Puglia, Matera & Mediterranean Cruise
3 - 21 June 2027
Puglia • Matera • Barcelona • Ibiza • Tunisia • Malta • Sicily • Amalfi • Rome
SOUTHERN ITALY, BARCELONA & A MEDITERRANEAN JOURNEY WITH A DIFFERENCE
NZD $19,985 per person twin share
Solo pricing available • Deposit $500 per person • Maximum 12 guests
Two journeys, one extraordinary holiday
We begin in southern Italy, where whitewashed towns glow above ancient olive groves, fishing boats bob in little Adriatic harbours and long lunches still matter. Over nine nights we'll travel through Puglia and Matera at a pace that lets us enjoy the places between the famous names - local food in Bari, a private boat beneath the cliffs of Polignano, the Salento coast, a traditional masseria evening and the extraordinary stone city of Matera.
Then the mood changes. We fly to Barcelona for two nights before boarding Explora I and waking each day somewhere completely different: Ibiza after dark, North Africa, honey-coloured Malta, Sicily beneath Mount Etna and finally the Amalfi Coast. It is the contrast that makes this journey so special - intimate southern Italy followed by the ease and luxury of travelling the Mediterranean by sea.
Puglia, the Travel With Becks way
Puglia is beautiful in the obvious places, but I think its real charml ives in the moments between them. A woman making orecchiette in a Bari doorway. The first glimpse of Alberobello's conical trulli. White Ostuni glowing above a sea of olive trees. Pulling into Polignano from the water with limestone cliffs rising above us. A glass of wine in Otranto as the Adriatic turns deeper blue.
That's why I've built this part of the journey around longer stays in Conversano and Otranto rather than packing and moving every day. We have private transport and excellent local guides when their knowledge adds depth, special experiences that connect us with the region, and enough unscheduled time to find our own favourite restaurant, beach, piazza or little shop.
With a maximum of 12 guests, we can move easily, use smaller places and experiences, and keep the journey personal. I'll be with you throughout the land programme, taking care of the details while leaving plenty of room for the spontaneous moments that often become the best memories.
LONGER STAYS • LOCAL FLAVOURS • PRIVATE EXPERIENCES • COASTAL DAYS • TIME TO WANDER
Bari, Conversano & the Itria Valley
Thursday 3 June — Welcome to Bari
Our journey begins beside the Adriatic in Bari. After arriving and settling into our hotel, the rest of the day is wonderfully simple. Step into the old town, where washing hangs between honey-coloured buildings, tiny shrines sit in unexpected corners and local women still make orecchiette by hand outside their homes. Find an aperitivo, order something delicious and let southern Italy begin at itsown pace.
Friday 4 June — Bari through its food
This morning we meet Bari through the thing Puglia does exceptionally well - food. With a local guide we'll wander the historic streets tasting the flavours that belong here, discovering the stories behind them as we go. Later we travel privately to Conversano, a handsome hill town of stone lanes, piazzas and local life that becomes our home for three nights. Settle in and enjoy the pleasure of staying somewhere that feels lived in rather than simply visited.
Saturday 5 June — Trulli, olive country & the White City
The Itria Valley is quintessential Puglia: ancient olive trees, dry-stone walls and little conical trulli scattered across the countryside. In Alberobello we'll walk among whole streets of these remarkable whitewashed houses before continuing to Ostuni, rising brilliantly white above the surrounding olive groves. Its lanes twist beneath arches and stairways towards little piazzas and viewpoints where the landscape seems to stretch forever. There is time to wander, stop forlunch and enjoy the town rather than simply photograph it and leave.
Sunday 6 June — Puglia from the water
Today we head for the Adriatic, and this is one of the days I'm especially excited about. From Monopoli we'll take a private boat along the coast towards Polignano a Mare, where the old town sits dramatically above limestone cliffs and sea caves cut into the rock below. Seeing Polignano from the water gives you a completely different sense of the place - white buildings high above, impossibly blue water beneath us and little coves tucked into the coastline. Back ashore we'll have time in both seaside towns, including a short local train journey before returning to Conversano.
Salento, Otranto & Matera
Monday 7 June — Baroque Lecce to the Adriatic
We travel south to Lecce, where warm golden stone has been carved into some of the most exuberant Baroque architecture in Italy. With our guide we'll explore elegant streets, ornate church facades and hidden courtyards before having time to find lunch and wander independently. Later we follow the coast to Torre Sant' Andrea, where pale limestone sea stacks rise from startling turquoise water, then continue to Otranto. We'll unpack here for three nights, with the old town and Adriatic on our doorstep.
