Two centre fly-drive holiday combining Puglia and the Amalfi Coast
This eight-night two-centre holiday combines a stay on the Puglian coast with one on the dramatic Amalfi Coast. Stay first amidst the Apulian landscape near the coast. Dotted with ancient white-washed masseria, this area is rich in agriculture and history. One of the highlights of a stay in Puglia is the iconic Trulli architecture, distinctive because of its spiral roofs and most prominent in villages such as Alberobello. We would also recommend visiting the Baroque town of Lecce, where you might stop to try the local cheeses, meats, and wines. The classic holiday region of the Amalfi Coast complements a stay in Puglia, because of its vibrant villages, such as Amalfi, Positano, and Sorrento, and the lightness of its cuisine. As well as soaking up the sun on the steep streets of Amalfi, take the winding coastal roads to Ravello, higher up on the hillside, or the temples at Paestum. The holiday can be taken in reverse order.
Highlights
• Visit the trulli of Alberobello • Visit Puglian vineyards and olive oil producers • Visit Baroque Lecce • Visit Ravello • Visit the island of Capri by boat or hydrofoil • Visit the cloister gardens in Amalfi
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for organizing our recent trip. We had a fantastic time, staying in some excellent hotels in wonderful locations.Mr M, August, 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,670 Low season
£5,070 High season
Holiday Code FHIT33
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre fly-drive holiday combining Puglia and the Amalfi Coast
Arrive at Bari airport, collect your hire-car and drive the 40 minutes or so to your hotel near Monopoli.
You have three full days to relax, discover and enjoy this charming corner of Puglia, at your hotel with easy reach of the coast and near iconic Puglian destinations such as the trulli village of Alberobello and the Baroque town of Lecce. Your hotel has facilities for a relaxing stay including outdoor pool and spa. Visits to local vineyards and olive oil producers can be arranged.
Today you drive yourself across the southern spine of Italy from Puglia to the Amalfi Coast, enjoying the splendid scenery of the southern Italian mountains and countryside as you drive. Your destination is the seaside town of Amalfi, and your hotel is perched on the cliff-side just outside the town with its own access to the sea with man-made beach.
You have three full days to both relax and explore the area. There are all sorts of excursions you can take from Amalfi as well as having plenty to do right on the doorstep. Amalfi itself is an interesting town with cathedral, old town, cloisters and port. Perched up in the mountains but with panoramic views over the coast is the town of Ravello, famous for its lemon trees and music festival in the summer. Here you can also visit the gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone. From Amalfi you can take boat trips along the coast and to Capri, or use your hire-car to visit the Greek temples at Paestum. In the mountains above the coast are walks such as the Sentiero degli Dei (the footpath of the gods).
Today, drive yourself to Naples, about 90 minutes away, for your return flight to London.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for organizing our recent trip. We had a fantastic time, staying in some excellent hotels in wonderful locations.Mr M, August, 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,670 Low season
£5,070 High season
Holiday Code FHIT33
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for organizing our recent trip. We had a fantastic time, staying in some excellent hotels in wonderful locations.Mr M, August, 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,670 Low season
£5,070 High season
Holiday Code FHIT33
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
The journey and how you get there There are flights from London to Bari most days in high season and daily from Naples to London. The hotel in Puglia is less than an hour’s drive from Bari and then it’s about a 90-minute drive from Amalfi to Naples at the end of the holiday. It takes about four hours to drive between the two hotels.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre fly-drive holiday combining Puglia and the Amalfi Coast
Il Melograno is a boutique, family-run property, full of character and charm. Serene white architecture and lush exotic gardens make this a centre of relaxation and restoration, with access to the town of Monopoli and the coast in easy reach.
Classic double room
Hotel Santa Caterina is a historic 5-star hotel in a convenient location. This elegant hotel epitomises the Amalfi Coast, with great food, wine and stunning views it serves as the ideal base to explore the region.
