Rome, Matera & Apulia
April, August: Starting at € 5.250,00 per person
11 Days, Private Journey: Rome, Matera & Apulia
Visit Rome, Matera, Bari, Monopoli, Polignano a Mare, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Alberobello, Lecce and Otranto
Itinerary at a Glance
- DAY 1 ARRIVAL ROME, ITALY
- DAY 2 IMPERIAL ROME TOUR
- DAY 3 EARLY BIRD VATICAN MUSEUMS TOUR
- DAY 4 TWILIGHT TRASTEVERE FOOD TOUR IN ROME WITH TASTING OF LOCAL SPECIALTIES
- DAY 5 TRANSFER TO MATERA AND REST OF THE DAY AT YOUR LEISURE
- DAY 6 GUIDED VISIT OF MATERA AND OF THE MURGIA MATERANA NATIONAL PARK
- DAY 7 BARI, POLIGNANO A MARE AND MONOPOLI
- DAY 8 COOKING CLASS IN A MASSERIA AND LEISURE TIME IN LOCOROTONDO AND MARTINA FRANCA
- DAY 9 ALBEROBELLO WITH ITS MAGICAL TRULLI AND VISIT A LOCAL CHEESE PRODUCER
- DAY 10 EXPLORE OSTUNI THE WINE CITY AND VISIT A PRESTIGIOUS LOCAL WINERY
- DAY 11 DISCOVER LECCE AND OTRANTO
- DAY 12 DEPART BARI
INCLUDED WITH EVERY LUXURY TAILOR MADE JOURNEY
- Meet and Greet with Private Transfers
- Full Breakfast Daily Included
- Multilingual Local Guide
- Hand-Selected Luxury Accommodations
- 24/7 On-Call Support
Rome, Matera & Apulia | FULL ITINERARY
Arrival at Rome International airport and private transfer to your accommodation. Rest of the day at your leisure for resting and relaxing.
Enjoy our tour of the Colosseum Undergournd and Arena Floor!Feel the fear and hear the roars of the crowd above you as you enjoy this full Colosseum Underground tour. Stepping beneath the arena floor, you’ll walk in the footsteps of gladiators who waited here before battle. As you tour the tunnels, your guide will tell you about the real life of gladiators before taking you back up to the arena floor. Walk out onto a recreation of the stage where the fighting took place and be blown away by the most impressive view of the Colosseum (seen by so few!). After your Colosseum and Colosseum Underground tour, you’ll experience the very heart of Ancient Rome: the Roman Forum.
Here was where Rome ruled its empire of untold political and cultural influence—and of more than 2.5 million square miles and 65 million people. At the Palatine Hill you’ll discover the origins of Ancient Rome. Legend has it that this is the spot where Remus and Romulus were found by the she-wolf and where they battled to decide which would have the privilege of building their own town. Hear how this legendary battle impacted the world you know today (your very own life even!) We owe the Ancient Romans more than you’d believe! Afternoon at your leisure.
Meals included – Breakfast
This morning enjoy our Pristine Sistine Early entrance Small group Vatican Tour (the tour starts at 07.15 am). Enter the museums before the general public to see the Sistine Chapel at a quieter time. See the best of the Vatican City in under four hours. With a guided tour of the Sistine Chapel, a Vatican Museums tour (including the Raphael Rooms) and a St. Peter’s Basilica tour, you’ll cover all the bases. Engage with the art and architecture of the Vatican. Our guides are passionate art experts, full of stories and familiar with even the smallest details of these massive museums. The tour will end around 11.00 am. Rest of the day at your leisure.
Meals included – Breakfast at the Vatican Musems Café
Following breakfast and check out private transfer to your accommodation in Matera (approximately 5 hours by car). Afternoon at your leisure.
Meals included – Breakfast
This morning enjoy a guided visit of the beautiful town of Matera. Largely carved out of and built with tuff, the town has an incredible history and a deep sense of spirituality, purity and authenticity. The sassi, ancient cave dwellings that were inhabited until the middle of the 20th century, and the rupestrian churches are the most remarkable aspect of the town, but not the only reasons for visiting this beautiful and unique part of the world: Matera also boasts a superb artistic and cultural heritage, delicious cuisine and a warm sense of hospitality.
