Compare Basilicata Trek and Tour Food by Find Your Italy vs Seductive Southern Italy by Culture Trip
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| Trip |
0 | Poor
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5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 5 days | 9 days |
| Price From | $ 1,370 | $ 1,579 |
| Price Per Day | $ 274 | $ 175 |
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| Trip Style | Group tour | Group tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard | Standard |
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| Travel Themes | N/A |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Ground transport included |
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| Meals Included | N/A | N/A |
| Description | Discover a region where you can still appreciate the value of old traditions and the slow life Be impressed by the enchanting view of the Sassi of Matera Walk through the small villages of the Lucanian hills and mountains in search of flavours from times gone by Learn how to cook the famous and unique bread from Matera in an old wood-burning bakery Taste the Aglianico red wine and the cheese from the mountains Discover the traditional tastes back to XIX century, by cooking the perfect bandit food on a special workshop |
Discover clifftop villages, secluded beaches and authentic Italian cuisine on this 10-day journey across southern Italy. Starting in Naples, you’ll venture south to Salerno, gateway to the Amalfi Coast. Your trip continues inland towards Puglia, stopping in Matera en route – a city renowned for its network of ancient cave dwellings carved into a hillside. After a night in the atmospheric beach town of Polignano a Mare, you’ll move on to Lecce – often labelled the Florence of the South due to its gorgeous array of baroque architecture – for the final leg of your adventure. |
Arrival in Matera and check-in at your hotel. Light lunch with tasting of local cheeses and salami from the mountains of Matera. Afternoon visit to the Sassi: with its history from the Baroque to the Neolithic period (duration 3 hours). Dinner at a typical restaurant in the Sassi.
Day 2: Matera, Bread workshop, Rock Church Park (km 5)
Itinerary from Matera: 3 hours. length: 5 km – grade: easy.
In the morning, bread workshop in an old wood-burning bakery, where the traditional bread from Matera is made.
A short walk on the Murgia plateau in search of the archaeological treasures of the Rock Church Park. Lunch on a farm surrounded by golden hills. A walk on the hills and return to Matera. Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.
Day 3: Venosa & Aglianico wine tour, Trivigno (km 3)
Venosa and the Aglianico Wine tour: 3 hours. length: 3 km – grade: easy.
Journey to Venosa (75 minutes), an old Roman town where the Latin poet, Horatio was born. Tour of the town and wine tasting in a cellar.
Light lunch and journey to Trivigno, accommodation in an agritourism in the mountains (up to 1000 metres in altitude) where you can go for walks surrounded by the green prairies of the Southern Apennine, with a wonderful view of the Lucanian Dolomites. Dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Trekking on the Lucanian Dolomites & Cooking course (km 4)
The Bandit Menu (cookery course): 4 hours. length: 4 km – grade: easy.
After breakfast, transfer to Pietrapertosa and walk in the Lucanian Dolomites.
Back to Trivigno in the afternoon for the cookery course with the Bandit Menu, which allows you to discover the traditional tastes of cooking in 1870 Lucania. Have lunch with the Bandits!!!
Dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5: Departure
Breakfast. Check out. Private transfer to Ancona airport and departure.
Day 1: Arrive in Naples
Accommodation: Hotel Palazzo Salgar
Activities Included: Welcome dinner
Touch down in Naples and make your way to the hotel where you’ll be greeted by our Local Insider, who will accompany the group throughout the trip. At 6pm, join your fellow travellers for a welcome drink. Later on, head out for a three-course Neapolitan meal together – an ideal opportunity to get to know each other. After that, you might be tempted by a nightcap in a local bar – otherwise head back to the hotel for a good night’s rest ahead of your first full day.
Day 2: Join a street food tour of Naples
Accommodation: Hotel Santa Lucia, Minori
Activities Included: Naples street food tour
Learn all about the history of Neapolitan food and its importance to the city culture on a street food tour. Naples is of course synonymous with pizza and pasta, but there are many other local specialities such as sfogliatelle (a flaky, shell-shaped pastry typically filled with sweetened ricotta) and aubergine parmigiana (aubergine baked with layers of tomato sauce and mozzarella), which are well worth trying. Explore the city at leisure in the afternoon before taking a private transfer to the Amalfi Coast – your next stop.
