Destinations / Puglia & Matera, Italy

Puglia & Matera, Italy

1 itinerary · 0 open departures · 0 missions

Puglia is Italy's sun-drenched heel, a long peninsula stretching between the Adriatic and Ionian seas, known for its whitewashed hilltop towns, ancient olive groves, and dramatic coastline dotted with sea caves and clear-water bays. Matera, just across the border in Basilicata, is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, famous for its remarkable Sassi — cave dwellings carved into a ravine that served as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and European Capital of Culture in 2019. Together, the two destinations draw travellers for slow food experiences (orecchiette, burrata, Primitivo wine), Baroque architecture in Lecce, the iconic trulli houses of Alberobello, and some of southern Italy's most unspoilt beaches. It's a region that rewards independent exploration as much as group travel, with a strong local culture that feels far removed from Italy's well-trodden tourist trail.

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Itineraries

-75%

Save £1,620 (75% off)

£2,165 retail with Exodus → £545 self-launched

Puglia & Matera, Italy · 8 days

Copycat

Self-Launched Walking in Puglia & Matera

Explore the sun-baked heel of Italy's boot at your own pace — from the fairytale trulli of Alberobello and the dazzling white hilltop of Ostuni to the ancient cave city of Matera. This self-launched version follows the same route as the Exodus group tour, swapping private minivans for regional trains and buses, guided walks for well-marked self-navigable trails, and boutique group hotels for charming guesthouses and B&Bs. Five days of walking through olive groves, coastal cliffs and limestone canyons — all for a fraction of the operator price. Estimated costs are approximate and based on 2025 budget-traveller rates.

hikingcultureslow-travel

Travel Crew

~£545

Missions

Nobody's posted a Mission for Puglia & Matera, Italy yet — which, frankly, is an opportunity.

Wait, what's a Mission?It's not a scheduled trip with dates and a minimum group size like a Departure — it's a goal. Learn to dive, do a Muay Thai camp, live somewhere for a month and work on something, chase one very specific experience. Post it, and other people chasing the same thing find you.

Be the first to post one: "Find the most locally-hated tourist trap and go anyway, unironically, in a costume."

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