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Cycling Between Two Seas
​Along the Ancient Roman Roads

The circular route — 340 km, 6 stages, 2 seas

Two millennia ago, Roman legions marched these roads from the Adriatic to the Ionian Sea. Medieval pilgrims followed the same paths toward the Holy Land. Today you can rediscover the same routes at the gentler pace of a bicycle — past trulli, olive groves, baroque towns, and two very different coastlines.
The Cycling Loop Between Two Seas is a circular self-guided tour through the heart of Puglia. In eight days, the route travels from the Adriatic port of Brindisi to the Ionian Sea at Taranto, climbs into the trulli landscape of the Itria Valley, and returns along the coast through Monopoli and Ostuni — tracing four ancient roads: the Appian Way, the Trajan Way, the Via Francigena del Sud, and the Apulian Aqueduct Cycle Path.

​Why cycle the ancient roads?
What makes this tour distinctive is its archaeological dimension The roads you cycle were not invented for tourism.
The Appian Way, begun in 312 BC, is the first great Roman road. The Trajan Way, completed in 109 AD, followed the Adriatic coast as a faster route to Brindisi. The Via Francigena del Sud guided pilgrims along the same corridors a thousand years later. To ride these stages is to move through a landscape that has witnessed two thousand years of continuous human passage.
​The terrain is accessible — the Murge plateau and Itria Valley offer enough variety to be interesting without demanding elite fitness. The scenery shifts constantly between flat coastal plains, rolling limestone tablelands dotted with trulli, and centuries-old olive groves stretching to the horizon.


The itinerary — 8 days / 7 nights

Day 1 — Arrival in Brindisi.
Explore the port city and its Roman columns at leisure.

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The Brindisi Harbour

Day 2 — From Brindisi to Mesagne  54 km · easy
A gentle warm-up through olive groves and masserie, ending at the Norman-Swabian castle of Mesagne.

Day 3 — Mesagne to Taranto  63 km · moderate
Descend toward the Ionian Sea passing through baroque Francavilla Fontana and ceramic-craft Grottaglie, arriving in Taranto with views over the Mar Piccolo. Heading south toward Taranto on the ancient Appian Way

Day 4 — Taranto to Martina Franca  61 km · challenging
The big climb of the tour: from sea level up to the Murge plateau, with the first trulli appearing along the roadside and Martina Franca's baroque skyline as the reward.

Day 5 — Martina Franca to Monopoli  56 km · easy–moderate
A largely downhill ride through the Itria Valley, with stops in Locorotondo and Alberobello (UNESCO), then down to the Adriatic at Monopoli.

The scenic countryside stretching between Alberobello and Locorotondo

Day 6 — Monopoli to Ostuni  46 km · moderate
Coast road, then a gentle climb to Ostuni — the white city on its hill, one of Puglia's most iconic views.

Day 7 — Ostuni to Brindisi  60 km · easy
A mostly downhill return to Brindisi, skirting the Torre Guaceto Nature Reserve before closing the loop at the Adriatic seafront.

Day 8 — Departure: Breakfast and end of services.


In brief

The tour is available all year. Prices start from € 1,350 per person in Economy category (B&B / Hotel 3★, low season). E-bikes are available at an extra charge of €160 per bike. Luggage transfers, navigation app with preloaded GPS tracks, repair kit, and telephone assistance are all included. The tour is not suitable for road bikes — trekking and gravel bikes are the recommended options.
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An Early Bird discount of 5% is available for autumn 2026 departures, for bookings made by 31 July 2026.

Ready to follow the ancient roads? View full details, dates and prices on the tour page.

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