Call to book01904 521 936
Tour Search
#Favourites
Italy, Southern Europe & Mediterranean

Puglia - Italy’s Undiscovered Coast

Save
3.9 stars(66 reviews)
Gallery
Small Group

Immerse yourself in the culture of the unspoilt southern heel of Italy.

You are viewing the 2023 itinerary. Select your departure year
20232024
12 days From £2,295 £2,095 per person
Last-Minute Savings

Various savings on last minute getaways, for selected bookings made within 110 days of departure date.

View terms and conditions

2023 Tour code: PBS23

About the tour

A blend of culture and coastal relaxation on the unspoilt heel of Italy, exploring the sights and streets of fabulous Rome before travelling to Puglia in Italy's rich agricultural heart. Admire Baroque architecture and UNESCO-listed ancient dwellings, see through the eyes of a local on a unique guided tour and enjoy a taste of Italy, sampling delicious local produce.

Highlights

View Dates & Pricing

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 – London and Lyon

After meeting at London St Pancras, we take the Eurostar to Paris. Changing trains, we continue to Lyon, a pretty riverside city, where we spend the night at a local hotel.

Please Note: For departures 29/09/2023 you will overnight at the Mercure Chambery hotel in Chambery.

For departures 06/10/2023 you will overnight at the Hotel Le Cinq Chambery in Chambery

Includes
  • Dinner
  • Eurostar Meal
Day 2 – Rome

Leaving Lyon, we travel to the 'Eternal City' of Rome, where we check into our hotel for the next two nights. Once the largest city in the world and the centre of the powerful Roman Empire, the city's architecture charts the passage of time through its wonderfully preserved Roman monuments and buildings with distinctive medieval, Renaissance and Baroque features. No other city boasts as many world-class sights as Rome, making it a true wonder to behold.

Please Note: For departure 02/06/2023 you will stay at the iH Hotels Roma Cicerone, in Rome

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 – Rome

We discover the many famous sights of Rome on a guided tour. We pass the incredible Colosseum, Italy's most famous classical sight, and the Roman Forum, the ancient power centre of Rome, as well as Piazza Venezia and the Pantheon. Later, you're free to savour Rome's beauty at your own pace. The city is rich in world-class museums and galleries, though simply walking through the atmospheric streets is a treat. You could find an alfresco cafe and enjoy a slice of crispy pizza al taglio with a glass of local wine, or maybe take the opportunity to sample some of the diverse street food.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 4 - Santa Maria al Bagno

Leaving Rome, we travel across Italy by rail - a scenic journey which takes us along the gorgeous Italian-Adriatic coastline. We travel into Puglia, the 'heel' of Italy - a rural region with an undiscovered feel. We arrive in the town of Lecce in southern Puglia then transfer by coach to our seafront hotel in the unspoilt fishing town of Santa Maria al Bagno, our relaxing base for the next four nights. There's free time to get to know our lovely surroundings, possibly take a refreshing swim in one of the hotel pools, visit the private beach or spend some time on the sun terrace which overlooks the sea.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 - Lecce

We visit the town of Lecce today on a guided walking tour. With an interesting Old Town of elaborate Baroque architecture, Lecce has been dubbed 'the Florence of the South', and the city's narrow alleys are ideal for exploring on foot. We visit the Chiesa di Santa Croce, with its intricately carved rose window and grand chandeliers, and the Piazza del Duomo, the main square, in the shadow of Lecce's cathedral. Our guided tour ends in a traditional café, where we sample a Leccese coffee, made with almond milk and poured over ice and 'pasticciotto', a Southern Puglian pastry. We then have a free afternoon to explore the town. You could visit the Roman amphitheatre, an archaeological treasure excavated in 1938.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 – Free time in Santa Maria al Bagno

A day at leisure, to explore the town of Santa Maria al Bagno or relax at your hotel. Due to its beautiful coastline and good swimming beaches, this small town buzzes with holidaymakers at the height of summer, but it remains unspoilt. There is an attractive promenade overlooked by elegant estates and palazzos. The traditional town centre is just a short walk from the hotel, and above is the 'Tower of the Galatena River' a set of four medieval fortress towers known locally as 'the four columns'. The town was the site of a 'displaced persons camp' after World War II, and a small museum tells the moving story of refugees who were given temporary homes in Santa Maria al Bagno and how they were welcomed by the local population.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 7 - Galatina & Gallipoli

We set off for a full day of sightseeing, first to Galatina - one of the region's hidden gems, off the well-worn tourist track with an impressive domed cathedral. After some free time here we continue to the historical town of Gallipoli which we explore firstly with our local guide, then continue at our leisure before returning to our hotel in Santa Maria al Bagno.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 – Alberobello and Locorotondo

This morning, we travel by coach to Lecce then by First Class rail to Monopoli. Our hotel here is a historic 16th-century building in the heart of the old, whitewashed town. We journey to the incredible town of Alberobello in time for lunch before enjoying a guided tour. A town unlike any other, Alberobello is packed with hundreds of 'trulli' - cone-shaped, limestone houses built in a style that dates to prehistoric times. Just five miles down the road is Locorotondo, a historic town with a completely different style of architecture to Alberobello. Here, narrow buildings painted brilliant white cluster round a hill. We have free time here to explore the bright and slender alleyways before returning to our historic hotel in Monopoli.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 9 - Monopoli