Tuesday 8 June — Otranto & the wild Salento coast
Otranto is one of those places that invites you to slow down: stone lanes, a harbour filled with little boats and clear Adriatic water just beyond the old walls. After exploring with our local guide, we'll follow the southern coastline towards Gagliano del Capo, where rocky headlands, hidden coves and intensely blue sea replace the busier towns further north. A leisurely three-course lunch is included along the way. Back in Otranto, the afternoon and evening are yours - perhaps a swim, a water front drink or a table somewhere in the old town.
Wednesday 9 June — Gallipoli & an evening in the countryside
Today we cross the heel of Italy to Gallipoli on the Ionian Sea, its old town almost floating offshore and connected to the mainland by a bridge. We'll have time to explore its lanes, waterfront and baroque churches before returning across Salento. Tonight takes us into the countryside for dinner at a traditional masseria - one of those lovely Puglian evenings built around local food, wine and conversation. Those who wish can also experience Pizzica, Salento's energetic traditional music and dance.
Thursday 10 June — First sight of Matera
Leaving Puglia, we cross into Basilicata and arrive in a city unlike anywhere else on this journey. Matera's Sassi tumble down a rocky ravine in layers of caves, stone houses, stairways and rock-cut churches, a landscape that feels almost biblical when you first see it. With our private guide we'll walk through this extraordinary city and begin to understand how people lived here for centuries. We stay for two nights, which means Matera becomes somewhere we can experience after the day visitors have gone and the stone begins to glow in the evening light.
Friday 11 June — Matera beyond the viewpoints
This morning we'll see the Sassi from a different angle on a fun tuk tuk tour, then meet a local artisan working with a traditional ancient loom - a small connection to the skills and traditions that have survived here. Afterwards, Matera is yours. Follow stairways simply to see where they lead, find a terrace for lunch, sit with a coffee overlooking the ravine or return to a favourite corner. Tonight we'll come together for a farewell dinner to our southern Italian journey.
Barcelona | A change of rhythm
Saturday 12 June — From southern Italy to Barcelona
After breakfast we leave Matera and return to Bari Airport for our flight to Barcelona. In a few hours the mood changes completely - from the stone lanes and olive landscapes of southern Italy to one of Europe's great Mediterranean cities. After checking into our hotel, the evening is entirely yours. Step out for tapas, wander the neighbourhood, find a rooftop drink or simply relax. Barcelona is part of the holiday, not just somewhere we pass through on the way to the ship.
Sunday 13 June — Barcelona, your way
Breakfast is included at the hotel and then the whole day is yours. Perhaps wander the Gothic Quarter, see Gaudi's extraordinary architecture, browse La Boqueria, head towards the waterfront or settle into a long Spanish lunch and let the afternoon unfold. There is nothing organised today - the pleasure is choosing exactly how you want to spend it.
Monday 14 June — Welcome aboard Explora I
After a relaxed morning we board Explora I and step into a very different style of travel. Our ocean-front suites have private terraces, and with 456 suites, penthouses and residences the ship has the feel of a sophisticated resort at sea rather than a huge floating city. Unpack once, explore the restaurants, bars, pools and outdoor decks, then find somewhere overlooking the water as Barcelona slips away behind us. Seven nights and a wonderfully varied Mediterranean route lie ahead.
The Mediterranean | Spain to North Africa
This is the cruise itinerary that made me change the original journey. It gives us the Mediterranean without simply repeating the familiar circuit - the Balearics, Tunisia, Malta and Sicily before returning to Italy for Amalfi and Rome. Every couple of days the culture, architecture, food and landscape shift again.
Tuesday 15 June — Ibiza into the night
Ibiza has a reputation for nightlife, but there is far more to the island than clubs. Whitewashed villages, pine-covered hills, salt flats, quiet coves and clear Mediterranean water sit beyond the famous beach scene. Spend the day however you choose, then enjoy something cruise itineraries rarely give you here: time. Explora stays until the early hours, so you can have dinner ashore, wander the old town after sunset or simply enjoy Ibiza when the heat softens and the island slips into evening.
Wednesday 16 June — A day at sea
After Ibiza's late night, the Mediterranean gives us a day with absolutely nowhere to be. Sleep in, order a slow breakfast, find a lounger facing the sea, try one of the restaurants, book some spa time or settle onto your terrace with a book. With so many different places ahead, this day is part of the pleasure - time to enjoy the ship we've actually come all this way to sail on.