Standard room with side sea view
Special offers
Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for organizing our recent trip. We had a fantastic time, staying in some excellent hotels in wonderful locations.Mr M, August, 2024
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,670 Low season
£5,070 High season
Holiday Code FHIT33
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
The journey and how you get there There are flights from London to Bari most days in high season and daily from Naples to London. The hotel in Puglia is less than an hour’s drive from Bari and then it’s about a 90-minute drive from Amalfi to Naples at the end of the holiday. It takes about four hours to drive between the two hotels.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre fly-drive holiday combining Puglia and the Amalfi Coast
About Amalfi Coast
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to the Amalfi Coast is perfect for those looking for relaxation as well as sightseeing in coastal towns such as Amalfi, Positano, Ravello and Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast as well as the islands of Capri and Ischia. The Amalfi Coast is best known for its dramatic coastal scenery, deep gorges and violently-shaped rocks that plunge into a deep blue sea, tempered by the luxuriant vegetation that thrives in the favourable climate; lemons, oranges, olives, almonds, vines, camellias and bougainvillaea. Human habitation thrives in the tiny fishing villages in rocky coves and in the pink and white-washed flat-roofed or domed buildings that hug the cliffs in layers. The Amalfi Coast's history of trading throughout the Mediterranean still shows in the Moorish and Byzantine architectural styles; domes and arcades, wrought-iron balconies and colourful ceramic tiles which depict the region. The cuisine of the Amalfi Coast is light and simple, based on local fish and shellfish, lemons and oranges, mozzarella and fresh herbs. Whilst the climate of the Amalfi Coast is particularly appealing too, there are numerous excursion and sightseeing possibilities for your holiday including the islands of Procida, Capri and Ischia, the city of Naples, the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the romance of Ravello, the bustle of Sorrento and the charm of Positano.
Highlights of the Amalfi Coast
A drive along the Amalfi coast from Positano to Amalfi offers stunning and breath-taking scenery. Visit the Emerald Cave near Vettica Minore by boat. Enjoy the superb view of the coast from the 13th Century Gothic Villa Rufolo in Ravello (we offer garden tour holidays of the Amalfi Coast and Capri including a visit to Villa Rufolo). Spend a full day visiting the awe-inspiring site of Pompeii, visiting the remains of the villas containing both vibrant and delicate frescoes. Herculaneum is nearby and also worth visiting. The Greek site of Paestum has outstanding Doric temples. In the resort of Amalfi stroll along the Via Genova and the Via Capuano taking in the typical architecture of Campania with the flower-covered balconies, narrow alleyways leading to fountain-filled little squares. Take the chairlift on Capri to Monte Solaro or walk to the Migliara Belvedere for a view of the lighthouse. On Ischia visit the beaches of Citara and Maronti and enjoy a morning's walk to Monte Epomeo for panoramic views of the coast. Well worth visiting is the often-forgotten island of Procida between Naples and Ischia, with its vines and fishing, flat roofed white houses and atmosphere most characteristic of the region in bygone days. Visit Vietri for ceramics as well as stalls of lemons, garlic and peppers.
Cultural highlights of the Amalfi Coast
The House of the Vettii at Pompeii, the baroque Palazzo Reale at Caserta, Villa Jovis in Capri, the Doric temples of Paestum, Michelozzo`s tomb of Cardinal Rinaldo Brancaccio in the 14th Century church of Sant`Angelo, and in Naples: `Modesty` by Antonio Corradini in the Cappella Sansevero, the Gothic church of San Lorenzo Maggiore and the Majolica tiles in the cloisters of the 14th Century Santa Chiara.
Festivals on the Amalfi Coast
The Ravello music festival June to July, the festival of San Costanzo on 14 May on Capri, the festival of Sant`Antonio in Anacapri on 13 June, the festival of Madonna della Liberta in Marina Grande in September, Lo Sbarco dei Saraceni in Positano on the second Sunday in August.
