 4: Vasto Market Tour & Cooking pasta with Mamma

After a visit to Vasto’s colorful weekly market to get seasonal products, we’ll have an exclusive cooking class with a housewife in her house and we’ll learn how easy is to make fresh pasta and be introduced to her favorite seasonal sauces. A sample menu includes: Pasta alla chitarra (made using a guitar strings shape utensil) with meat sauce, polpette (meatballs), and Tarallucci olio e vino (typical biscuits from Abruzzo)

Lunch will consist of the dishes that have been prepared in the morning.

Free time at disposal. Dinner at leisure in one of the many restaurants of Vasto. Overnight.

Day 5: Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, Fish cookery demonstration on a trabocco fishing house and Art experience

After breakfast we’ll explore the Abruzzo coast line. After a short and easy walk inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, one of the 10 most beautiful Italian beaches according to the British daily The Telegraph, we’ll have a fish cooking demonstration on a Trabocco fishing house (the symbol of the area) where we’ll have a unique seafood lunch.

After lunch, Rinaldo, our host, will show us how to fish from the trabocco and reveal the secrets and history behind Abruzzo’s unique fishing platforms that have been featured in the BBC TV show: Escape to the Continent.

After a short break at the hotel, we’ll drive to the little hilltop village of Lentella at Ettore’s “Fattoria d’Arte”(Art farm)

Surrounded by an amazing landscape with sea, mountains, hills, small towns and sea views, we’ll have an artistic experience with Ettore where you may create your personal postcards or a little sculpture.

In the evening, we’ll have an aperitif and dinner with Ettore. If we’re lucky we could help Ettore’s wife make risotto with truffle that grow in Ettore’s land.

Return to the hotel and overnight.

Day 6: Welcome to Puglia, Trani and Castel del Monte  

After check out,  we’ll move to Puglia where we’ll have a guided visit of  the beautiful town of Trani: the little fishing port, the Church of the Templar Knights, the historical quarter.

Free time and lunch on your own in one of the many restaurants of Trani.

Guided tour of Castel del Monte: a UNESCO protected site and a symbol of Puglia.

Transfer to Conversano and check in at Hotel Corte Altavilla in the historical downtown (possibility to have a SPA experience in their wellness center to book in advance)

Guided walking tour in Conversano: ancient town with its medieval Castle and Romanesque cathedral

Dinner at Hotel Corte Altavilla. Overnight.

Day 7: Polignano a mare, cooking class in a masseria and the Trulli of Alberobello

After breakfast, guided tour of of Polignano a mare .

Transfer  to an ancient masseria (typical Apulian farmhouse) in Monopoli and cooking class with traditional recipes.

Lunch will consist of the scrumptious dishes that have been prepared in the morning.

Guided tour of the UNESCO site of Alberobello: walk among the trulli, visit to the trullo “sovrano”and its museum.

Free time and dinner at your leisure in one of the many restaurants of Conversano. Overnight.

Day 8: Bari and Gioia del Colle Castle, Olive oil, Mozzarella and Wine-tasting experience

Breakfast. Guided tour of Bari: San Nicola’s church, Frederick II’s castle and the city center.

Visit to a small olive oil mill in the country side of Gioia del Colle where we’ll have an extra virgin olive oil tasting

Guided tour of a family-run winery and light lunch with tasting of the wines and the famous mozzarella cheese of Gioia del Colle.

Guided tour of Federick II’s castle in Gioia del Colle (one of the best kept and preserved castle in all Puglia)

Free time and dinner at your leisure in one of the many restaurants of Conversano. Overnight.

Day 9: Focaccia tasting, Matera and farewell dinner

Breakfast. Focaccia tasting in a very old bakery with a wood burning oven in Altamura, town famous for its DOP bread.

Guided tour of spectacular Matera and its Unesco’s site “the Sassi” (cave houses and rocky churches where time seems to stop).

Free time for lunch and explore the city on your own.

Farewell dinner at the restaurant of the hotel and overnight.

Day 10: Departure and goodbye

After breakfast, departure (normally at 09:00) for Bari airport or your next destination (45 minutes driving from Hotel to Bari airport and 40 minutes to Bari train station)

Price per person:  2650 euro in double room

The tour includes:

  • Accommodation in standard room with en-suite bathroom
  • 2 nights in Sulmona at Hotel Ovidius 4*
  • 3 nights in Vasto at Hotel San Marco 3*
  • 4 nights in Conversano at Hotel Relais Corte Altavilla 4*
  • Breakfast Buffet
  • 12 meals in selected restaurants, farmhouses or wineries based on traditional regional dishes (food, water & house wine included)
  • Guided tastings of wines, confetti, olive oil, mozzarella cheese and bread including the visits to the producers
  • 2 Hands-on cooking classes
  • 1 Wine tasting class with a professional sommelier
  • Personalized cooking booklet and apron
  • Daily trips, excursions and guided tours in English language as per programme
  • All transport for daily trips and excursions in air-conditioned bus
  • Pick up in Rome Fiumicino airport and drop off in Bari airport
  • All entry fees for castles and museums
  • Art experience with a local artist
  • English-speaking professional tour directors and licensed local guides as per itinerary
  • All taxes

The tour does not include:

  • Flights
  • Tips and personal expenses
  • Travel insurance (available on request)
  • Everything not listed under item “the tour includes”

Extras and Supplements:

  • Single room supplement € 250
  • Pre and post tour extensions
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