Puglia Biking Adventure
American Women of Berkshire & Surrey
April 28 - May 2, 2012
| Price | 2,100 USD |
| Single Supplement | 650 USD (always optional) |
| Length | Five Days & Four Nights |
| Activities | Biking |
| Difficulty | For All Abilities |
| Guides | Allan, Erika, and Giovanni |
| Bike Rental | 25 Euros per day or E125 total |
Note: This trip is sold out. If you are interested to join us, please regsiter now to get on our waitlist. If a spot opens up, we will first confirm with you before charging the deposit to your credit card.
Puglia (pronounced without the "g" as in the Italian, Apulia) is the heel of the "boot" that is the shape of Italy and is considered the place Italians go on vacation. It is a wonderful area full of olive trees, rock-lined fields, small backroads, blue seas, and sun-drenched white-washed cities.
Puglia is a long, narrow peninsula that juts out into the Ionian and Adriatic seas across from Greece. You will love the laid back attitude, the hours-long mid-day siestas, and the unsophisticated charm of southern Italy.
The cylcling is moderate, with long stretches of flat - including a 20-kilometer bikeway - interspersed with rolling hills. The area is a main agricultural region and we cycle past fields of tomatos, eggplant, oranges, almonds, and artichokes. Most of all, however, you will see millions of olive trees - reportedly up to 60 million in Puglia, many of them massive, anicent trees that are spectacular as roadside neighbors.
Puglia is also a wine region, producing more wine than any other region in Italy. Grapes include the Negro Amaro, which produces the excellent Salice Salentino wine, and Primitivo, which is equivalent to Zinfandel. However, it is often the cheap and plentiful vino della casa, in white or red, that seems to go best with our mid-day or evening meal.
Another fantastic feature of the area is the proximity of towns on our cycling paths, each with a unique character and worth a stop. We visit impressive Conversano with its ancient castle; Albarabello with its thousands of "trulli"; circular-shaped Locorotondo; the white-washed Cisternino and Ostuni; and the seaside towns of Monopoli and Polignano a Mare. All are excellent places to wander old streets and do a little window shopping. And during the days we'll take time to stop at an olive oil mill, a winery, the ruins of a Roman town, ancient caves, and more.
If you have already traveled to Italy but have never been to Puglia, you'll fall in love - all over again - with the Italian culture.
Bicycles
Our Italian guide Giovanni Ramaccioni brings his fleet of bicycles down from Tuscany for this tour. Giovanni is a wonderful guide who leads our trips in Italy as well as Provence and his fleet of 21-speed bikes get rave reviews from our biking groups. You can bring your own seats and pedals if you are an experienced cyclist and prefer to have your own. Total Rental Cost for the tour: Euro 125 (translated into dollars at current exchange rate).
Arrival and Departure
Unfortunately, the preferred flights from London on British Airways were changed substantially by the airline on 12/10/11, making them untenable. We have changed the preferred airline from London but the arrival and departure times remain the same.
The tour meeting and ending times coincide with flights on Alitalia, which although it does not have direct flights to Bari from London, has the best flight options on our tour dates. We will arrange bus transport from Bari Airport to the tour start and back to the airport at the end, included in the tour price.
Saturday, April 28, 6:50 - 12:30: Heathrow to Bari (1:45 layover in Milan)
Wednesday, May 2, 13:20 - 16:45: Bari to Heathrow (:45 layover in Milan)
Current Price: 148.53 pounds round trip
If you live outside London, you can either meet us at the Bari airport at 1:00 PM on Day One or fly via London so you can join the group on the above flight. If you plan to fly to Italy directly on your own, we will provide you with complete information in the Pre-Departure Packet once you book your tour spot.
AWBS Private Adventure
This is a Private Adventure being organized by Zephyr Adventures for the American Women of Berkshire and Surrey and their friends. Note all participants will receive a 10% discount when the group size reaches 14 participants. Book online now by paying your $500 deposit, payable by credit card. Final payment is due by check 60 days prior to departure. Minimum group size is 10 and maximum is 24. If the minimum group size is not met we will refund your deposit.
Accommodations
We
stay in three very nice accommodations during this tour, all
situated in very different environments, making for excellent variety.
Please note accommodations are subject to change.
- Hotel Corte Altavilla, Conversano: This four-star hotel located in an 11th century building in the center of Conversano is the perfect coupling of modern comfort and historic charm.
- Masseria San Martino, Pezze di Greco: A "masseria" is an old farmhouse, usually built on an olive tree farm, and now often updated to serve as upscale "villa" lodging. Ours is no exception and is so good we spend two nights here. Located in the flat plain only a few kilometers from the sea and perfect for biking, you will forget all your worries from home.
- Hotel Covo dei Saraceni,
Polignano a Mare: This four-star hotel is perched on the cliff of
Polignano a Mare overlooking the sea and right in the heart of town. It
is the perfect location to wander the ancient streets or walk down
the steps to the sea below.
For More Information
Please see our Puglia
Frequently Asked Questions or Puglia Itinerary pages for the American women trip. Or Request a Trip Description.