15 days, from Monday, November 24 to Monday, December 8, 2025
A leisurely exploration of the little-known but scenic and fascinating “heel” of the Italian “boot,” the province of Puglia (a.k.a. Apulia), offering fabulous coastal and mountain scenery, plus Ancient Greek as well as Roman, Medieval, and Baroque historical towns, sites and monuments! Featuring 4-star/first-class hotels and excellent food, this tour will be escorted by historian Jacques R. Pauwels, PhD, who will lecture on the history of Puglia, the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and Italy in general.
Tour Price: $5,995 CAD Includes return airfare from Toronto to Rome Land only: $4,595 CAD Single Supplement: $885
November 24 - December 08, 2025
Land only: $4,595. Single supplement: $885.
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*If the tour is SOLD OUT, please contact us to be added to the waitlist.
Arrival in Rome at 10 AM. A comfortable private coach will be waiting to take us along the trajectory of the legendary Appian Way (a Roman road connecting Rome to Puglia, recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to visit Monte Cassino, where a terrible battle was fought in WW II, and then to the town of Benevento in the province of Campania. Accommodation in the centrally located four-star Hotel Antum and dinner in the hotel or in a nearby restaurant.
Taranto, one of the most important Greek seaports in southern Italy since the time when the ancient Greeks settled here, in the land they called Megalè Hellas (Latin: Magna Graecia), “Greater Greece.” The quaint old town occupies a peninsula tucked between a bay of the Gulf of Taranto, called Mar Grande, “Big Sea,” and a lagoon called Mar Piccola, “Little Sea.” Highlights will be the palm tree-lined waterfront promenade, the Aragonese Castle, the Duomo (Cathedral), and the remains of a Greek temple. No group dinner this evening.
Departure from Lecce after breakfast. We head for the historic Adriatic seaport of Brindisi, in Antiquity the terminus of the famous Appian Way, still marked today by two Roman columns. On to the hilltop town of Ostuni, an architectural jewel commonly referred to as “the White Town” for its mostly white-painted architecture, where we pause for lunch. In the afternoon we continue to Bari, Puglia’s biggest city and a busy Adriatic seaport connecting Italy to Greece. Dinner and overnight in the centrally located 4-star/first-class Hotel Excelsior Bari.
This morning we discover the rugged but scenic northern coast of the Gargano Peninsula, featuring the fishing village of Peschici and the picturesque town of Rodi Garganico with its long sandy beach. Return to Vieste and rest of the day at leisure, except for dinner in the restaurant of our hotel.
Early departure and scenic all-day drive towards Rome, a total distance of approximately 400 km. Following the Adriatic coastline, we leave Puglia and enter the small province of Molise, tucked between the Adriatic and the Apennine Mountains. Short stop in the seaside resort and seaport of Termoli, liberated in the fall of 1943 by Canadian troops who called it “Maple Leaf City”! Then we turn inland, enter the Abruzzi region, and cross the rugged Abruzzo National Park, with its forest-covered mountains inhabited by a variety of wildlife, including bears and wolves. Via the town of Sulmona we reach Fiumicino in late afternoon. Time permitting, shortly before our arrival we will take a look at a well-preserved stretch of the ancient Appian Way just outside of Rome, featuring mausoleums and catacombs! Accommodation in the 4-star/first-class Hotel Mercure or similar. Final group dinner in the hotel or in a nearby restaurant.
-Economy class return flight from Toronto to Rome with Air Canada. -Overland travel by private coach. -Accommodation in four-star/first-class hotels, based on double occupancy -Meals: buffet breakfast daily and a total of eight full dinners or lunches. -Sightseeing, visits, and excursions as indicated in the itinerary. -Services of a Pauwels tour escort as well as local guides.
-All expenses of a personal nature. -Meals other than those mentioned above. -Beverages with dinners. -Coach drivers’ gratuity of 30 Euros, to be paid locally. -Travel insurance, available upon request.
January 25 - February 01, 2026
Inside cabins $925 per person based on double occupancy
January 31 - February 19, 2026
$10,550 including flights from Toronto, based on double occupancy
February 01 - 11, 2026
Inside cabins starting at $1,784 per person based on double occupancy
