Judith Schrut heads to southern Italy for a cycling holiday like no other.
The sun is out, the sea deep blue, your sexy (e)bike is beckoning you! Welcome to your first morning on Contrasts of Puglia, Headwater Holidays’ self-guided cycling tour on the heel of Italy’s “boot”.
There are many reasons you might want to spend a week cycling and exploring this unique, unspoilt area, and they all involve pleasuring your senses. There’s the impossibly pretty scenery, small towns full of charm and history which dot the hillsides and ancient seaside villages which line along the rugged coastline. A near-perfect climate produces the region’s fabled food and wine. And if you like being close to nature, exercising in clean air, waking to the smell of freshly baked cake and the world’s best coffee, this tour is for you.
What I found particularly wonderful about my Puglia cycling trip was the generous, welcoming local hospitality and the abundance of cool places to eat, drink, stay and play.
Headwater has hand-selected characterful small hotels along your route, each one special in its own way. Three evening meals and all breakfasts are included in its Puglia package so you have the chance to taste, smell and see just about everything.
On arrival you’ll be met by the local rep, checked in for your first night at the comfortable Albergo Diffusi in the quaint seaside town of Monopoli, fitted with your full biking kit and given plenty of pre-ride guidance.
Cycling routes are carefully chosen and tested, with the trip graded Level 1+ overall. Based on my experience, it’s ideal for an averagely fit cyclist of any age.
As the holiday is self-guided, you’ll cycle at your own pace and in your own style but with the all the joy of having your luggage transported ahead of you. You’re provided with detailed maps and the turn-by-turn navigation app, Ride with GPS. I’m a slow and cautious learner when it comes to technology, but I found this straightforward and great fun to use, quite similar to a car SatNav. Local Headwater reps are on hand to help get you started and a call away should anything not go to plan.
Although there are some uphill bits to challenge you in the nicest possible way, you may prefer the option of an electric bike, as I chose to do. This turned out to be an excellent compromise, allowing me to cycle normally for most of each route and giving my legs a bit of a breather when needed.
Actually, I was ready to buy my lovely Italian e-bike there and then!
There are so many memorable, magical moments on this holiday. Each morning begins with a generous Italian breakfast, ensuring you are well-fuelled each cycling day. You’re sure to appreciate the kind-paced first day’s ride along the stunning Adriatic coast, stopping at the magical cliffside village of Polignano a Mare for a photo shoot and refreshing seafood tapas lunch. I also loved the gentle climb through farmland laced with olive groves, almond trees and the invigorating scent of cabbage and parsley fields on the way to the historic hill town of Conversano.
Headwater’s thoughtful scheduling, with typically two nights at each hotel, means you’ll have plenty of time for sightseeing, sunbathing, shopping or whatever else takes your fancy.
You’ll spend two nights in your own traditional bee-hive shaped trullo cottage in the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage town of Alberobello. Then, two quite different nights in the luxurious, beautifully restored 17th century Masseria Salamina. A masseria is a Puglian fortified farmhouse, and this is one of the biggest in the area, complete with towers, grand courtyards and a swimming pool. In its spacious, gracious rooms you’ll sleep like un principe and dine like una imperatrice.
The de Miccolis Angelini family has lived here for over 150 years. As their guests, you’ll be treated to gracious hospitality, gargantuan breakfasts and four course dinner feasts, using fresh produce from the family’s orchards and fields and four types of organic olive oil from their vast olive groves.
While in Puglia, a variety of optional activities can also be arranged for you. I enjoyed guided visits to a family-owned mozzarella factory, a beautiful organic winery and an olive farm producing award-winning olive oil from its ancient trees, some over 2000 years old. All visits include generous tastings, of course.
It would be seriously remiss of me not to say more about Puglia’s gorgeous food and wine, which might be described as out of this world yet down to earth. Local cheeses like burrata, ricotta forte and caciocavallo, deep red wines from Primitivo and Negramaro grapes, superb seafood and shellfish from the morning’s catch, stretched orecchiette— ‘little ears’— and other pastificious treats, just-picked vegetables and wow-factor gelato makes this a no-contest foodie paradise. But more of that in my companion post…to follow.
Judith was invited to test drive Headwater’s Contrasts of Puglia Cycling. This holiday starts at £1179 per person for 7 nights including bikes (e-bike extra), transfers, accommodation, continental breakfasts and 3 dinners. Find out more at headwater.com.
