This vibrant southern part of Puglia, Salento, is a place apart with a lifestyle all its own.

So what gives this place its magic? It’s the fact the everything is simple and that you can immerse in different aspects of Puglia’s history by visiting its very cool towns that have stories to tell. For Travel Designer Ylenia Sambati, who assists Travel Agents from all over the world planning their ultimate Puglia vacation, it’s the fact that when you are in this southern gem of Italy you can think and dream while you’re walking.

It’s its hidden treasures, less known towns, pristine beaches, untouched nature and more.

It’s the way the locals, especially in spring and summer time, cheer every night when the sun sets along the Costa, with authentic Italian style scenes reminding you that you can still find happiness in this slow living, colorful streetscapes and slices of a vibrant life. It’s the many inspiring towns around Lecce, each offering its unique type of inspiration.

It’s the unstructured summer life, when people work, spend their time with their beloved ones and go to their favourite beach on their lunch breaks.

It’s how life and that sense of loving the simplest things, especially when related to food and wine, is experienced with the same enthusiasm, how Salentos’ natural beauty and free spirit attracts people you might ever expect.

Discover Puglia’s most colorful destination. Broaden your horizons.

1. The Puglia wines producers produce 26 Doc wines
2. The east coast of Salento is mainly rocky, while the west is flatter with sandy beaches
3. From spring through the end of summer, try the local speciality, caffè in ghiaccio con latte  di mandorle, an espresso with ice and almond milk
4. Salento is one of the best wedding destination in Puglia
5. La passeggiata is a must: leccesi love this gentle stroll through the main streets, mostly an afternoon and evening ritual
6. In summer time, try for breakfast the fico d’India or prickly pear
7. Frederick II, a patron of the arts, poetry and science and one of the most important rulers of the middle ages, had an evident love for Puglia
8. The Salento lifestyle is perfect for your inner balance, peace of mind, zest for life and general well-being
9. Pizzica is the traditional dance, a fast rhythmic dance done to the accompaniment of the tambourine and accordion
10. The central Puglia towns, almost white buildings, are charming to explore and easy to drive from one to the other
11. If you love photography, when in Lecce, be seduced by the abundance of exuberant baroque architecture (most of them smiling)
12. The Barocco leccese developed in the seventeenth century under the Spanish domination
13. In Summer time Salento is the coolest clubbing venue in Puglia: prepare to dance till sunrise
14. Architects and Interior Designers love the Puglia sense of art and inspired by nature design
15. Puglia is a a haven for the wine and food lover
16. Italians love Salento because of its lifestyle, food&wine, architecture and oriental influences, resulting in a unique mix of east and west
17. Every town and village has a yearly festa, so in summer there’s a choice of several to attend every night (check the summer calendar)
18. Salento’s capital, Lecce, is a must. Stay in Lecce for a minimum of 3 nights
19. Go south of Salento and discover also the smaller and less visited towns
20. Take your time. No Rush: you’re in Puglia. Make it your mantra.

YLTOUR DMC helps you find the best tours, attractions, restaurants, wine bars, markets, hotels, shopping districts, neighbourhoods. Lecce is bustling, vibrant and full of life.  The whole Salento area, with Lecce as its “capital”, consists of several “paesi” each with its own particular character and ambiance.

With its picturesque old town, rich history and vibrant cultural scene, Lecce, the main Salento hub, is one of Italy’s most unique city destinations.

There’s a never ending selection of things to do in Lecce and Salento in any weather: so whether you’re visiting for the weekend or for a week, make sure to arrange the essential checklist of the best attractions and unmissable experiences.

Each area of Salento and Lecce itself has its own character and charm and its own unique variety of shops, restaurants, hotels, cafes, coastal towns, hidden spots and attractions. Take time to discover the unique chemistry of this southern Italy gem.

Drink the traditional aperitif at your best Lecce hour, taste a warm pasticciotto pastry bread and espresso, wear your favourite sunglasses and let the sunshine kiss you, discover the wonders of Baroque, have a chat with local people.

