Puglia Walking Tour 2027 | 7 Day Small Group Tour

Your Puglia walking holiday begins in Bari, the region’s capital, where you meet your group before travelling to Polignano a Mare.

This spectacular coastal town will be your base for the next six nights. Perched above the turquoise waters of the Adriatic, Polignano a Mare has a history stretching back to ancient times, with remnants of the Roman Via Traiana still visible today.

Staying in the historic centre gives you plenty of opportunity during the week to explore independently, join the evening passeggiata through the piazzas or walk down towards the town’s famous pebble beach between the cliffs.

Tonight, the group dines together for the first introduction to Puglia’s regional cuisine. Restaurants throughout the week are carefully selected to provide a variety of local food and dining styles.

Meals included: Dinner — 4 courses including wine

Your first countryside walk begins among oak forest before opening into an agricultural landscape of vineyards, smallholdings and Puglia’s distinctive trulli.

Along the way you’ll see evidence of how generations have worked this landscape, including underground cisterna used to collect water and raised aia traditionally used for drying grain. Your guide explains the history and agricultural practices of the area as you walk through it.

Afterwards, continue to Alberobello for lunch in a former olive oil mill before exploring one of Puglia’s most recognisable towns. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Alberobello is famous for streets lined with hundreds of traditional stone trulli and their distinctive conical roofs.

Explore the town with your guide, learning how and why the trulli were constructed and about the mysterious symbols painted on some of their roofs, before having free time to wander and browse independently.

Walking: 8 km / approximately 3 hours
Terrain: Well-formed tracks with slight inclines
Meals included: Breakfast and 2-course lunch including wine

Today’s walk takes you towards the coast and through a landscape carrying evidence of thousands of years of human occupation.

Crossing open plains, you’ll encounter abandoned dwellings and follow part of the ancient Via Traiana, the Roman road constructed to connect Rome with Brindisi and the trading routes beyond.

Continue to Ostuni, the famous Città Bianca. Its maze of whitewashed buildings sits high above a vast landscape of olive groves stretching towards the Adriatic. You’ll have time to explore its narrow streets before settling in for lunch.

In the afternoon, visit a traditional masseria that continues to produce organic extra virgin olive oil from trees that are centuries old. Discover evidence of agricultural production spanning Roman times through the Middle Ages and into the present before tasting oils made from different local olive varieties.

Walking: 12 km / approximately 4 hours
Terrain: Well-formed tracks and some country roads; predominantly flat
Meals included: Breakfast and 3-course lunch including wine

Today gives your legs a relative rest as the group travels south to Lecce for a guided walking tour rather than a countryside hike.

Known for its distinctive Baroque architecture, Lecce flourished during the 17th century, when churches, palaces and public buildings were decorated in an elaborate local style carved from the city’s characteristic pale stone.

A local expert guide introduces you to the historic centre and its major sights, after which you’ll have free time to explore its boutiques, cafés and lively piazzas.

Lunch introduces the cuisine of Salento, with regional specialties that may include ceci e tria and the local caffè leccese.

In the evening, visit the nearby coastal town of Monopoli. The evening is free, allowing you to explore its old streets, waterfront and piazzas independently.

Walking: 6 km / approximately 2 hours
Terrain: Paved and flat city walking
Meals included: Breakfast and 3-course lunch including wine

Today you cross into neighbouring Basilicata to visit Matera, one of southern Italy’s most extraordinary historic places.

The UNESCO-listed Sassi di Matera consist of homes, churches and other structures carved into the rock along the sides of a steep ravine. Explore the cave districts with a local guide, including a traditional cave dwelling that provides an insight into the difficult living conditions experienced here within living memory.

You’ll also visit one of Matera’s rock-hewn churches, where Byzantine frescoes survive within the stone.

After a lunch showcasing the cuisine of Basilicata, spend the afternoon walking along the paths of the Gravina valley. More than 150 rock churches can be found around Matera, many scattered through this dramatic landscape, which was once closely connected with the pastoral life of the town.

Morning walking: 5 km / approximately 2 hours
Afternoon walking: 5 km / approximately 3 hours
Terrain: Morning — paved with steps and inclines. Afternoon — unsealed trails with some inclines
Meals included: Breakfast and 2-course lunch including wine

Your final substantial countryside walk follows a scenic route through the Valle d’Itria, the high plateau famous for its trulli, olive and almond trees, artichokes, capers and distinctive dry-stone landscape.

Part of today’s route follows an old water supply corridor that has been converted into a walking and cycling path. At walking pace, there’s time to observe how agriculture and everyday life remain connected to seasonal cycles that have shaped this countryside for generations.

Continue to hilltop Locorotondo, recognised as one of the Borghi più belli d’Italia — Italy’s most beautiful villages. Its compact circular historic centre is made for exploring on foot, with narrow lanes, whitewashed buildings and Baroque architectural details overlooking the Valle d’Itria.

Walking: 11 km / approximately 3 hours
Terrain: Well-formed, predominantly level walking track
Meals included: Breakfast and 3-course lunch including wine

After breakfast, it’s time to leave Polignano a Mare.

Transport is organised to Bari, where the tour concludes at approximately 11:00 am.

Meals included: Breakfast