Trulli in Alberobello

Matera

Ostuni, the "White City"

The Roman Amphitheatre in Lecce

SELF-DRIVE Apulia & Matera

(11621)

Highlights

Explore the famous Sassi di Matera, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Taste delicious food and wine typical of this region

Enjoy a wonderful boat tour in Polignano a Mare

Visit the most beautiful towns of Puglia with an expert private guide

Fascinating Roman ruins, baroque architecture, charming white towns perched on top of the countryside's hills, amazing food and mesmerizing beaches along the coast... Puglia has it all. Whether you're after history, art, culture, food, wine or nature, this region will offer you all of it in abundance.

During this itinerary, participants will have the unique chance of sampling several Slow Food Presidia products (high-quality, traditional food and beverages at "risk of extinction”) and will taste authentic regional dishes at restaurants selected among those recommended by the Slow Food association in their “Osterie d’Italia” guide: small “trattorie” that still use fresh, local produce for traditional recipes.

Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds, and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It promotes local small businesses and sustainable foods. It also focuses on food quality, rather than quantity. It was the first established part of the broader slow movement. It speaks out against overproduction and food waste. It sees globalization as a process in which small and local farmers and food producers should be simultaneously protected from and included in the global food system.

Included

2 nights in Bari at the iH Hotels Bari Oriente - 4*

5 nights in Martina Franca at Masseria San Michele - 4*

Daily Buffet Breakfast

1 Slow Food welcome dinner at an "Osterie d'Italia" typical restaurant in Bari

8 Days Car Hire Credit

1 Slow Food welcome dinner at an "Osterie d'Italia" typical restaurant in Martina Franca

2 lunches at "Osterie d'Italia" Slow Food official restaurants

3 guided tastings of food and/or wines typical of the Apulia region

Private full-day guided tour of Polignano a Mare, including boat tour

Private full-day guided tour of Grotte di Castellana & Alberobello

Private full-day guided tour of Cisternino & Ostuni

Private half-day guided tour of Lecce

Private half-day guided tour of Matera

Entrance fees in Grotte di Castellana and Basilica di Santa Croce in Lecce

FLEXI CAR HIRE CREDIT

This self-drive package includes a $800 ($100/day) Flexi Car Hire Credit. This provides the flexibility of selecting a vehicle based on your own preferences and requirements. As each location has vehicle limitations, please speak to our team for options.

Excluded

International airfares and taxes
Domestic airfares and taxes, unless otherwise specified in our holiday package
Visa expenses, processing and issuance fees
Meals other than as specified in our holiday package
Travel Insurance or expenses of a personal nature (mini-bar, phone call, laundry, etc.),
Tips or gratuities to guides, drivers, porters, hotel, restaurant or boat staff, etc.
Or any other travel expense that has not been included in our holiday package

Itinerary

Download Itinerary Expand All

Day 1

Bari

Arrival in Bari Airport and pick up of your car rental. Proceed to your hotel in Bari for check-in and relax. Enjoy your Welcome dinner with typical dishes of the area and then return to your hotel in the evening.

Overnight stay in Bari at the iH Hotels Bari Oriente.

Dinner

Bari

Day 2

Bari → Polignano a Mare → Bari

After breakfast, go south towards Polignano al Mare, one of the most famous seaside resorts of Apulia. Meet your personal tour guide for a visit of the city and then enjoy a boat ride to admire the coast. Lunch and afternoon at leisure. Return to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Bari at the iH Hotels Bari Oriente.

Breakfast

Polignano a Mare

Day 3

Bari → Martina Franca

Departure after breakfast towards Martina Franca, in the heart of the region, and check in at your hotel. Walk or drive to the centre of the town to enjoy another welcome dinner at an "Osterie d'Italia" typical trattoria: Ristorante La Tana, a truly special location dedicated to the Slow Food Philosophy of Apulia (Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking).
Return to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Martina Franca at Masseria San Michele.

Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4

Martina Franca → Grotte di Castellana → Alberobello → Martina Franca

After breakfast, meet with your private guide in front of the Grotte di Castellana for a visit of these wonderful caves located at a depth of 70 metres, along a stretch of almost 2 kilometres. After the caves, continue to the enchanting town of Alberobello for lunch. Here you will enjoy local cuisine and
specialities, with delicious dishes and wines served at a local “Trattoria”, part of the "Osterie d'Italia" Slow Food project (Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking).
After lunch, walking tour around the Trulli to visit the little shops, galleries and artisan laboratories selling homemade cheese and Taralli - savoury crackers typical of this region. Return to Martina Franca for a relaxing evening. Tonight, we suggest a stroll around the beautiful historical town centre, stopping at the Partenope pastry shop in Corso Italia to try their famous cakes and pastries.

Overnight stay in Martina Franca at Masseria San Michele.

Breakfast, Lunch

Grotte di Castellana

Day 5

Martina Franca → Cisternino → Ostuni → Martina Franca

After breakfast, departure towards Cisternino, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Meet with your private guide for a visit of the old town centre, stopping to admire the little shops along the way selling a famous regional cured ham (called Capocollo), then finish the tour with another superb lunch at a typical
restaurant where culinary delights such as Capocollo ham, along with the other dishes and local
wines from the Puglia region, will be served. After lunch, proceed to visit the white village of Ostuni and its
old historical centre. Short stop a a local dairy producer, to sample some of their amazing cheese. Back to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Martina Franca at Masseria San Michele.

Breakfast, Lunch

Ostuni

Day 6

Martina Franca → Lecce → Manduria → Martina Franca

After breakfast, depart to Lecce. Meet up with your guide for a half-day private tour of the city to
discover the so-called Baroque Pearl. After the tour, we suggest to try the local breads, pizzas and the famous Pucce Leccesi (a traditional bread with olives, tomatoes and other toppings). In the afternoon, continue towards Manduria to visit the Wine Museum and taste the local Primitivo wine, accompanied with typical savoury snacks. Return to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Martina Franca at Masseria San Michele.

Breakfast

Lecce

Day 7

Martina Franca → Matera → Martina Franca

After breakfast, departure for Matera, known as the “City of Stones”, for a guided visit. This city is one of the most extraordinary and intact examples of a Troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region. The oldest
“Sassi” (ancient homes carved into the rocks) are about 7000 years old. Free time for lunch. In the afternoon,
visit to a local farmhouse to sample their extraordinary wines. Return to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Martina Franca at Masseria San Michele.

Breakfast

Martina Franca → Matera → Martina Franca

Sassi of Matera

Day 8

Martina Franca

After breakfast, check-out and departure.

Breakfast

Independent Holiday Package

SELF-DRIVE Apulia & Matera

Italy (11621)

from AUD4,313

Book Now Enquire

Hotel options

iH Hotels Bari Oriente

Bari
The iH Hotels Bari Oriente is a 4 star hotel located in the heart of Bari, in the Murat district, a few steps from the historical Petruzzelli Theatre. It is housed in a majestic building of the XVIIIth century. The roof garden on the sixth floor offers, in the warm season from May to September, an enchanting view of the city and the dome of the famous Theater, where it is possible to sip cocktails and enjoy delicious aperitifs.

Masseria San Michele

Martina Franca
Masseria San Michele is a stunning fortified structure dating back to 1700, with an adjoining consecrated church dedicated to the homonymous saint. The Masseria is immersed in the heart of the Valle d'Itria in an oasis of peace.

Important notes

We work with a selection of hotels in each location. All bookings are subject to availability, which means our team will confirm your specific hotels upon confirmation and payment of deposit. The package price is based on 4-star accommodation.
City taxes to be paid locally.

Blackout dates may apply during festive season.

FAQs

Who are Entire Travel Group?

Entire Travel Group is celebrating 50 years of passionately delivering unique and memorable travel experiences. We are an Australian, family owned, award winning business, with a friendly team ready to match your expectations to the perfect holiday package.

Entire Travel Group used to be known by the individual brands shown in the footer of the website. The company has not changed, but we have amalgamated under one brand - Entire Travel Group.