After lunch enjoy a guided tour of Murgia Timone enjoying a stunning panorama of the whole Sassi area which is on the other side of the canyon. On Murgia Timone, along the tracks beaten since the Neolithic, when the first form of prehistoric human settlements took place, we will visit the remains of a primitive burial, and some traces of ancient Neolithic village. Continuing along the path you will come across some typical rock-hewn churches like Madonna delle tre porte(of three doors), which is still decorated with interesting frescoes of Byzantine culture. Throughout the visit will be deepened also many aspects of the natural world, observing the plant species, typical of the Matera’s Murgia.
Meals included – Breakfast
Following breakfast and check out your private driver will take you to Bari where you wil enjoy a guided visit of this fascinating city that has transformed it into a wonderful area for strolling, full of cafés, bars and restaurants. Just a short walk from Piazza San Nicola are Bari’s other major architectural attractions: the Cattedrale di San Sabino, also built in a late 12th century Romanesque style by the Normans, and the Castello Svevo, Emperor Frederick II’s mighty fortress. Bari boasts a long seafront promenade which leads from Bari Vecchia to the more modern shopping district, built on an octagonal plan in the early 19th century by Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s brother-in-law. Lunch at your leisure. Next stop will be the lovely sea town of Polignano a Mare. Spend some time at your leisure in Polignano before continuing to your accommodation in Monopoli.
Meals included – Breakfast
Following breakfast your driver will take you to a lovely masseria where you will enjoy a fun cooking class in a local and learn all the secrets to prepare delicious dishes of the local tradition. At the end of your class enjoy the fruits of your labour accompanied by good local wines. In the afternoon time at your leisure to discover the lovely towns of Locorotondo, one of Puglia’s prettiest towns and Martina Franca, which boasts elegant palaces and more than fifteen notable churches. Return to your accommodation in Monopoli and overnight stay.
Meals included – Breakfast and lunch
Following breakfast your driver will take you to Alberobello famous for its conical-roofed houses, the trulli. It’s not just a pretty picture, but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, protected thanks to its “outstanding universal value… an exceptional example of a form of building construction deriving from prehistoric construction techniques that have survived intact and functioning into the modern world. Meet your guide and enjoy a guided tour of the magical trulli of Alberobello learning about the ingenious techniques used in the construction of trulli. Next visit a local cheese farm. Taste some of the farm’s delicious produce: mozzarella, fresh ricotta, aged cheeses, capocollodi Martina Franca, bread, wine and desserts. Return to your accommodation in Monopoli and overnight stay.
Meals included – Breakfast and cheese tasting
Today visit the amazing Ostuni. The most distinguishing characteristic of Ostuni, and the reason for its taking the epithet La Città Bianca, is its uniformly white buildings. Originally the practice of lime-washing the town’s served as a means of lightening up the dark, labyrinthine mediaeval streets but in the 17th century it became a matter of life and death and was used to limit the depredations of the plague.Wandering through the streets today, visitors are charmed by Ostuni’s mediaeval layout. The narrow back streets, little passages and flights of steps make it delightfully easy to lose one’s bearings! Suitably, however, the climax of any visit arrives when you reach the highest part of town, home to the imposing Archbishop’s palace and the 15th century Concattedrale with its curvaceous, symmetrical façade and rose window. The views from Ostuni are, by themselves, reason enough to make a trip there. Wonderful vistas abound from all angles, the best of which offer 360-degree panoramas of the surrounding countryside and the Adriatic Sea.
In the afternoon enjoy a visit to a local winery followed by wine tasting. Return to Monopoli and overnight stay.
Meals included – Breakfast
This morning your driver will take you to Lecce. Enjoy a guided tour of one of the most famous baroque cities in Italy and discover its wonderful churches, monuments and old roman theatres. In the afternoon continue you to Otranto, not only Italy’s easternmost town but also a great mix of history, architecture, views, sea-front restaurants and white sandy beaches. Return to Monopoli and overnight stay.
Meals included – Breakfast
Following breakfast and check out private transfer to Bari International airport to take your flight back home.
Meals included – Breakfast
