Flavours of Puglia

Upon arrival, collect your hire car and take to the road, driving through gently rolling farmland and time-warp villages to your hotel. Located just outside Fasano, this 17th-century farmhouse-turned-boutique retreat is around an hour from Bari and 35 minutes from Brindisi. After settling in, enjoy an afternoon at leisure, perhaps taking a dip in the lavender-fringed pool or unwinding with a nature-inspired massage in the Herbarium spa. If you’re feeling active, wander through the masseria’s organic gardens and olive groves, or head out to a nearby village or the golden sands of Torre Canne. In the evening, join fellow guests for a Moroccan-style dinner under the stars, a candlelit feast of Apulian food and wine on the hotel’s rustic rural beach.

The next two days are yours to explore at leisure. Discover waves of conical roofs in Alberobello’s famous trulli, a fairy-tale cluster of whitewashed stone houses. Call into pretty Locorotondo, whose circular old town is a tangle of whitewashed lanes, flower-decked balconies and quiet piazzas, or admire Marina Franca’s elegant Baroque palazzi and churches, all within 30 minutes. Further afield, Matera, a city of cave dwellings inhabited since Palaeolithic times, lies around 90 minutes away.

Back at the masseria, you can book agrotourism experiences such as cookery classes and olive oil tastings, while an atmospheric vineyard walk and wine tasting with the farmer/sommelier is included in your stay. 

After breakfast, leave picturesque Valle d’Itria in central Puglia and drive south to the coastal gem of Otranto, at the tip of Italy’s heel. This 90-minute journey takes you through open farmland, endless olive groves and small Salento towns, with occasional glimpses of the Adriatic shimmering in the distance. We recommend pausing in Lecce, a Baroque beauty known as the ‘Florence of the South’, to wander its ornate streets, admire the flamboyant architecture and enjoy a leisurely lunch in the old town.

Set amid olive groves and manicured gardens, your hotel is a tranquil, green oasis within a five-minute drive of Otranto. Settle in and cool off with a dip in the pool.

Spend the day relaxing at the hotel or head out to explore the quieter corners of the Salento. You might follow the Idro Valley to an ancient Byzantine crypt and the Le Costantine Foundation, where traditional weaving and biodynamic farming are kept alive among olive groves. Nearby Giurdignano, known as Italy’s ‘megalithic garden’, features a landscape scattered with Bronze Age dolmens and menhirs, while Specchia Gallone tempts with one of the area’s best bakeries.

Alternatively, hug the coast to the small beach town of Porto Badisco and return to Otranto along the scenic road at sunset, pausing at Punta Palascia lighthouse, Italy’s easternmost point, and the surreal Cava di Bauxite, an emerald-green lake set amid rust-red rock. 

Today you’ll have the opportunity to savor the flavours of Puglia with an included food and wine tasting in the hotel’s traditional garden, framed by 16th-century stone walls. A generous spread of Apulian specialities is served – artisan cured meats, aged cheeses and rustic breads – paired with two glasses of wine from the cellar, perhaps a velvety Primitivo, elegant Negroamaro or native Susumaniello.

The rest of the day is yours to enjoy as you wish, whether that means lingering by the pool, retreating to the secret garden for a massage, or venturing into Otranto to explore its castle, cathedral and medieval lanes. 

Savor one last breakfast at the hotel before heading to the airport to drop off your hire car and conclude your trip.