Private Guided Tours of Puglia with Paolo!

All tours are customizable and cities/towns to be visited can be changed on request.

If you don’t see a tour that you’re interested in or if you’d like to arrange multiple days of touring, send Paolo a message to see what he could put together for you.

While half-day walking tours typically begin in a given city, Paolo can also often arrange to pick up clients who aren’t staying in town.

Full-day driving tours include pick-up and drop-off just about anywhere in Puglia. For those wishing to take advantage of a driving day to also move from one accommodation to the next, Paolo can usually drop you off at your next hotel, as long as the distances are reasonable.

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: $285 USD per group

Price includes: your guide

Not included: €6 euro pp for entrance tickets

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Although a city with a long history starting from the pre-Roman age, what stands out here is the incredible density of elegant Baroque buildings and churches all built during the city's golden age of 1550 to 1750.

The tour aims to discover all the tricks and optical effects (which you'll see on practically every building in Lecce) invented during the Baroque age to catch the attention of visitors and passerby: fake façades, illusions, and impressive decorations.

Why does this all exist here? Why, in such a remote are of the Italian peninsula, can you find such an exuberant place? To find out and to answer all your questions we will also talk about the local culture and Puglia's history as a land crossed and settled by peoples from all over.

We'll also discuss modern Lecce and the splendid renaissance that the city has been experiencing for the last 25 years. A renaissance that has brought back to life the historical center, which had been totally abandoned and forgotten by the locals.

We will see the most iconic places like the Cathedral/Duomo, the unbelievable Basilica of Santa Croce, and the main square dedicated to the local saint Oronzo, where you can also overlook the Roman Amphitheater.

But every tour is different which is why it is only for small, private groups - I love to change my tours on the fly, adapting to your interests and what you like the most as we explore.

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: $285 USD per group

Price includes: your guide

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Often overlooked by travelers to the region, Bari is a genuinely interesting city with a deep history, heavily influenced by the many different cultures, religions, and civilizations who have passed through its streets. Each of these has contributed to the modern culture of the city and their traces can be found everywhere you look.

We’ll discover all of this on our walk, while exploring the city’s stately squares, elegant streets, and Romanesque architecture.

During the tour, we’ll wander all throughout the historic center, visiting the principal sights such as the Church of St. Nicholas, the Cathedral, the Castle, and the lovely Mercantile and Ferrarese squares, along with lesser known sights and landmarks.

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: $285 USD per group

Price includes: your guide

Not included: €3 euro pp for cave-house entrance tickets

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Matera is a pretty unique place! In a canyon, carved into the solid rock, there are nearly 5,000 dwellings where the locals used to live (for thousands of years) up until the 1950’s. There isn’t a better way to understand it than walking through the maze of alleys and up and down the steep steps carved into the cliffs.

It is amazing to realize that each cave-house is connected with others beneath it, thanks to a system of gutters and cisterns. But, don’t just take my word for it: come and check it out yourself!

People lived here in extreme poverty and simplicity until the government took the decision to relocate about 15,000 people out of these quarters. For decades the entire country was ashamed of this place, but that perception has changed entirely and Matera is alive like never before.

Now, we want to study and understand the secrets of a settlement that has survived for over 9000 years. And that’s what we’ll do together on a tour!

Duration: 5-6 hours

Cost: $500 USD per group

Price includes: your guide

Not included: €3 euro pp for cave-house entrance tickets

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

You can’t truly fully understand Matera without also leaving the city behind and entering the canyon that opens up just across from it.

So for this tour, we’ll combine a walk in the city with a guided hike through the Murgia Materana park and canyon.

In this beautiful natural park we have Rupestrian churches carved into caves, ridges that are pockmarked with ancient cave dwellings (the type that have not been renovated and turned into B&Bs and chic hotels), and lots of stunning nature. We’ll even cross a suspension bridge or two!

Because there is a lot of walking on this experience, it is unfortunately not suited (nor adaptable) to those with mobility limitations or very small children. A good pair of comfortable athletic shoes is also a must!

Due to the heat, for tours from May to October I suggest starting with our hike in the canyon in the morning and then moving into the city for the afternoon.

If you’d like to do a picnic lunch while we hike, we can arrange that too!

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $710 USD + $50 USD per participant if biking

Price includes: your guide, private roundtrip transport (if driving), bike rentals (if biking)

Max participants: 7

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

The Valle d’Itria, or Itria valley, is the core of Puglia, a rural area of rich red earth tidy little well-kept villages which are full of the famous trulli houses with their conical roofs.

By car, or by bike (regular bikes or e-bikes) we can explore any three of the following villages:

• Alberobello; the trulli houses capital with over 1500 houses with grey, conical stone roofs. We will learn how these structure were built and why.

