A Week-Long Itinerary for Your Salento Holiday

Salento is a region that extends over the southern part of Puglia and makes up the bottommost part of Italy’s heel. It is washed by both the Ionian and Adriatic seas and has more than 250km of coastline, which boasts some of Italy’s most beautiful beaches.

But there are a lot more things to do in Salento than just lounging on the paradisiacal golden sands and swimming in the transparent, azure seas. The region also boasts some of Italy’s loveliest towns and cities - and then there’s the delicious food and wine that helps to make Salento a firm favourite among discerning travellers.

We’ve consulted with our knowledgeable Local Specialists to create a week-long Salento itinerary to help you make the most of your next villa holiday and experience the best things to do in Salento, Puglia.

Discover our exclusive villas in Salento, Puglia

Your Salento itinerary

Day 1 - Arrival

As you step through the airport, luggage in tow, it’s good to know that the driver we’ve arranged is ready and waiting to whisk you off to your new home for the week. No need to worry about queuing in a crowded arrivals hall to pick up your car or navigating after a long flight: just sit back and relax. Your driver knows exactly where to go, and your car will be delivered to your villa tomorrow morning.

You receive a message from our Local Specialists, welcoming you to Salento and offering you their assistance. It’s reassuring that someone’s just a phone call away should you need anything, no matter how small, during your holiday.

The owner is waiting to greet you at your villa. He shows you around, explains how things work and leaves you in the capable hands of the in-villa cook your Experience Specialist has arranged for you. Before you eat, though, it’s time for a dip in the pool. After a few reinvigorating lengths, you head to your luxurious bedroom to unpack, shower and prepare for dinner.

As you make your way downstairs, you can smell delicious fragrances emanating from the kitchen and find the fridge is stocked with the wine you ordered in advance. You open a bottle of chilled white made by Tormaresca, the Puglian branch of the legendary Antinori family winery, and head outside, where the panoramic pool terrace is flushed with the warm golden glow of the setting sun.

After your aperitivo, you move to the shady al fresco dining area and your cook serves up an array of local specialities. After dinner, content, tired and already very much in the holiday mood, you retire to bed, already anticipating the wonderful days ahead.

Day 2 - Taking it easy

You wake to the sunlight filtering in through the shutters and the aroma of coffee percolating in the kitchen – the maid is already preparing breakfast. You head downstairs, where the table is laid with a fabulous spread. The strong Italian coffee tastes so good and everyone in your group is rested, happy and raring to go.

For your first day, you’ve planned to enjoy the villa, explore its gardens, swim in the pool, catch a few rays and take things easy after yesterday’s long day of travel. For lunch, you rustle up a light lunch of salad, cheeses and hams from the food hamper you ordered.

After an easy afternoon by the pool and a really useful chat with your charming Local Specialists, who’s booked you a restaurant for dinner, you set off for Otranto for a stroll around the historic town centre.

You arrive at your seafront restaurant and the proprietor greets you like old friends. You dine on octopus salad, marinated anchovies, grilled vegetables, local cheeses like burrata, peppered mussels, spaghetti alla tarantina, stuffed squid and translucent fillets of sea bass. After a homemade lemon sorbet, you take a moonlit stroll on the beach and then head home.

Day 3 - Guided tour of Lecce

Of all the things to do in Salento, a trip to Lecce is a must. Your Experience Specialist has set you up with a local guide for a private tour of the Baroque city. Your guide will reveal the secrets of Leece, which boasts not only fabulous palazzi and churches but also a Roman amphitheatre, a sixteenth-century castle, a host of independent shops and some great restaurants. After the fascinating tour, you head back to your villa, tired but enthused by Lecce’s many delights. 

There’s still time for a swim before dinner (your cook has already arrived and is busy in the kitchen), so you head down to the pool for some R&R.

Day 4 - Visit Gallipoli and a beach club

Today, you’re heading off to Gallipoli, another of the best places to visit in Puglia. Sitting on a little island just off the coast, the city’s maze of streets is fascinating to wander around. Your Local Specialists has recommended a visit to one of the historic underground olive oil presses and booked you into a fabulous private beach club for lunch and an afternoon by the Ionian Sea.

Please note: As with restaurants, museums and archaeological sites, booking is required if you wish to go to a lido. Simply let us know this and we would be happy to take care of all the details.

You get home in time for a delivery from the local butcher (organised by your Local Specialists, of course). You stoke up the barbecue, have a final swim and then get cooking. The atmosphere with the terrace, garden and pool lights is magical and your whole group is in great spirits.

Day 5 - Wine tasting tour

No visit to Salerno is complete without a trip to a local winery, so your Experience Specialist has organised a chauffeured wine-tasting tour at Duca Guarini, one of Salento’s best vineyards. You’ll taste four fabulous Salentine wines, try some olive oil and have lunch paired with some of the wines you’ve tried. Don’t eat too much, however, as there are plans for dinner!

After lunch, you head back to your villa for an afternoon of relaxation by the pool. At about 5pm, the pizzaiolo arranged by your Local Specialists arrives to light the fire in the wood-burning pizza oven. Everyone enjoys a chance at making pizzas, including the kids, which is great fun. The food is delicious, and the evening is a huge success – yet another memory to cherish.

Day 6 - Private skippered boat charter

After another delicious breakfast, you head off to Santa Maria di Leuca at the southernmost tip of Puglia. Your skipper is awaiting you down at the marina, the sun is shining and the sea is as placid as a mill pond: perfect conditions for your private boat charter along the Adriatic coast (and again, it’s all arranged by your Experience Specialist).

The skipper serves up coffee and takes you through the itinerary, before setting sail up the rugged Ionian coast with its breathtaking cliffs, karstic grottoes and transparent waters. You drop anchor occasionally to dive into the cobalt depths and eventually arrive at the tiny harbour of Marina di Novaglie, where you enjoy a superb seafood lunch at the restaurant Lo Scalo before heading back to Santa Maria di Leuca in the afternoon.

Day 7 - A relaxing day and private dinner

Today’s the last day of your Salento holiday, so you want to make the most of your magnificent villa. The maid has worked wonders with the breakfast and you are looking forward to a quiet day relaxing by the pool, reading, playing table tennis, swimming and spending quality time with your loved ones.

Dinner is an incredible feast – the cook has surpassed herself - and you enjoy a fantastic evening under the stars sampling fantastic local wines sourced by your Local Specialists. 

Day 8 - Departure day

An early breakfast has been prepared for you, and the owner arrives on the dot to see you off. He gives you each a small bottle of his very own olive oil as a memory of your stay. Your driver is ready and waiting (your hire car will be picked up later) and it’s off to the airport. You all feel a little bit sad to leave but you’re all full of wonderful memories.

With so many things to do in Salento, this itinerary provides just a small sample of some of the best places to visit as well as our exclusive Think Experiences in Puglia. Now it’s time to discover our superb villas in Salento and contact our team when you’re ready to start planning your adventure. We would be happy to plan a bespoke holiday itinerary for you - no matter where you plan to visit.

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