Thursday 17 June — Tunisia | Across to North Africa
This morning we wake on another continent. La Goulette is our gateway to Tunis, where the atmosphere, architecture and flavours immediately shift. You might lose yourself among the lanes and souks of the old medina, stand among the ruins of ancient Carthage or head to Sidi Bou Said, a beautiful hillside village of brilliant white walls, cobalt-blue doors and Mediterranean views. Yesterday Spain, today North Africa - this is exactly the contrast I love about this itinerary.
Friday 18 June — Valletta | Sailing into history
Few arrivals are as dramatic as Malta. Valletta's honey-coloured fortifications rise above Grand Harbour, built from the same warm limestone that gives the city its distinctive glow. Once ashore, grand streets, hidden lanes, churches, balconies and cafe-filled squares are all within easy reach. Explora stays until 9pm, giving us the luxury of seeing Valletta beyond the middle of the day - perhaps dinner or a drink ashore as the stone turns golden in the evening light.
Sicily, Amalfi & Rome
Saturday 19 June — Sicily beneath Mount Etna
We arrive at Giardini Naxos on Sicily's Ionian coast with Taormina perched high above us. This is Sicily at its most cinematic: bougainvillea spilling over stone walls, elegant piazzas, little lanes opening onto sea views and Mount Etna rising in the distance. Visit Taormina's ancient Greek Theatre for that extraordinary sea-and-volcano backdrop, venture into Etna's volcanic landscapes and wine country, or choose a slower day along the coast. Sicily gives you plenty of reasons to linger.
Sunday 20 June — Arriving on the Amalfi Coast
Our final full day delivers one of the great approaches in the Mediterranean. We arrive by tender beneath the Amalfi Coast, where mountains fall steeply into the sea and villages cling to the cliffs above us. Explore Amalfi and its striped Duomo, head into the hills to Ravello and its beautiful gardens, or choose the simplest option of all: find a table with a view, order lunch and a limoncello and enjoy being exactly where you are. It is a glorious final day before Rome.
Monday 21 June — Rome | The journey ends where your next one can begin
Explora I arrives in Civitavecchia this morning. After nearly three weeks together - Puglian towns and sea caves, Matera at dusk, Barcelona, Ibiza after dark, North Africa, Malta, Sicily and Amalfi - our group journey comes to an end. Fly home, stay in Rome, continue through Italy or turn this into the beginning of something longer. I can tailor your international flights and any pre- or post-tour travel around whatever you'd like to do next.
What's included
9 nights' accommodation through Puglia and Matera
2 nights' accommodation in Barcelona with breakfast
7-night Explora I Mediterranean cruise
Daily breakfast during the Puglia and Matera journey, plus selected included meals
Private minivan transportation throughout the Puglia programme as specified
Private guided experiences in Bari, Lecce, Otranto and Matera
Private boat experience along the Polignano a Mare coastline
Local train experience between Monopoli and Polignano a Mare
Matera tuk tuk tour and local artisan weaving experience
A thoughtfully paced programme with genuine free time
Travel With Becks support throughout the journey
International flights are not included. Solo pricing is available. Cruise shore experiences and optional activities are additional unless specifically advised as included.
NZD $19,985 PER PERSON TWIN SHARE • SOLO PRICING AVAILABLE • DEPOSIT $500 PP • MAXIMUM 12 GUESTS
Want to stay longer?
Your holiday doesn't have to begin or end with the group itinerary. I can tailor your international flights and add pre or post-tour travel around the places you want to see - extra time in Italy, more of Spain or a completely different European extension.
Can you picture yourself here?
Cruising beneath the cliffs of Polignano. Wandering through white washed Ostuni. Sitting beside the Adriatic in Otranto. Watching Matera turn golden as evening falls. Then unpacking aboard Explora I and waking to Ibiza, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast.
That's what makes this journey work so beautifully: we experience southern Italy slowly and personally first, then let the ship carry us through a completely different collection of Mediterranean places. You get the connection and character of small-group land travel, followed by the freedom and ease of a luxury cruise.
3 - 21 JUNE 2027
NZD $19,985 per person twin share
Solo pricing available • Deposit $500 per person • Maximum 12 guests
Current Explora Journeys saving
The Explora Journeys cruise component is currently benefiting from a 30% saving, available until 28 September 2026. If you're interested in joining us, I recommend getting in touch before then so we can secure your place while the current cruise pricing is available.
To reserve your place, contact me and I'll talk you through the next steps and arrange your booking.
And remember, your holiday doesn't have to begin or end with the group itinerary. I can tailor your international flights and any pre- or post-tour travel around exactly what you'd like to do.
Rebecca “Becks” MacFadyen
Travel With Becks
Contact me today to start planning your next unforgettable group tour!