(No availability) 8 Days Self-Guided Cycling Tour in Salento, Italy

Day 1: Arrive in Lecce

Meeting in Lecce. Your bicycle will be delivered today with GPS navigator. Then you will have a briefing about the route.

Day 2: from Lecce to Otranto (56 kilometers)

Flat route today, with many interesting cultural and naturalistic sights. First, you will visit Acaya, then plunge down to “Le Cesine” a WWF protected area and from there, you will head towards the coast, along the ruins of Roca Vecchia - an ancient Bronze age city - and ‘Alimini’ Lakes. Some more kilometers and you are in Otranto, where narrow streets reveal wonders at every corner.

Day 3: Otranto’s surroundings (35 kilometers)

This day is dedicated to the discovery of the surrounding area of Otranto. You will visit very little known places such as Casamassela, where old looms are still being used in “le Costantine” foundation. Then you move forward to Giurdignano, crossing a Bronze age megalithic park containing huge stones (“dolmen” and “menhir”). In the late morning, you will visit a characteristic stone-made oven, where you will have a typical bread, cheese, and other bakery product tasting.

Day 4: Otranto - Leuca Coast (52 kilometers)

Today you will cycle along the wildest and the most beautiful Salento coastal stretch. You will visit ‘Palacìa’ lighthouse (Easternmost point of Italy) and a little red lake surfaced in a disused bauxite quarry. On the way, you could visit Zinzulusa Cave, going down nearly 200 feet into the earth bowels. Keep riding on the coastline as you admire some terraces and dry walls, the ingenious devices of peasants to get arable land in barren and impervious areas.

After crossing the bridge over the “ciolo” (a small and rich in rare ora canyon carved by the waters), you will reach Santa Maria di Leuca where you visit the sanctuary, following the ancient pilgrims footsteps.

Day 5: From Leuca to Gallipoli (61 kilometers)

Today, you will ride on the west side of the peninsula where you will discover the Leuca Cape area , the southern part of Apulia. You will see an astonishing defense tower situated in the center of a small village, an ancient mill, dug into the rock, and then an enigmatic funerary monument made by big stones (its name “centopietre”, means “hundred stones”).

Through olive groves and dry stone walls, you'll reach Ugento, maybe to visit its archaeological museum. In the afternoon, you'll reach again the ionic coast until the St. Andrew’s island and Punta Pizzo Natural Park. Few kilometers in and you are in Gallipoli, where you can have a walk and get lost into the historic center

Day 6: Gallipoli’s surroundings (30 / 60 kilometers)

This is a day dedicated to Gallipoli's surroundings. You will ride through small but characteristic villages, such as Sannicola to discover its underground oil mill, then Tuglie with its amazing rural culture museum. You'll go to Galatone to visit its beautiful Baroque old town and the Norman castle of Fulcignano.

In the afternoon, you will reach Galatina where you can admire the church of Santa Caterina, totally painted with frescoes in Giottesco style, and then visit the beautiful historical center of the town.

Day 7: Back to Lecce (42 kilometers)

Last day of the trip. You’ll pass by many 19th century fortied farmhouse and villas on the way back to Lecce. You will stop in Nardò to admire its decadent baroque style historical center. Next stop is in Copertino to discover its impressive Norman Castle and listen to stories about 'the hopi of lights'. Late afternoon arrival in Lecce and bikes drop off.

Day 8: Departure

Onward travel to your next destination.

The bikes

Salento Bici Tour's cycle tourism bikes have 28 inch wheels, 21 gears, and front shock absorbers that allow you to ride for long distances in comfort over different types of terrain. They are equipped with racks and travel bags, and with spare inner tubes, repair kits, and first aid kits.

This cycling tour will take you through Lecce, Otranto, Leuca, and Gallipoli in Salento, Italy. Salento sits on the "heel" of Italy, on a peninsula that, jutting south-east, divides two seas, the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas. Salento was settled in prehistoric era.

Situated in a strategic position in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Salento has been populated by different peoples, each leaving a particular heritage with the land. Messapians, Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Angevines... It's highly unusual to find such a concentration of cultures and sites all in once place.

From neolithic cave paintings, to ruins of ancient cities, to Roman theaters and spas, to rupestrian crypts carved into the rock, to fortified castles, or Baroque churches, Salento is an open-air museum. It offers the perfect marriage of nature and culture. Even the farmers are inadvertent artists using special techniques to build out of mortarless stone, creating a unique landscape unlike any in the world!

This land smiles at the bicycle tourist! Its hillocks never climb more than 200 meters and even beginners can easily enjoy its beauty by bicycle. And the sea - words cannot describe it's beauty, which has become internationally renowned.

But Salento Bici Tour wishes to bring light to the many treasures hidden, not only by the sea, but also inland! In the entroterra, you will find many small farms and artisans who strictly follow traditional ethics and respect for the land. Salento today is a land as fragile as it is beautiful, threatened by several environmental factors, it is the job of both residents and visitors to take care of and respect its slow and deep breath.

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During this tour, you will be provided with seven breakfast and two tastings of wine, cheese, and local products.

• 6 days of cycling
• Bike rental
• Baggage transportation
• GPS guide with tracks included
• Road book with cultural information and tips about the route
• 24-hour assistance based on local company with English speaker
• 7 nights accommodation
• 7 breakfast
• 2 tastings with wine, cheese and local products

• A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.