Gastronomy of the Amalfi Coast
Neapolitan cuisine is now famous the world over for its use of tomatoes, pizza, mozzarella cheese, dried pasta and lemons. Local specialities include Mozzarella in Carrozza, Panzanella alla napoletana, Pasta alla sorrentina (with scamorza cheese and tomatoes), Sartu (an elaborate rice pie stuffed with meats, sausages, mushrooms etc), Timballo di Maccheroni (also elaborate with maccheroni baked in a pie and a sauce of chicken livers, mushrooms and black truffles), Carciofi ripieni alla napoletana (baked stuffed artichokes), Coviglie (a mousse-like dessert), Sproccolati (sun-dried figs on sticks) and Sfogliatelle (breakfast pastries). The region produces a number of excellent red and white wines. The most famous white is called Lacrimi Christi, from vines grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Taurasi from Avellino is a full-bodied red. Capri, Ischia and Sorrento all produce their own local wines.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre fly-drive holiday combining Puglia and the Amalfi Coast
About Puglia
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to Puglia is an opportunity to explore a gentle land of immense character with a wealth of architectural sights and glorious scenery, both on the coast and in the interior. One of the most startling impressions of Puglia must be the contrasting colours of azure and white, enhanced by the green of olives and vines. Typical sights in Puglia are the trulli, the low lying white-washed houses with beehive-like conical grey roofs, flat fields of grain, olives and vines and here and there perfect examples of mediaeval castles or splendid Byzantine-influenced Norman churches and cathedrals. Red chillies can be seen drying from the wrought-iron balconies of white-washed houses in the villages, whilst broom and mint grow wild in the fields. The coastline of Puglia is noted for its long sandy beaches and the beauty of the hilly Gargano peninsula with bays sheltering beneath dramatic cliffs - a stunning location for your holiday. Our hotels in Puglia tend to be a mixture of 'masserie' - fortified farmhouses that have been converted and extended to be luxury hotels a short distance from the beach, historic hotels in the Baroque city of Lecce and some beachside hotels.
Highlights of Puglia
Explore the Gargano peninsula with its dramatic coastline of coves and cliffs, beaches and forested interior. Take a boat trip to the Tremiti islands off the coast of the Gargano. The Salentine peninsula should be discovered for its vineyards and olive groves, megalithic remains and grottoes including the Grotte di Castellanata.
Cultural highlights of Puglia
The cultural highlights of Puglia are to be found in the quality of the Norman religious and secular architecture and the Baroque of Lecce in particular. Highlights include Lecce's church of Santa Croce begun in 1549 by Gabriele Riccardi and with a magnificent 17th Century facade, the loggia of the 15th Century Palazzo Vescovile, the Duomo rebuilt by Giuseppe Zimbalo (lo Zingarello) and the church of Santi Nicola e Cataldo (the most important Romanesque church in the Salentine). Bari possesses the Basilica di San Nicola, one of Puglia`s first great Norman churches. The 15th Century frescoes in the church of Santa Caterina d`Alessandria in Galatina are of particular merit. In Bitanto`s Romanesque cathedral is an Ambo by Maestro Nicola dating from 1229 with a bas-relief showing Frederick II and his family.
Festivals in Puglia
Martina Franca holds the Festivale della Valle d`Itria in late July/ early August. Bari holds a historical parade of St Nicholas on 7-10 May and a procession on the sea. Galatina has a curious tradition coinciding with the Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul on 28-29 June as tarantism has survived here. Lecce has a feast for the patron saints of the city on 24 to 26 August.
Gastronomy in Puglia
Olive oil is produced in enormous quantities and this together with local fruit, wine and seafood feature in the regional gastronomy of Puglia. Specialities include Focaccia bread flavoured with olives, fennel and chicory, Panzerotti (pasta with anchovies, capers and strong ricotta cheese), Tiella di Cozze (rice, potatoes and mussels), Melanzane alla campagnola (aubergines roasted and soaked in oil, garlic and basil). Dried pasta of all shapes and sizes is also a regional speciality. Puglia also is a great wine producer. A light red is produced at Cerignola and a robust red at Bari. Red Primitivo del Salento or di Manduria are well known.
