Apart from a few ascents and descents on the steep coast, the route is fairly flat through the Salento. The route is mostly on small, tarmac country roads and farm tracks with little traffic. There is relatively little traffic on the coastal road in the low season. At most, there is more traffic on the entry and exit roads from Lecce.
You can download the GPX track for the cycle tour in Apulia download here for free
or find it in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot
Journey
If you don't want to make the long journey by train or car, choose to fly to Brindisi, e.g. directly with Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti from Frankfurt and Munich.
Trains run regularly from Brindisi to Lecce in around 30 minutes, www.trenitalia.com/tcom-de
Organised trip
A similar tour in Salento is available as an individual, six-day round trip in the programme of the tour operator Girolibero, www.girolibero.com
Food
Lido Mania in Torre Mozza: simple, good trattoria on the sandy beach, with Salentinean cuisine. www.lidomania.it
Accommodation tips
Eos Hotel in Lecce, modern hotel on the edge of the old town centre. www.vestashotels.it
Hotel 33 Baroni in Gallipoli, small, friendly hotel on the mainland. www.hotel33baroni.it
Gran Hotel L'Approdo in Santa Maria di Leuca, comfortable hotel in a panoramic position above the small fishing harbour.
www.hotelapprodo.com
Hotel San Giuseppe in Otranto, twenty rooms in the thick walls of an old masseria. www.hotelsangiuseppeotranto.it
Worth seeing
Lecce: grandiose baroque town and lively centre of Salento
Copertino: wine town with imposing castle and pilgrimage church
Nardo: the baroque jewel next to Lecce
Gallipoli: winding old town centre on a rocky island by the sea
Felline: medieval town not far from the coast near Torre Mozza
Santa Maria di Leuca: "Finis Terrae" - the end of the world, at the southern tip of Salento with a pilgrimage church
Santa Cesarea Terme: small, elegant spa town by the sea with the landmark of the neo-Moorish Villa Sticchi
Punta Palascia: lighthouse at the easternmost point of Italy
Otranto: former trading centre and now a spruced-up harbour town with a car-free Centro Storico
Acaya: 16th century fortified town with church, castle and citadel
Literature & Maps
Everything you need to know about Puglia: Michael Müller Verlag, Apulia travel guide, 410 pages, 21.90 euros.
Good overview: Marco Polo Map 1:200,000 "Apulia - Puglia" 9.99 euros.
Info
Italian National Tourist Board ENIT, Barckhausstr. 10, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Tel. 069/237434, www.enit.de,
www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/hp/de
The complete article was published in Trekkingbike issue 1/2018. You can download the issue in the MYBIKE app (iTunes and Google Play ) or in the DK-Shop order.
