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Bike tour among grotto churches, old oil mills, fortified large farms and thousand-old olive trees and get to know the gorgeous countryside.
We will start from via Porto, in Monopoli old town, where we will take you to discover medieval villages excavated into the rock and fortified large farms – “masserie”.
We visit authentic places, still working farms, where it is still possible to live the authentic Apulian atmosphere. We will take country routes with old dry-stone walls, wonderful olive trees and without any traffic. During our bike tour we stop several times, first at Porto Ghiacciolo, the picturesque beach near the Saint Stephan castle, one of the most charming places on the Monopoli coast.
We will visit also a grotto church with frescoes made during the Middle Age, a fascinating oil mill excavated inside the rock from XIII century and an authentic farm surrounded by more than two thousand old olive trees. A relaxing cycling tour in Monopoli countryside among centuries-old olive and carob trees, fig and almond trees, prickly pear plants and at the end we enjoy tasting typical Apulian products.
Discover medieval villages excavated into the rock in old town Monopoli
Be enchanted on a rural bike ride through the winding countryside
Visit also a grotto church with frescoes made during the Middle Age, a fascinating oil mill excavated inside the rock from XIII century and an authentic farm surrounded by more than two thousand old olive trees
Try some local products
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Puglia is my passion. Ever since I was 10 years old I have been discovering, exploring and learning about the region. When I was a little bit older, I started to give guided tours of the area and after my studies in art I decided to pursue a masters degree in tourism management, to work as a guide ful Read More
Jemma
Wednesday 19th June, 2019
We did the bike ride through the olive groves and farms. There was a group of 8 cyclists with Johnny leading and Antonella acting as tour guide at each stop. We both really loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Monopoli. The cy...
We did the bike ride through the olive groves and farms. There was a group of 8 cyclists with Johnny leading and Antonella acting as tour guide at each stop. We both really loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Monopoli. The cycle itself was a bit tough at times but mainly due to the heat (it was over 30 degrees at times when we were in Puglia). The places where we stopped were so interesting and Johnny and Antonella were very helpful and knowledgeable. The most impressive thing for us was getting to stop at the private farms to see inside the old underground village with olive presses and the underground churches which you simply cannot see other than on their tours. In terms of practicalities, the bikes were in decent condition, we all had helmets and were given plenty of cold water and snacks. The tasting at the end was lovely and we didn’t feel at all pressured to buy anything - although we couldn’t resist the limoncello! Overall, lots of fun and interesting sights, great value for money, and very highly recommended!
Read moreGlen
Monday 17th June, 2019
We had a wonderful bike tour with johnny and antonella through ancient olive groves and visiting authentic working farms. The bikes were in great condition and the cycling very manageable for us older types (60 and 75) being mostly flat land with a f...
We had a wonderful bike tour with johnny and antonella through ancient olive groves and visiting authentic working farms. The bikes were in great condition and the cycling very manageable for us older types (60 and 75) being mostly flat land with a few manageable inclines. The scenery was sensational especially in the sunset light at the end of the tour. Johnny was a great leader of the pack and Antonella provided superb commentary at each location....really informative and passionate about the puglia region. Sampling generous-sized local goodies at the end of the ride was wonderful We loved doing this tour and would highly recommend it. Thanks johnny and antonella for a very memorable trip.
Read moreStephanie
Monday 25th June, 2018
We had a wonderful trip with Antonella this afternoon. After reading online about this trip it was one of the first things we decided we just had to do on our trip to puglia. And even with our high expectations the trip did not disappoint! We booked...
We had a wonderful trip with Antonella this afternoon. After reading online about this trip it was one of the first things we decided we just had to do on our trip to puglia. And even with our high expectations the trip did not disappoint! We booked the Monopoli countryside tour and visited some very special places around Monopoli. These are places you do not read about in your Lonely Planet. The guide Antonella brings you to Masseria where she will pick up the key of the owner to show some real archeological wonders. We visited an old underground olive press on the land of a very friendly family. The owner had restored everything himself by hand to the original state, a project that must have taken him years but he did so with a definite passion and an eye for detail. I will not tell you about everything else we visited because it is nice to be surprised, but you will definitely not regret this trip. About the level of difficulty: as we are Dutch of course we are used to biking, but the tour is fine for everyone who is able to just ride a bike for a bit. Comfortable pants to wear are important though if you are not used to biking :) you want to be able to still sit during the rest of your trip hahaha. We would definitely book this trip again!
Read moreThe tour starts and finishes in Via Porto n. 8 in Monopoli old town
The tour is available all year round. Generally we do it every Tuesday and Saturday, except holidays, from 9.00 a.m.
During the months of June, July and August the bike tour starts at 3.00 p.m. If we take the reservation minimum 20 days in advance we can also arrange it from Monday to Friday, in the morning or in the afternoon.