For more details please visit - About Us | Entire Travel Group

What are Entire Travel Group famous for?

Well, put simply - we’re famous for building things. We offer an exclusive range of pre-designed, purpose-built, independent holiday packages full of unique and memorable experiences. The packages are delivered by our global network of handpicked suppliers, who also provide on ground travel support to our clients.

Is Entire Travel Group Australian owned and operated?

Entire Travel Group is proudly Australian family owned and operated and as it stands today represents 50 years of experience, progress, and evolution. We proudly support the community with our long-term commitment to many important charity organisations. We were awarded the best operator in our class at the most recent National Travel Industry Awards.

Is Entire Travel Group industry accredited?

Entire Travel Group is ATAS Accredited. ATAS, which stands for AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme is administered by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA). AFTA is the industry body for the Australian retail travel industry. We are also a registered member of the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO).

Does Entire Travel Group have industry awards?

Entire Travel Group was awarded “Best Specialty Wholesaler” at the 2019 National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA), which are held annually by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA).

The awards recognise quality and excellence in the Australian travel industry. We were extremely honoured to receive this recognition and we will continue to deliver the best service and value to our customers.

Are the Entire Travel Group holiday packages exclusive?

In some cases, we are the sole representative in Australia for the overseas travel operator. In other circumstances the product developed has been exclusively built for Entire Travel Group and can’t be found elsewhere.

What’s unique about Entire Travel Group Holiday Packages?

They are not group tours with set departures - they are pre-designed, purpose built, independent holiday packages full of unique and memorable experiences.
Our holiday packages have been exclusively built for us in collaboration with our handpicked suppliers, who also offer full on-ground support for the clients.
We are offering unique travel experiences which cannot be found elsewhere.
Many packages include our “Freedom of Choice” options which allow you to tailor the holiday experience. Like a sommelier matching wine to a meal, we have used our experience to carefully select and offer the right experiences in each location.
They include our Peace of Mind Booking Plan.
A wide selection of our packages are compliant with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Covid Safe Travels.

What is an independent holiday package?

Our motto for Independent Holiday Packages is start your holiday when and with who you want!

Our Independent Holiday Packages are NOT group tours with set departure dates. Group Tours have specific set departure dates, and of course, you are travelling with unknown passengers in a coach. These tours are great for certain travellers and there are many reputable tour operators providing a wide range of options around the world.

At Entire Travel Group, our focus is Independent Holiday Packages. Available daily, they are pre-designed, purpose built, packaged itineraries full of memorable experiences delivered by our hand-picked local partners.

Our holidays suit every demographic, from couples to singles, to retirees to families and everyone else in between.

Why travel with Entire Travel Group?

Of all the attributes Entire Travel Group offer - we have settled on “Experience” as the one quality we believe adds the most value to our customers. That’s how our tagline “When Experience Matters” came to life and encapsulates our business in three words, as experience does matter!

We have been operating for many years and have the experience to determine what sightseeing, duration and accommodation style makes a great itinerary. Our technology is continually enhanced, giving our team the ability to provide a great customer service experience. Our relationship with our operators is extremely strong, which ensures we are confident of the travel experience and on ground support for our clients.

For more details please visit - About Us | Entire Travel Group

How does the Peace of Mind Booking Plan work?

Our Peace of Mind Booking Plan allows you to book with confidence in the new international travel environment. With low deposits, a cooling off period and a flexibility period where you can cancel and rebook later, we really do have you covered.

For more details please visit - Peace of Mind Booking Plan | Entire Travel Group

Is there a cooling-off period?

Look for packages with our Peace of Mind Booking Plan logo on the website.

We understand that occasionally plans may change, so we give you the confidence to proceed with a cooling off period.
You may cancel for any reason within 7 days, where you will receive a 100% refund of your $100 per person deposit.

For more details please visit - Peace of Mind Booking Plan | Entire Travel Group

What is Entire Flex?

Looking for more flexibility? Entire Flex is an optional extra on certain packages. It allows you to change your mind right up to 35 days before departure with no change fees. Receive a 100% travel credit with up to 18 months to depart on another Peace of Mind package to any destination on our website.

