Puglia Food & Wine Tour Reviews — 1 to 29 of 29

We thoroughly enjoyed our cycle through Puglia. Lovely quiet costal roads and interior laneways through the olive groves (unfortunately many dead trees due to a blight). The towns we stayed in were all unique and different. The food was generally of high quality and the tasting opportunities well presented. This is a great way to see all that Puglia has to offer

What wonderful views in Puglia. in addition to the biking, loved the cooking class and wine tasting- best guide ever, Julia went out of her way to help us and spent extra hours every day making sure our trip went smoothly and was fun.

This ride was so well organized and memorable in so many ways. The places we rode to, the food we ate and the local wines we drank made this ride one to remember. Riding through back farm roads with little traffic, seeing the olive trees, dry rock walls and cactus plants, all touched our hearts. The reason we love bike riding is to connect with the land, absorbing the atmosphere of who the people are and how they live. The rides each day were so good, the accommodation was exceptional, you will not be disappointed. Staying at Lecce, Otranto, Santa Maria de Leuca and Gallipoli were highlights along the way, as was walking to the tip of the "heel" of Italy. So special and memorable.

This tour was wonderful! We had mostly good directions on the navigation system (getting in and out of town was sometimes tricky), we stayed in great resorts, we enjoyed the food and wine tastings, and we loved the coastal and inland rides (though some roads were a bit rough). The E-bike made it very enjoyable. The best thing was doing this with friends and family and appreciating the various activities provided in the tour, especially the food! I’m glad we arrived to Lecce early and did a city tour - great city! Wish we’d had another night in Otranto. We had an extra night in Leuca which we probably wouldn’t recommend because there’s not much to do there, but those who did the ride around Leuca enjoyed it. Our favorite city was Gallipoli - riding in along the coast was stunning. Three of us used the extra day to explore the town rather than biking and are glad we did as it is such a cool city! It would be helpful to have the stopping points on the GPS directions (only the wine tasting was on the map), as we had to go back to find the bakery (glad we did as the samplings were amazing) and never found the farm along the road. All in all, TRIPSITE and the local bike company did a fantastic job. I’d highly recommend this tour.

We had the most delightful Guide, Ilenia. She was just beautiful and so considerate and kind. We enjoyed only having 13 riders in the group. On 3 of the days, we were treated to authentic Italian food in little villages or out of the way places. Sadly, the choice of hotel in Lecce proved to be extremely disappointing. The other places we stayed were quite good and one, in particular, at Gallipoli was outstanding. There was quite of bit of road riding at times. The scenery in the Puglia region was average - lots of dead olive trees and in the back streets there is lots of dumped rubbish. Having said that, the trip was excellent and the group we rode with was fabulous.

What a fun filled, adventurous week! Our guide, was wonderful-I would highly recommend doing this trip with a guide-having someone to explain the history and the customs of the area was invaluable.

The whole trip was amazing. The people, the food, the beauty of Italy. Illenia our tour guide took great care of us, along with Eunice. I am ready to do it again!!!

Loved our guide. She was very educational and kind. The farm to table eating experiences were fun.

Excellent tour operator, very clear instructions, excellent communication and all of the included amenities met or were better than expected. Routes were great with minimal gravel or traffic and sites along the way well marked on the gps program . The included food was exceptional.
Highly recommend.

The inland parts: more hilly and definitely a more rocky tandscape.We were disappointed with the Trpsite information we did not receive prior to arriving: no water bottles provided; use of an app on our phone that we barely managed to get to function before heading out. Again Solentobihpkes was fine. They just didn't know what Tripsite had not told us. For navigation we had no reason to not expect a freestanding Garment like device like friends on other trips had. "And, by the way, did you bring a battery pack since the phone will quickly run out of power?" Luckily the tour company had an extra pack for us. Others seemed to have been told about the navigation system and the need for battery pack. They probably books with a different agency.

This was the first bike tour my wife and I had done together. We intentionally chose the Puglia tour because of the moderate daily distances and relatively flat terrain. We went out of our way to choose the guided tour option departing Sep 16 but due to a monumental mistake on my part, we ended up booking our flights at a later date and switched to the Sep 23 self-guided option.

The tour was very enjoyable. We were fortunate in that the weather was clear and the temperatures mostly moderate, with only a short interlude of rain on one of the days. Some of the riding was by the coast, but much of it was slightly inland, amongst olive tree groves and small, quaint Apulian towns. The hotels were satisfactory, the reserved dinners were generally very good, and the reserved breakfasts were acceptable. The self-guided option worked out very well, the maps were easy to follow, and it would likely become our default approach in future. We did meet a number of others along the way, running into each other at recommended stops on the route, at the hotels or at reserved restaurants.

The bikes (my wife on an e-bike, me on a regular hybrid) were in very good condition and the local tour company and their staff were very helpful and service-oriented. The Tripsite staff was also very helpful in providing information and getting us booked, and despite all of their fair warnings that we would lose our payment if we cancelled our trip after a certain date, were happy to accommodate our request to change from the Sep 16 guided option, for which we had paid a high season supplement, to the Sep 23 self-guided option, for an additional fee. Bearing in mind that this was due to a mistake on my part, we appreciate that they made the change, though we would have saved a significant amount of money if we had gotten things right in the first place!

Overall, happy to recommend the region, the tour, and both the local provider and Tripsite.

(Side note for those who follow a vegan / WFPB diet: I was able to get by with fava bean purée with chicory, grilled vegetable side dishes, pizza, pasta, and lots of bread with olive oil!)

