Adriatic italy
day-by-day itinerary
november 5-12, 2026
Abruzzo
01
After we meet and greet for dinner the prior evening, we’ll get good and caffeine-loaded in the morning and then take off eastbound from Tivoli for a drive into the Abruzzan countryside.
Following a private local lunch in the mountains where a lovely couple will open their home just for us, we’ll take a short one-hour drive to set eyes on the castello of Rocca Calascio and stretch our legs with a short hike. Then we’ll complete our driving day by arriving in Pescara. That’s where we’ll check in to the Corso 84 Luxury Suites, our base for the next two nights.
After a short bit of time to unpack and relax, we’ll walk together through the evening streets of Pescara and have dinner at the local institution Taverna 58.
abruzzo
02
Following a morning coffee and breakfast, we’ll hop into the van for a short drive into the countryside where we’ll meet Giuliana at her quiet albergo. Here’s where we’ll don our aprons and learn to make pasta on a traditional chitarra. The fruits of our labor will be a delightful lunch in her farmhouse.
Upon our return to Pescara you’ll have a few hours of downtime to explore the city on your own, grab a nap, take a walk, or whatever your desire.
Dinner will be just outside the city center, at a place only the locals know. This will be our first real seafood fest of the trip at the delicious and homey Osteria del Mozzo. It’s about a 40 minute walk to and from our hotel.
molise
03
We’ll check out this morning and make the pretty coastal drive to the mill of an olive oil impresario I know near the town of Mafalda. Francesco will host us for the first of 3 olive oil deep dives on this trip. We’ll tour his mill, see harvest in action, taste his oils, and take a first step toward your informal olive oil taster certfication!
Lunch will be a real taste of something local. I’m not telling you much in advance. You won’t believe it.
On our way to the next hotel, we’ll use our newly found olive oil skills and make a “prospecting stop.” You can be a judge now!
Our lodging for the next two evenings will be in the seaside town of Trani at Palazzo Petta Charming Suites. After we check in we’ll head out into Trani in search of a glass of wine (or two), and some really good pizza.
trani
04
It’s Sunday morning, and that means it’s time for some YOU time. The AM is yours to enjoy a liesurely breakfast, drink a lot of coffee, walk along Trani’s beautiful harbor, or sleep til noon.
We’ll gather at 1:30 for our single meal together on this day—a real feast at the well-known Terradimare in the center of Trani. If time allows, we’ll hop on a small tour boat and have someone give us a view of this incredible harbor village by sea.
Following this, the remainder of the day is yours to explore as you wish.
alberabello
05
A reasonable start this morning with checkout followed by a short drive closer to Bari where we’ll spend a late morning/lunch/early afternoon at an olive mill I’ve coveted for a few years. We’ll get our second “deep dive” visit of the trip here, and it will be followed by a hosted lunch at their property.
Following lunch we’ll have about a one-hour drive to the famous town of Alberabello (pictured). We’ll walk off our lunch with a guided visit around the village to learn more about this amazing place, and one of the important heritage sites of all of Apulia.
After our visit we’ll make a short drive to our final lodging for the trip, a fantastic private home called Villa del Vento a few minutes from Polignano e Mare. It’s Monday, so we’ll take it causually and head into Polignano for pizza and wine. Or maybe a plate of Orrechiette. Or heck, maybe both!
outside bari
06
This will be a favorite day for a lot of you, and for a lot of reasons.
There’s a really cool outfit in Bari called Alta Murgia Tartufi. We contacted them and they’ve agreed to take us on a truffle hunting excursion followed by lunch in the countryside.
Following this I think we need to make a pass into or near Bari and poke around some food shops. I know some of you will explore Bari on your own, but the purpose of this visit will be to shop for dinner. Because on this night—I’m going to ruin the rental house kitchen!
I’m hoping this will be a good evening to get out some of the oils we’ve purchased throughout the week, and also the bottles of wine we’ve certainly collected. This should wrap up a great day, and for anyone that wants to help cook, an apron will be available.
Otherwise…you’ll be asked to provide bartending services!
Polignano & conversano
07
We’ll start today with our third and final olive mill deep dive, this time barely a 15-minute drive from our home base, and at a place that has agreed to give us a tour/tasting/lunch—the whole works!
Following this we’ll find a nice place to take a walk (probably along the coast), and when we’re ready, we’ll have a short drive to Conversano, a wonderful Apulian village just 10 minutes away by car.
We’ll finish our day with dinner in Conversano with some hyper-local cooking at Vita Pugliese.
onward
08
Our last day will include coffee and pastries at home (maybe with the sunrise in the photo), a slow start, and then one last lunch together somewhere beautiful.
I’ll be dropping half of you in Bari following lunch, and the other half will buckle in with me for the drive back to Rome.
Mille Grazie!
Arrivederci!