What is Freedom of Choice?

At Entire Travel Group we understand that our customers have their own personal tastes and interests - so throughout our packages look for “Freedom of Choice” which gives you the ability to tailor your holiday from the various experiences offered on selected days. Like a sommelier matching wine to a meal, we have used our experience to carefully select and offer the right experiences in each location.

The Freedom of Choice options are included in the package price, and the price remains the same regardless of the choice you make on each day.

For more details please visit - Freedom of Choice | Entire Travel Group

Do Freedom of Choice options cost extra?

Our Freedom of Choice program offers flexibility, by allowing you to choose from different options on pre-selected days in the itinerary.

Our per person price includes one tour on each Freedom of Choice day in the itinerary.
The price of the package remains the same regardless of the choice you make on each day.

What is the Safe Travels program?

This specially designed program allows travellers to recognise governments and companies around the world who have adopted health and hygiene global standardised protocols, so consumers can experience “Safe Travels”.

For more details please visit - Safe Travels Stamp | Entire Travel Group

What is Book Now?

Book Now offers you the ability to make a reservation on our website for Holiday Packages that include our Peace of Mind Booking Plan. But it’s not just a static offer – you have complete flexibility from travel dates, passenger numbers, single supplements, room upgrades, optional extras, flexible booking terms and more.

What happens after Book Now?

Our team will contact our overseas suppliers and confirm all arrangements.
A Confirmation from our reservation system will be sent in the coming days.
The Booking Number on this confirmation supersedes the website reference.

How secure is the Entire Travel Group's on-line payment portal?

Entire Travel Group have partnered with TravelPay to ensure secure on-line credit card payments.
TravelPay is a level 1 PCI DSS compliant, which gives you peace of mind that your payment card data is in safe hands.
Entire Travel Group does not store any credit card information.

For more details please visit - Security and Compliance - TravelPay

What forms of payment can be used at Entire Travel Group?

To confirm a booking using our on-line Book Now process, a credit card must be used to pay the refundable deposit.
For additional payments on the booking, Entire Travel Group supports bank transfer, credit card, TravelPay B2B, PaymentGate.
For further details please visit our Payments page.

Why do some packages not offer the ability to Book Now on the website?

If a package on our website does not include our Peace of Mind Booking Plan, it will not be available to Book Now.

Due to the boutique nature and limited capacity of some travel experiences offered, they have strict payment and cancellation policies. (e.g., a remote bear lodge in Canada with only a few cabins).

Although technically possible, we have decided that it is impractical for us to try and sell these type of travel services on-line. We believe it is important that such product is discussed, so that we can ensure these strict payment and cancellation policies are understood before we proceed with a booking.

For such product we may act as an agent only for the principal suppliers. Where we act as agent, your contract for the delivery of travel arrangements will be with the principal supplier and will be subject to their Booking Conditions.

We will advise you prior to confirming your booking if we are acting as agent and we will confirm the details of the principal supplier. Our responsibility to you where we sell travel arrangements as agent for the supplier is specified in the ‘Responsibility’ section of our Booking Conditions.

Can you book my international airfares?

Following customer feedback, we do not include international flights in our holiday packages.

We found that many customers may prefer:

To travel on specific airlines
Have the flexibility to book flights with Frequent Flyer points
Select flight dates that may be different to the package start/end dates
Use their travel agent for this service

However, we are able to assist, so please just notify us during the Book Now process or contact our team.

Should I take travel insurance?

Travel insurance is strongly recommended. During the Book Now process please confirm you require assistance, and our team will be in contact with you.

What should I do before travelling?

Before you travel it is your responsibility to ensure you have the appropriate documentation including visas. If you are travelling on a passport other than Australian or New Zealand, you will require a permit to re-enter Australia.

For more information please visit - Before you travel | Entire Travel Group

How does a Travel Agent make a booking?

Please visit the Entire Travel Group's Agent Portal. We are here to support our industry partners with a range of informative updates, marketing collateral for campaigns and a reward & recognition program.

How do I start a Booking?