In early June, we did a 6 day self-guided biking tour totaling 285 km in the Puglia region of Italy (the boot heel). The tour was organized by Puglia Cycle Tours who provided the bikes and moved our luggage from town to town as we biked. We were provided a GPS loaded with our routes which kept us on course as we navigated our way through the countryside. It was an unforgettable journey and each day is highlighted below.
Day 1 – Alberobello > Locorotondo > Martina Franca > Alberobello
50 km
The tour started in the UNESCO World Heritage city, Alberobello. It is home to unique conical-roofed buildings called trulli – over the centuries these evolved from farmer field buildings to houses. The trullis are very charming but a bit dark inside without good ventilation. It was, however, still super fun to stay in one! Our first ride took us on a big loop, starting and ending in Alberobello. We biked through the towns of Locorotondo and Martina Franca which are quaint little towns good for stopping for an espresso or lunch. During the ride we saw hundreds of trulli buildings, endless fields of poppies, countless vineyards, and cherry trees hanging over the road to pick. It was such a peaceful ride through the back roads. After not biking much for 5 months, my knees were wiped. But the excellent Italian food and wine at the end of the day helped distract from the discomfort.
Day 2 – Alberobello > Polignano a Mare > Monopoli
45 km
Today’s ride first took us north from Alberobello to the Adriatic coastal town Polignano a Mare. It is an epic place with stunning white buildings hanging over the sea cliffs. It proved to be a great place to stop for gelato. As we biked our way southeast along the coast, we passed by countless small beaches which were all very busy. We arrived in Monopoli for the night which is a charming town on the sea with picturesque blue and red boats. We spent the later afternoon swimming in the crystal clear sea with locals, which was much needed with temps in the high 80s.
Day 3 – Monopoli > Torre Canne > Ostuni
45 km
Day 2 proved to build on my knee pain from Day 1, so I switched to an electric assist bike. This was critical as there was still 4 more long days of riding. Day 3 took us further down the coast from Monopoli to Torre Canne, where you can see how much Italians truly love the beach. There are hoards of people and it’s quite the spectacle. We then headed inland passing through thousand-year old olive orchards to Ostuni which is perched on a hill. Ostuni is known as “the white city” because all the buildings are white-washed. Wandering around the city, every twist and turn presents ridiculously charming views. Ostuni tends to be a more touristy town (understandably), so there were lots of other people vying for photo ops and restaurants.
Day 4 – Ostuni > Carovigno + Lecce > Borgagne
45 km
Today’s ride started very chill as we rode downhill from Ostuni to Carovigo. There we took the train to Lecce then biked to the small town of Borgagne. Along the way we passed unique stone structures that we are honestly not sure what they’re for. Borgagne was seriously small with not much to do but our B&B had an excellent garden terrace to escape the heat. The owners brought us a legit platter of meats, cheeses, banana bread and fruits right as we were getting hungry. How serendipitous!
Day 5 – Borgagne > Otranto
45 km
From Borgagne we headed back to the coast where I got to swim in the Cave of Poetry. It is a popular sea pool that connects via cave to the adjacent sea. It reminded me of cenotes in the Yucatan region of Mexico. Then we rode down the beautiful coast to Otranto, the most eastern city in Italy. During the ride, Moni’s bike broke which made us grateful for the roadside assistance, as we were brought a new bike within 2 hours. In Otranto we spent the afternoon swimming in the sea to cool off as it was very hot out. I’ve never experienced sea water so warm and refreshing. We were quite jealous of all the local kids who got to spend their summer days swimming after school.
Day 6 – Otranto > Lecce
55 km
Our final bike day was the longest but pretty flat and took us through endless fields of wildflowers. We ended up in Lecce which is a big city but the old town is very charming. We had drinks and dinner with an older Australian couple that was on our route as well. They felt like parents to us and were great people.
Our overall review of the tour is that it was an amazing way to experience the Puglia region of Italy. We liked that we got to spend the day in nature on secluded small roads and only returning to more touristy towns in the evening. Each day had slightly different scenery which made our rides unique. The tour was a bit of a treat to ourselves for our anniversary. We commented that we could have done with less fancy accommodations which would have saved money. But I think the tour is aimed at the older demographic who is willing to spend more. Either way, it would have been nearly impossible to arrange a tour like this by ourselves in a foreign place. The services provided allowed us to focus on the fun parts and simply enjoy the ride!
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