After breakfast in our 16th-century hotel, we are given a guided tour of Monopoli. The ancient port still bustles with the boats of busy fishermen and the old town with its palazzos and piazzas oozes character. With a free afternoon to explore, wandering the narrow lanes will unearth unexpected, beautiful sights - or if the weather is right, take a dip in the turquoise Adriatic on one of the town's cosy beaches.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch
Day 10 – Matera

We visit Matera in Basilicata, which sits in a small canyon and is famous for its 'Sassi', a collection of ancient cave dwellings that have UNESCO World Heritage status. We explore the maze of winding streets on a guided tour. Matera has flourished in recent years and there are many boutiques, craft shops, bars and cafés to discover in your free time after our tour.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11 – Turin

Leaving Monopoli today, we travel north through Italy to Turin, close to the French border. We spend the night here at a local hotel.

Please Note: For departures 29/09/2023 and 13/10/2023 these are 1 day shorter and you will transfer to Bari airport for your flight back to London

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 12 – Turin and London

Our holiday comes to an end today as we take the train from Turin to Paris. In the French capital, we change trains and board the Eurostar service to London St Pancras.

Includes
  • Breakfast
  • Eurostar Meal

Additional information

Flight Option Available

This tour also has a fly home option. If you return by air your tour will end on Day 11, when you transfer to Bari airport for your flight to London.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Palazzo Indelli, Monopoli

Palazzo Indelli, Monopoli

View hotel

Bettoja Hotel Massimo D’Azeglio, Rome

Bettoja Hotel Massimo D’Azeglio, Rome

View hotel

Grand Hotel Riviera, Santa Maria al Bagno

Grand Hotel Riviera, Santa Maria al Bagno

View hotel

Bettoja Hotel Mediterraneo, Rome

Bettoja Hotel Mediterraneo, Rome

View hotel

Starhotels Metropole, Rome

Starhotels Metropole, Rome

View hotel

Trains

Eurostar
TGV

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

Inclusive Luggage Upgrade
London Hotels
UK rail connections

Reviews

3.9 stars3.9 / 5 · 66 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (21)
  2. 4 stars
    (29)
  3. 3 stars
    (8)
  4. 2 stars
    (3)
  5. 1 star
    (5)

William Smallshire

4 stars

Submitted 4/Jun

A very well organised holiday with a brilliant tour manager (Catherine). Visited many interesting places with with informative guides. First class rail travel was a godsend with the long journeys. The main downside was the utterly useless luggage conveyance "service" - don't bother.

Collected by Trustpilot

Sheran

4 stars

Submitted 4/Jun

Definitely an adventure with some long but interesting train journeys. Some early mornings resulting in rushed breakfasts. Good standard of hotels and food in a variety of places. Not a trip for those with mobility issues.

Collected by Trustpilot

Matwin

4 stars

Submitted 28/May

We enjoyed the holiday on the whole. We were lucky as we had an excellent tour manager which meant things ran smoothly. We were with a small but a very pleasant group of people. There was a lot of travelling involved but this enhances the experience. The tours offered were all very good and interesting, and we did also have some time to soak up the armosphere of Southern Italy. The hotels used ranged from excellent to disappointing.

Collected by Trustpilot

Graham Robinson

4 stars

Submitted 24/May

I enjoyed the trip very much, I would have given it a 5 but the journey coming back over 2 days was tiring, a day brake in Turin would have been better, overall the trip was fantastic The service from Sherpr was time consuming, when filling in the details, and the labels came off the case on the outward journey, this caused problems on the return of my case

Collected by Trustpilot

Mike

4 stars

Submitted 23/May

Puglia is a lovely part of Italy. Largely unspoilt at the moment with a great coastline and unspoilt villages. Though tourism is on the increase. The caves.of Metara in Basilicata, the conical tulli in Alborello and Lecce and Gallipoli are must sees as I am sure are many places we did not visit. My only warning is that if going with the usually reliable Great Rail Journeys you give ample consideration to the amount of time they give to the journey and whether or not it takes into account invariable delays. We suffere but we enjoyed the visit.

Collected by Trustpilot

Joan Hoffman

3 stars

Submitted 08 Nov 2022

Enjoyed holiday. Disapointed we did not stay in Excellent. The replacement resort was not ideal especially out of season. Nothing much there other than the coast and a few restaurants. Would have liked more time to visit the Trulli houses and the Sassi. My last comment must be the question of tipping our tour guide. The amount of money suggested by Great Rail Journeys worked out to be £100. I assume these people are paid to do their job. So do not think it is appropriate for the company to ask customers to tip their staff. Healthworkers are not tipped to do their very valuable job.

Collected by Trustpilot

Show 6 more reviews

Tailor made for you

Customise this tour with Great Rail Journeys Independent

TailormadeEnquire
Related inspiration from our journey blog
Untouched Italy

Untouched Italy

14/08/2017 · By

Italy is a traveller's paradise, a haven for art, culture and cuisine; with its many facets, it's unsurprising Italy consistently ranks as one of the most popular destinations worldwide, let alone in Europe. Yet, with so many top-notch attractions and broad coverage in travel publications, it can feel a little over-done. If you're looking for a destination off the beaten track, Italy can still be a great choice, providing the advantages of its delightful Mediterranean climate, yet allowing for a sense of adventure. Here are our Top 10 choices for undiscovered Italian locations that should make your travel bucket list.

Read more