The coastline rides, most restaurants and hotels were to our expectations. The scenery inland was not something I would do again. The landscape inland is littered with dead olive trees and and after 1 day of it, it becomes very repetitive.

Great scenery along the water and nice hotels in the towns Really enjoyed the towns we stayed in Bikes were great and comfortable and staff was friendly Too tired to swim but saw many beautiful swimming spots. We did self guided so Got lost a bit and ended up doing 70k all days except 1. Overall fun experience and would recommend seeing Alberobello and Matera while in the south of Italy as a side trip.

We felt the whole trip was great . Our accommodation and food and wine was excellent.The e-bikes we had were awesome! The scenery was really beautiful especially from Otranto down to Santa Maria Lueca and we met some wonderful new friends that we will keep in touch with!

We loved every part of this trip, but especially our guide, Giulia. She really brought Puglia to life for us, knowing the area so well! We left feeling as though we had made a new friend. The contrast of biking the countryside and the historic towns was fantastic.
Being avid cyclists we would have like to bike a little faster or been able to bike ahead of the slower participants. Since we had only one guide we had to stay together. Adding a guide to the trip would have allowed the group to spread out a little.

Stunning views and quiet lanes are uniquely beautiful during the month of May in Puglia. Prime wildflowers, fresh food and easy navigating were assets . The route is practically perfect.

The beautiful places we bikes. The sights. The out of the way country roads.

We were taken on some one way streets in many of the towns which was a bit confusing but added to the story.

The food was incredible and the selection of restaurants was wonderful. It made it easy each night. We just went where the planners selected for us and we did not have to ponder each day where to go. One thing though....too much food! It was wonderful but three selections for each dinner was way more food than any of us could ever eat.

I had an issue with my E bike but was told I did not know how to use it which upset me. I did know what I was doing and one of the owners saw there was a problem but there were no extra bikes on hand to swap out with me. It turned out OK. My bike functioned when I most needed it but I had to switch it on and off frequently to get it to work. I managed just fine but at the end when I was told by one of the employees at the bike shop that the bike was fine...I just didn[t know how to operate it ....I was a bit upset. When I picked up the bike the person checking me out on it told me "people do not like this bike". I did not complain. I just wanted them to know that it should be checked out because the next person might have issues too and might not be as flexible as I was.

All in all it was a wonderful trip. The cooking class at the bike owner's mother's home was so much fun.

The small paved farm roads lined with old stacked stone walls as we biked among the olive trees and fields of flowers. The Ride With GPS made our self-guided route easy to follow.

The Agrotourism tastings. They were with local farmers, bakers and they all greeted us with such warmth and hospitality.

The old cities of Lecce, Otranto and Gallipoli impressed me the most.

In regards to hotels, the one in Lecce was Unsufficient, contrary to the rest of the hotels which were very good.

The guide was outstanding... With a lot of knowhow, patience and very friendly

Making it up the hills. Make sure to pack extra water and snacks for yourself

Fantastic group of riders from all over the world..ride from Lecce to Otranto was simply the best
Breakfast and dinners were very well organized
Would like to have seen more snacks during the day and more visits bt the support van
Should also consider an additional guide for the back of the group…cycling pace was very slow at times

We did this tour self-guided and it was a memorable and remarkable experience. In late October, this part of Italy is nearly empty so there was very little traffic and in some of the hotels and restaurants, we were the only guests. The route is spectacular and we were very lucky to have perfect weather. There are a few long, steep climbs and some of the unpaved sections were pretty rough. It would have been significantly harder in rain or heat, but the easy-moderate rating is fairly accurate. The local tour operators were great. There were a few glitches along the way but they were always very quick to respond and worked everything out for us. Using the gps required a bit of a learning curve and was a little tricky in the towns where there were a lot a quick turns.
The hotels, meals and tastings that were included in this tour were all outstanding and very unique. Would highly recommend this adventure in a part of Italy that is definitely off the beaten path.
This was our second bike trip with tripsite and we look forward to planning our third!

Five fantastic days on Feel of Italy.
Beautiful places. Nice climate. Warm and friendly people. Very good organization.

We were really astonished about all the scenery we found along the way. The sea views were spectacular, the trails were peaceful and picturesque and the Italians in this part of the country were so kind, relaxed and helpful that they made us feel very comfortable and safe. The organization of this tour was excellent. We didn't encounter any type of issue. The hotels were great. No complaints at all. This was our second bike tour with Tripsite and we will definitely go for many more. We highly recommend this tour. We would do it again!

It was all amazing. The food, the wine, the hotels, the route. we all had a lot of fun.

This tour was not my first choice, but I am happy I did it. The ride was along the beautiful Adriatic coast, the accommodations were great, the food was terrific. To make the package complete the guide, who is a part owner of the tour company, was outstanding. One of the best tours I have done.

We really enjoyed the trip despite the fact that a cyclist in another self guided trip was killed in a motor vehicle accident on the day prior to the start of our self guided bike tour. We were very cautious at all intersections as a result of the accident. It would be a good idea to include in the instructions that you provide to the cyclists that they should exercise caution at all intersections. The GPS was easy to follow although on at least 10 occasions it directed us to go the wrong way on a one way street. I was not comfortable riding the wrong way on one way streets and this should be corrected. On the whole the trip was great and I would highly recommend it and I plan to book another cycling trip with trip site again.