In search of the perfect beach? The beaches of Salento are some of the best in the world, at least that’s what the locals say and the landscape speaks for itself. During your search for the perfect beach, don’t miss the gastronomic delights that local fishermen gather from the sea every day.

Ask our DMC to book activities such us cooking classes, wine tours, private tours and excursions.

We wish you a lovely stay in this amazing area of Puglia.

Ylenia Sambati’s well-being travel programs are curated wellness travel experiences in Puglia offering authentic real life opportunities to engage with nature around you.

Private itineraries are crafted around your idea of wellness and are a perfect balance between exclusive activities and cultural excursions. Small group tours focus on the local lifestyle and culture with a wellness session every day.

Farm to table dining, healthy cooking classes, signature outdoor experiences enhancing the destination culture, massages creating relaxation, walking trails, yoga, cycling, dancing.

Our programs combine local lifestyle, activity and nature, fuel adrenaline, discover the area with insider tips and generate relaxation too.

We are happy to assist private groups and travel agents design their well-being and health-focused journey in Puglia. Just contact us for networking and helping you plan your next well-being trip in Puglia.

Fall is one of our favourite time of the year in Puglia: October and November provide special opportunities to enjoy Puglia in ways that no other months will allow.  The weather is still pretty warm and it means that you can enjoy the tranquil towns by the sea with a relaxing walk out of the crowd and explore the region without the hot spoiling the fun.

Salento in Autumn offers so many interesting things to do: from taking a cooking class with cooking school  www.cookinpuglia.com with the delicious recipes featuring vegetables and soups to be ready for the cold weather ahead, to walking, cycling, wine, craftmen visit, photography in hidden places, olive oil harvest, there’s plenty to keep you entertained during your stay.

Have an exclusive peek into our fall programs that can be crafted to immerse in the local culture in this charming season of the year.

Happy Fall Season everyone.

If you are dreaming of your on a budget intimate wedding in magical Salento and you don’t want to make it one of the most expensive life event, you can still have a stylish, memorable wedding.

The Puglia based Travel Lifestyle Designer Ylenia Sambati lauches the “Simple chic weddings” for couples planning their wedding which includes:
– a civil ceremony
– assistance with the paperwork
– an English speaking mother tongue interpreter
– wedding venue
– a canapé, prosecco/wine drinks reception with local foods
– wedding photographer
– wedding flowers

“The international weddings I plan in Salento” says Ylenia Sambati, “are all about simplicity, connection, authenticity, local suppliers , giving the bride and groom and guests also the opportunity to enjoy the area. From the moment I chat with them, I email awesomeness in their inbox and assist them arranging their offbeat wedding in Salento.

You have arrived in Salento.  After much anticipation and an overwhelming desire to explore this fascinating, simple and refined land here is a list of 10 things not to miss:

1. A walk in the historical center of Lecce.  Stroll along pathway, enjoy the Baroque architecture. Look up to see the cherubim smiling and seek out the many unexpected niches Enjoy the vintage style craft shops with adjoining store fronts. Stop to admire the hippie chic offerings.

2. Iced coffee with almond syrup-Enjoyed sitting at a table watching people strolling by arm in arm.

3. The sunset at Gallipoli from one of the many terraces overlooking the sea, this only, after you have explored and photographed the historical center and quaint alleyways.

4. Piazza Plebiscito in Squinzano, where the elders gather to visit and mull over the day. You can observe the mothers of Cookinpuglia who still can be seen intently kneading the orecchiette dough, just like in the films of the fifties.

5. The magic of Punta Palascia, in south of Salento , where you can savor the silence and photograph the Zen vistas.

6. The “Specialties of the House” at the various Salento trattorias.

7. Eat the frisa like a true Salentino native.

8. Choose a beach according to the wind: be it a Scirocco or Tramontana. There are many beautiful beaches between the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea.