Day 3: Cruise along the Amalfi Coast
Accommodation: Hotel Santa Lucia, Minori
Optional Activities: Amalfi Coast private boat tour
Today, the choice is yours. You could embark on a private boat tour of the Amalfi Coast to explore one of the most alluring stretches of coastline in Europe – or take the public ferry to either Amalfi or Positano and spend the day as you wish. Think pastel-coloured fishing villages set against the backdrop of dramatic cliffs and forests overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Whether you want to swim, relax on the beach or wander leisurely around the streets and piazzas of these picturesque villages, you won’t be short of options. Return to Minori in the evening.
Day 4: Explore the winding streets of ancient Matera
Accommodation: Corte San Pietro
Activities Included: Matera walking tour
Today we cross into the Basilicata region to reach Matera – known for its ancient hillside cave dwellings in the Unesco-listed Sassi area. Weave your way through the narrow, winding streets on a guided walking tour and discover why it was crowned 2019 European Capital of Culture. You may well recognise it from the latest James Bond movie, No Time to Die.
Day 5: Cycle through the Itria Valley by e-bike
Accommodation: Cala Ponte Hotel
Activities Included: Alberobello guided tour, Locorotondo visit, Itria Valley e-bike tour
You’ll continue eastwards into the Itria Valley – a particularly scenic part of the Puglia region. Marvel at the extraordinary trulli (traditional limestone dwellings with conical roofs) on a guided tour of Alberobello, and navigate the labyrinth of whitewashed alleyways and piazzas in Locorotondo, often regarded as one of the most photogenic towns in Puglia. Keen cyclist? You’ll also have the opportunity to hop on an e-bike and glide through a dreamy patchwork of olive groves and vineyards. Refuel with lunch in Locorotondo before heading to Polignano a Mare on the Adriatic coast – your home for the next two nights.
Day 6: Relax on the beaches of Polignano a Mare
Accommodation: Cala Ponte Hotel
Today is yours to spend as you wish. After a leisurely breakfast, why not head into the old town and soak up the laid-back atmosphere with a coffee in the main square, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II? If you fancy catching rays, pack your beach towel and sprawl out at Lama Monachile (also known as Cala Porto), a secluded white-pebble beach sandwiched between craggy cliffs and bordered by a Roman-era bridge. As evening rolls in, make your way to the Pietra Piatta or Balconata sul Mare for wonderful views of the town and Adriatic Sea.
Day 7: Visit the Castellana Caves and taste Puglian olive oil
Accommodation: Arthotel & Park Lecce
Activities Included: Castellana Caves visit, Olive oil tasting & Ostuni walking tour
Wave goodbye to Polignano a Mare as you travel down the heel of the Italian boot to Lecce. Your first stop is at the Castellana Caves for a guided tour of karst chambers 70m (230ft) underground. You’ll then continue to Il Frantoio olive farm where you can taste the area’s famed olive oil from the source, before visiting the nearby hilltop town of Ostuni, nicknamed La Città Bianca (the White City) for its whitewashed buildings. Here, you’ll enjoy a guided walking tour followed by lunch at a masseria (traditional Puglian farmhouse).
Day 8: Explore Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca
Accommodation: Arthotel & Park Lecce
Activities Included: Otranto private tour, Santa Maria di Leuca private tour
Your day starts with a guided tour of the Salento peninsula – the southernmost part of Puglia, home to some of the best beaches in Italy and baroque towns. First, you’ll be shown around Otranto, a city that bears strong Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Norman architectural influences; highlights include an 11th-century cathedral with an elaborate mosaic floor and the Aragonese Castle. It’s then time to explore Santa Maria di Leuca, known for its hilltop lighthouse and the Basilica De Finibus Terrae. Bring your camera to these vantage points to capture panoramic views of the town and coastline, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas merge.
Day 9: Admire the extravagant architecture of Lecce on a walking tour
Accommodation: Arthotel & Park Lecce
Activities Included: Lecce walking tour & Farewell dinner
Begin the final full day of your southern Italy adventure with a walking tour of Lecce, nicknamed the Florence of the South due to its honey-coloured baroque churches and palaces, with elaborately decorated façades, dotted throughout the old town. Spend the rest of your day at leisure, exploring independent craft shops, street cafés and cosy wine bars, as well as a superb selection of authentic Puglian restaurants. Come nightfall, cap off your trip with a memorable farewell dinner in the company of your fellow travellers.
Day 10: Depart from Lecce
It’s time to bid farewell to your new friends as your trip comes to an end. Check out of the hotel and make your way to Salento Airport to catch your flight home – or choose to extend your stay and experience what else Italy has to offer.
