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
From NZD $20,960 per person twin share
Solo pricing available • Deposit $TBA • Maximum 12 guests
Two journeys, one extraordinary holiday
Your journey begins 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, discover Puglia and Matera at a pace that allows time to enjoy the places between the famous names. Think local food in Bari, a private boat beneath the cliffs of Polignano, the beautiful Salento coast, a traditional masseria evening and the extraordinary stone city of Matera.
Then the mood changes. Enjoy two nights in Barcelona before boarding Explora I for seven nights of Mediterranean discovery. Wake each day somewhere completely different: Ibiza after dark, North Africa, honey-coloured Malta, Sicily beneath Mount Etna and finally the Amalfi Coast.
It's the contrast that makes this journey so special. Intimate southern Italy, with a maximum of just 12 guests on the land programme, followed by the freedom, comfort and luxury of exploring the Mediterranean by sea.
Puglia, the Travel With Becks way
Puglia is beautiful in the obvious places, but I think its real charm lives 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. Approaching Polignano from the water, with limestone cliffs rising above the Adriatic. A glass of wine in Otranto as the sea turns a deeper blue.
That's why I've designed this part of the journey around longer stays in Conversano and Otranto rather than packing and moving every day. Private transport, knowledgeable local guides and carefully chosen experiences bring the region to life, while plenty of unscheduled time allows you to discover your own favourite restaurant, beach, piazza or little shop.
With a maximum of just 12 guests, this is small-group travel at its best. Personal, thoughtfully paced and designed to make the most of each destination, with plenty of room for those 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
Your journey begins beside the Adriatic in Bari. After arriving and settling into your 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 its own pace.
Friday 4 June — Bari through its food
This morning, discover Bari through the thing Puglia does exceptionally well: food. Accompanied by a local guide, wander the historic streets tasting the flavours that belong here and discovering the stories behind them. Later, travel privately to Conversano, a handsome hill town of stone lanes, piazzas and local life that becomes your 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, wander 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's time to wander, stop for lunch and enjoy the town rather than simply photograph it and leave.
Sunday 6 June — Puglia from the water
Today brings one of the highlights of the journey, exploring Puglia's spectacular Adriatic coastline from the water. From Monopoli, enjoy a private boat excursion 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 perspective: white buildings high above, impossibly blue water beneath and little coves tucked into the coastline. Back ashore, there's time to enjoy both seaside towns, including a short local train journey before returning to Conversano.
Salento, Otranto & Matera
Monday 7 June — Baroque Lecce to the Adriatic
Travel south to Lecce, where warm golden stone has been carved into some of the most exuberant Baroque architecture in Italy. Accompanied by a local guide, explore elegant streets, ornate church facades and hidden courtyards before enjoying time to find lunch and wander independently. Later, follow the coast to Torre Sant' Andrea, where pale limestone sea stacks rise from startling turquoise water, before continuing to Otranto. Unpack here for three nights, with the old town and Adriatic on your 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 a local guide, continue along 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 waterfront drink or a table somewhere in the old town.
Wednesday 9 June — Gallipoli & an evening in the countryside
Today, 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. Enjoy time to explore its lanes, waterfront and Baroque churches before returning across Salento. This evening brings a special experience in the countryside, with 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, travel 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. Accompanied by a private local guide, explore this extraordinary city and discover how people lived here for centuries. With two nights in Matera, there's time to experience its magic 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, discover the Sassi from a different perspective on a fun tuk tuk tour, followed by a visit to a local artisan working with a traditional ancient loom. A wonderful 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.
This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner to celebrate the southern Italian chapter of your journey before continuing to Barcelona and the Mediterranean.
Barcelona - A change of rhythm
Saturday 12 June — From southern Italy to Barcelona
After breakfast, it's time to leave Matera and transfer to Bari Airport for the onward flight to Barcelona. In just 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 your 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 to 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, admire Gaudí'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, it's time to board Explora I and step into a very different style of travel. Your Grand Balcony Suite offers generous space and a private terrace, while the ship's 456 suites, penthouses and residences create the atmosphere 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 into the distance. Seven nights and a wonderfully varied Mediterranean journey lie ahead.
The Mediterranean | Spain to North Africa
This wonderfully varied Mediterranean itinerary offers something a little different from the familiar cruise circuit. From the Balearic Islands to Tunisia, Malta and Sicily, before returning to Italy for Amalfi and Rome, every couple of days the culture, architecture, food and landscape shift again. It's this contrast that makes the journey so special.
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 I 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 offers a day with absolutely nowhere to be. Sleep in, order a leisurely breakfast, find a lounger facing the sea, try one of the restaurants, book some spa time or settle onto your private terrace with a book. With so many different destinations ahead, this day is part of the pleasure. Time to slow down and enjoy everything Explora I has to offer.
Thursday 17 June — Tunisia | Across to North Africa
This morning, wake up on another continent. La Goulette is the 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 café-filled squares are all within easy reach. Explora I stays until 9pm, allowing plenty of time to experience Valletta beyond the middle of the day. Perhaps enjoy dinner or a drink ashore as the stone turns golden in the evening light.
Sicily, Amalfi & Rome
Saturday 19 June — Sicily beneath Mount Etna
Arrive at Giardini Naxos on Sicily's Ionian coast, with Taormina perched high above. 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
Your final full day delivers one of the great approaches in the Mediterranean. Arrive by tender beneath the Amalfi Coast, where mountains fall steeply into the sea and villages cling to the cliffs above. 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's 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, bringing an extraordinary Mediterranean journey to a close. From Puglia's whitewashed towns and sea caves to Matera at dusk, Barcelona, Ibiza after dark, North Africa, Malta, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast, it's been a wonderful combination of destinations, experiences and contrasts.
Fly home, stay a little longer in Rome, continue exploring Italy or turn this into the beginning of something more. I'm very happy to 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 throughout Puglia and Matera
2 nights' accommodation in Barcelona with breakfast
7-night Mediterranean cruise aboard Explora I in a Grand Balcony Suite
Daily breakfast throughout Puglia and Matera, plus selected included meals
Private minivan transportation throughout the Puglia and Matera programme as specified
Knowledgeable local guides and 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
Traditional masseria dinner in the Puglian countryside
A thoughtfully designed small-group land journey, with a maximum of 12 guests and plenty of time to explore independently
Travel With Becks booking and itinerary support
What's not included
International flights
Flight from Bari to Barcelona
Cruise shore excursions and optional activities unless specifically stated as included
Meals and drinks not specified in the itinerary
Travel insurance
Personal expenses
Solo pricing is available on request.
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 limestone cliffs of Polignano. Wandering the whitewashed lanes of Ostuni. Enjoying a long lunch beside the Adriatic in Otranto. Watching Matera turn golden as evening falls.
Then stepping aboard Explora I, unpacking just once and waking to an ever-changing Mediterranean. Ibiza, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily and the spectacular Amalfi Coast.
It's the contrast that makes this journey so special. First, the charm and character of southern Italy, explored at a leisurely pace with a small group of just 12 guests. Then the freedom, comfort and indulgence of a luxury Mediterranean cruise.
Two very different ways to travel, brought together in one extraordinary holiday.
3 - 21 JUNE 2027
From NZD $20,960 per person twin share
Solo pricing available • Deposit $TBA • Maximum 12 guests
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!