9. Travel by car to the Litoranea Otranto. Do not miss the hollow stop of bauxite and plan to lunch in the hinterland at a small, hidden restaurant that offers homemade cuisine.
10. Allow yourself to be lulled by the refreshing breezes of Salento and flow with its’ energy.

For inspiration and to plan a trip to Salento: info@yltourpr.com

Inspired by our Luxury Travel Designer Ylenia Sambati, we’ve put together a list of the 10 reasons why you should book through a local Travel Expert for your next Puglia vacation:

1. They are experts
2. They are locals and make you explore the destination as a local
3. They are advocate and offer expert advice with insider tips
4. They have the inside information that makes your trip truly authentic
5. Passion about sharing Puglia with you
6. They offer customized experiences that no one else can thanks to their connections and knowledge of the area
7. They advice on places, restaurants, activities and tours that fit your requirements
8. Unique destination expertise
9. Puglia made simple and unique with exclusive access
10. Relationships and added values

Travel Design and Tips from real locals: info@yltourpr.com

The slow-paced villages that make up Salento boast a stunning landscape, deep-blue seas, a fragrant blend of history and culture, a seriously tempting food and wine discovery, a poetical timeless atmosphere.

Here, amid the cream of stone, the green of olive, the blue of sea, we invite you to immerse in the ancient grace of Salento, dazzling display of nature’s way with Mediterranean maquis colors, life’s simple pleasures and zen flow.

The area is more precisely described as many gems, not one: small hamlets spread over hundreds of miles, from the Baroque city of Lecce, to southernmost Caribbean-like sea Santa Maria di Leuca and Castro Marina, Salento is vast and irresistible.

What makes Salento unique is the living presence of this history: Greek dialect is still spoken in some southern villages of the “Grecia Salentina”. You are not a stranger here in Salento. Never.

Salento is like a balcony that faces two seas: the Ionian and the Adriatic coasts open to innumerable cultural influences. Summer lunch is often a frisella, a local dish made entirely with wheat, tomatoes, olive oil. Back-to-nature living: it’s all very chic right now, but the Salentini people have been living this way for centuries.

Here, in Salento, you’lI find some things like nowhere else: a rural simplicity, an unconditional warmth, true open-mindedness, generosity and kindness. They depict southern Italy as baroque, as over the top. But it can also be quite simple, minimal.

Salento is the poetical interpretation of minimalism and multiculturalism: the honey color of its stone, the desert-like landscape, the olive groves, the turquoise sea, it could be Morocco or Greece. Quit, timeless, sophisticated, inspiring. Here you can dance with the spiders, over the music played by the spiritual healing rituals of impoverished peasants and laborers. In a word, seductive.

Sip a “caffè in ghiaccio con latte di mandorla”, eat a warm pasticciotto in the early morning, indulge in a tasty frisa surrounded by the fascinating sound of the wind. You are in the land of the wind, the sun, the sea, where “piazze di paese”, mostly unknown villages and secluded beaches abound.

There are gorgeous places to visit like Lecce, Gallipoli, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Tricase, Galatina, Galatina, Nardò, Squinzano, Presicce, Melpignano, Martano, Specchia, authentic gems that are well worth visiting and sometimes getting there just before sunset will make you experience Salento’s wonderful light with features that you will find nowhere else.

Love you Salento.

Redefining Authentic Travel in style, the Puglia based DMC YLTOUR has launched a series of programs named ‘Go Authentic in Puglia”, a collection of experiences offering tour operators a highly experienced service as well as unique, tailor-made itineraries into the most aspirational travel destinations in the region.

The new series of experiences offers travellers an opportunity to discover some known and less known Puglia sections  as well as  places still unvisited by other tour operators, with YLTOUR DMC only able to offer itineraries and experiences with a deeper, more meaningful connection to the places.

One of the many features that make these DMC programs unique is the focus on the real lifestyle of locals mixed with design inspiration, food, wine and of course lifestyle.

Due to YLTOUR’s extensive experience in tourism and the MICE sector, flexibility in planning is offered together with advice on implementing signature programs.

Get inspired, YLTOUR DMC has a lot more to offer.