Welcome to the Itria Valley, one of Puglia’s most attractive areas.

Fringed by beautiful coastline, the green hills of Puglia’s  Itria Valley offer captivating towns, excellent cuisine and easy access to some of Italy’s best beaches.  Trulli, gently rolling countryside  and a bunch of really super, picuresque towns, including Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Cisternino, Ostuni and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Alberobello, are waiting to be discovered.
Southeast of Bari, the region isn’t a true valley as the name implies, but rather a Karstic depression that runs between Locorotondo, Cisternino and Martina Franca.  The landscape is riddled with holes and ravines through which small streams and rivers gurgle, creating what is, in effect, a giant sponge.  This geological phenomenon has also created the fascinatingly beautiful caves in Castellana, which run for about 3km under the north-eastern edge of the Itria Valley.
Its gentle countryside is criss-crossed by drystone walls, vineyards, almond and olive groves, fig trees and winding country lanes.

The Trulli are the first things that will grab your attention as you travel through this area – they sure lend an almost fairy-tale like element to this beautiful valley.

Rising above the olive groves and vineyards are whitewashed hill towns such as Ostuni, Locorotondo, Martina Franca and Cisternino, whose twisting alleyways hide ornate churches and top-quality restaurants.
Like many trips to Italy, the food is a true highlight, delicious, only fresh and local ingredients.  Each town in the Valle d’Itria has its own speciality, whether it is the capocollo ham of Martina Franca, the meat bombette of Cisternino (barbecued directly by the butcher for you) or the DOC white wine of Locorotondo. Of course the olive oil is supreme and the cheeses, including the milky delights of burratina, are memorable!

The Itria Valley tour combines a great variety of terrific historic and scenic sightseeing. Highlights include: Alberobello, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Cisternino, Ostuni and Polignano a Mare.

Tour highlights

Spend 3 days discovering the heart of Puglia’s Itria Valley
An excellent, knowledgable tour manager throughout
Luxury accomodation in a luxury Masseria
Enjoy a wine tasting in Martina Franca
Tour of Alberobello with complimentary local Pasticciotto pastry
Visit the whitewashed town of Ostuni
Experience a boat tour in Polignano a Mare, for an amazing view of the cliffs
Only 15 pax per tour

The accomodation

Sitting in the middle of apulian countryside, your hotel is an ancient farmhouse (thus the name Masseria). The central body of the Masseria dates back to the 16th century. Each detail tells Itria Valley long history, a kind of journey back in time. The resort is surrounded, exactly like it was in the past, by defensive drystone walls. The large courtyard, paved of local stone, hosts a beautiful little church, on whose altar is shown Masseria’s coat of arms. The journey through ancient Puglia continues among the well and the trulli, perfectly restored and brought back to life.

Your tour itinerary
Day 1: Bari – Alberobello – Locorotondo

Meeting for tour check-in at 8:30 am in Bari city centre.
Transfer by a private and comfortable bus to Alberobello, the best known town in the region, and for good reason.
Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its maze of hilly cobblestone paths lined with charming conical-roofed trulli, the white town  seems straight out of a children’s story book.
Alberobello has over 1,500 densely packed trulli. These buildings are unique to the Itria Valley and were originally built as field shelters or for storage, and in some cases as dwellings for rural families. Since trulli are generally found dotting the countryside and never in such a large concentration, Alberobello certainly offers an unusual sight. Made out of local limestone, these ancient peculiar structures house everything from bars and boutiques to churches, museums, and B&Bs, giving the town’s historic center a whimsical fairytale look.
Needless to say, this is a typical Apulian town, with its harmonious low-rise architecture enriched by tiny piazzas and scenic countryside views.

Trulli

The majority of the trulli are clustered in two neighborhoods—over 1,000 are in Rione Monti and another 400 are in Rione Aia Piccola. The two neighborhoods are very different from one another in that commercial activities are allowed in Rione Monti, while Rione Aia Piccola remains much quieter and primarily residential. There are two excellent museums in Alberobello that provide a better understanding of the trulli and they are included in our tour. In Rione Aia Piccola, the Museo del Territorio consists of several interconnected trulli and provides information on the history and construction of the structures, as well as background on Alberobello as a settlement. Trullo Sovrano, is a smaller museum located in the only two story trullo. Built in the 18th century for the local priest, the central dome rises 14 meters. The museum shows how each space would have been used when the trullo was as a residence and highlights the uniqueness of the structure.

You will make a stop at Martinucci’s pasticceria (pastry shop) for a complimentary pasticciotto, a custard-filled pastry in flavors like pistachio and ricotta with chocolate.

Locorotondo – In the afternoon, tour continues to Locorotondo. Listed as one of I Borghi più belli d’Italia (most beautiful small Italian towns of historical interest), Locorotondo is a whitewashed hilltop town,  in the heart of the Valle d’Itria. Still, the humble town is a delightful place to wander around, with its round-shaped historical center of quiet streets and typical cummerse townhouses bedecked with pots of fuchsia geraniums and intricate ironwork. Buildings are all white and even the streets are paved with white stones. The old city radiates out around the 19th century neoclassical Chiesa Madre San Giorgio, a church dedicated to the patron saint of the city. At the edge of the centro storico is the oldest church in the city, Chiesa Madonna della Greca, a 15th century church with a unique stone carved rose window. Since Locorotondo is perched on a hill, you can get an equally enchanting sight of the countryside dotted with tranquil vineyards, olive groves, and trulli homes.