• Ostuni; the pearl of Puglia! Perched high on top of a hill and still surrounded by it’s ancient city walls, this charming village is all white-washed and decorated with green and blue doors.

• Martina Franca; the most noble and largest city in the region! It is the capital of the the Rococo architecture style from the 1700s

• Locorotondo; a tiny, round village where the white façades are decorated with plants and flowers because of a contest that gives a prize to the best one.

• Cisternino; another white village where locals love to go for the famous butcher shops where they roast meat with an old Arab technique in special wood-fired ovens called fornelli.

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $710 USD

Price includes: your guide, private roundtrip transport

Max participants: 7

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Located 30-40 minutes from Bari or Ostuni, Polignano a Mare barely needs introducing. With a stunning beach squished between imposing cliffs and white-washed stone buildings carved straight out of the rock, almost tumbling into the sea, its one of Puglia’s most-visited spots.

Nearby Monopoli is a larger, but lesser-visited city with a maze-like core, a charming marina, a beautiful Cathedral, and Grotto Churches housing stunning frescoes.

The coast near both of these cities is lined with sandy and rocky beaches and the flat countryside is filled with ancient olive groves, perfect for photos and walking.

Combining the two cities in a single day makes good use of your time and gives the opportunity to explore the surrounding area at a leisurely pace.

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $710 USD

Price includes: your guide, private roundtrip transport

Max participants: 7

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Gallipoli is a charming port town on the western, Ionian coast of Puglia, about 30 minutes from Lecce. A traditional fishing village, it has a nice city beach and an elegant historic core of Byzantine and Norman origin. To the north and south of town, you have some of the nicest sandy beaches anywhere in Puglia.

When visiting, we’ll be sure to walk along the city walls, stop by the Angevin castle, poke our heads into the fish market, admire the Baroque facades of countless churches, and maybe step inside the Basilica Cattedrale di Sant’Agata cathedral to see her frescoed crypt.

There are also a number of underground olive oil production mills (frantoio ipogeo) which can be visited right in the old town.

Although just 15 minutes from Gallipoli, Nardò is a still relatively undiscovered town in Puglia. The main square is one of the best of the entire province, with rococo touches visible everywhere. The church of San Domenico is another highlight as is the palazzo housing City Hall.

Just outside the center, we can also visit the two lovely little seaside villages of La Cenate and Santa Caterina.

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $710 USD

Price includes: your guide, private roundtrip transport

Max participants: 7

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Lecce is Puglia’s most beautiful town, a sandstone masterpiece of Baroque and Rococo styles that has no rival in the rest of southern Italy.

The recently restored Basilica di Santa Croce boasts one of the most ornate facades of any building in the south while the entire historic center is an elegant, pedestrianized delight.

Countless churches, balconies, and palazzi outdo one another in splendid fashion while the city’s Duomo and 4 city gates are also always worth a visit.

Otranto is a small, walled fishing village about 40 minutes from Lecce that sits right on the Adriatic sea. Its seafront esplanade (with a very good city beach) provides gorgeous views over the calm turquoise sea. The town’s cathedral has an ornate rose window, a beautiful crypt, and a nave containing the relics of some of the 800 residents martyred during a 15 century Ottoman invasion.

Nearby, the coastal road between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca is one of Italy’s most stunning seaside drives.

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $710 USD

Price includes: your guide, private roundtrip transport

Max participants: 7

Note: All tours are private (only you and your group)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Bari, Puglia’s capital, is a bustling urban center of over 300,000 people. It’s also in the process of a major renaissance.

Once almost entirely avoided by travelers (and locals), the city has cleaned up its labyrinthine core, renovated its waterfront, and poured millions into rejuvenating its cultural scene.

We’ll visit historic churches, imposing castles, grand avenues, busy markets, and see a slice of modern and authentic Puglia. Avoid it no more!

To the north of town lies a region known as the Terra di Bari (lands of Bari). The cities here are larger than those elsewhere in Puglia, but they are overlooked by travelers who usually only pass by them on their way somewhere else/

Places like Trani, Bitonto, Molfetta, and Giovinazzo, with their historic cores in varying conditions, require more work to appreciate, but they have many jewels in the rough. They are interesting, busy, and a joy to explore as they are almost entirely local.

Because they are so close to each other, we can usually combine various cities into a single day.

Looking for something a bit different?

Paolo runs tours all over Puglia, from a few hours to multi-day, and can customize a perfect day or days of touring for you. If you’d like something totally unique, you can work one-on-one with Paolo to co-create a one of a kind tour.

To get started, request a custom tour below and provide us some initial ideas about what you’re looking for. Paolo will then reach out to you directly to start planning your tour together.