It’s time to go to your hotel for check-in and dinner. Relax by the panoramic swimming pool, before tasting a deliciuos dinner prepared with local food.

Day 2: Cisternino – Martina Franca and wine tasting

Today’s full-day excursion visits the charming country town of Cisternino and the baroque town of Martina Franca.
Cisternino is similar to Locorotondo in many ways, it has also been designated as one of the country’s most beautiful cities (I Borghi più belli d’Italia), and you find lots of small alleyways for wandering in the centro storico. Visit the historic Chiesa di San Nicola and get good views of the countryside from Piazza Garibaldi, across the street from the church, and the Torre Civica, the Norman Swabian tower which helped to protect the city, is next to the church.

Martina Franca – One of Puglia’s most beautiful towns, Martina Franca is overflowing with elegant Baroque architecture and delightful trattorias specializing in exquisite cold cuts (capocollo ham).
Martina Franca is the highest town by elevation on the Murgia plateau, and until the unification of Italy in 1861 it was surrounded by defensive stone walls and eye-catching Baroque & Renaissance gates. Its centro storico is an alluring mix of narrow twisting alleys and dazzling white houses interspersed with sunny open piazzas.
A bit bigger than the neighboring towns, it has long been the commercial center of the region, which is evident in the centuries-old palazzi, and exquisitely ornate basilicas.
Light lunch included in Martina Franca in a macelleria-braceria to taste delicious and tipical Bombette. What’s a macelleria-braceria? It’s a butcher’s shop having little restaurants serving bombette and meats.
After lunch, you will visit the 17th century Palazzo Ducale frescoed walls.
At the end of the city tour, it’s time for a wine tasting, along with friselle, taralli and olives.  Tour manager will bring you to an awarded local winery. Puglia is famous for its wines!

Back to the hotel, you have time for relax before dinner.

Day 3: Ostuni – Polignano a Mare

After hotel check-out, the tour continues toward the nearby towns of Ostuni and Polignano, and it ends in Bari city centre.
Ostuni is one of the most attractive towns in southern Italy. Ostuni is a gleaming white mix of houses, churches, and charming piazzas spread over a hilltop surrounded by quaint countryside and endless olive groves. Appropriately nicknamed la città bianca or “the white city,” Ostuni’s fortified historical old town is located on a steep hill just a few kilometers from the sea. That’s allows to have lovely views of the Adriatic blue and crystal water. Simply enjoy wandering the streets and alleyways, checking out the historic buildings, and be amazed by panoramic views of the Adriatic.

The Museo Civiltà Preclassica Murgia Meridionale Ostuni, included in your tour, the town’s archaeology museum, is a surprising treat. Housed in a former church and adjoining monastery, the museum features artifacts documenting a mind-blowing 30,000 years of human history in the region. The true highlight is the remains of Ostuni Woman 1, a late Stone Age pregnant woman who was found in a cave near Ostuni. She is believed to have died around 28,000 years ago.

The tour continues to Polignano a Mare, where a light lunch is waiting fo you.

Polignano a Mare is prettier than a paint, a shining gem on the coast of the Valle d’Itria. Perched dramatically atop a 20 metre-high craggy ravine above the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic, Polignano a Mare truly lives up to its name and literally could not be any more ‘at sea’.
The idyllic seaside town hugs a little beach sheltered by two cliffs, and its centro storico – an atmospheric maze of winding streets, sun-bleached buildings, and old churches – reveals intriguing glimpses of the sparkling blue sea at every turn. You may find yourself getting lost in the winding streets, but you won’t mind at all. Before you know it, you will have reached one of three panoramic terraces offering breathtaking views of the beautiful Adriatic Sea and coastline.
Polignano is famous throughout the world for three things. First of all is cliff diving. In recent years the town has hosted the Red Bull diving competition.  Second is its outstanding ice-cream, which you really cannot afford to miss. The third and possibly most famous is the great Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang the worldwide known song, Volare.
After the city tour, you will enjoy a boat ride to explore the sea caves of Polignano a Mare. Cruise out to sea and admire the coastline views. See unique rock formations and colorful light displays in Grotta delle Rondinelle, Grotta of Episcopina, and Grotta Palazzese.

You return back to Bari around 19:00. End of our services.

Included:
Private bus transportation
English-speaking tour guide, escorting the group throughout
2 nights accomodation on half board basis, continental breakfast and dinner, shared room
Light lunch in Martina Franca
Light lunch in Polignano a Mare
Wine tasting
Complimentary pasticciotto pastry
Guided visits as per itinerary, throughout three full day
Boat tour in Polignano a Mare
Entrance fees in Alberobello and Ostuni Museums
Insurance

Not included:
Hotel city tax (approx. €2 per person per night)
Extras, drinks and personal expenses
Gratuities and porterage

Please note: we can help you with airport transfer and with pre and post-tour hotel booking.