Good morning!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a tour company or guide for Matera, Italy? I would like to arrange a walking tour of the city, but I haven't had a whole lot of luck online.

Thanks!

Matera seems to have a higher number of authorized tourist guides per square yard than Rome. There's a list of them here, but it doesn't say whether they speak English:
http://www.comune.matera.it/guide.htm

This travel agency in Matera offers guided walking tours:
http://www.ferulaviaggi.it/eng/sez_2..._01_0718_56_52
Or, if you go to their home page, they say they can arrange for guides in five languages.

KellyRome

We are also going to Matera. I think a walking guide is popular there because I keep reading how hard it is to find your way around the Sassi.

When are you going? We will be there in May.

Where are you staying? I would love to share any Matera information.

My maternal family is from Matera, and I am getting excited about the trip.

Before I visited Matera, I kept reading that it would be hard to find my way around the sassi. Fact is, I didn't find it at all difficult! My hotel gave me a map when I arrived, and it was easy to follow. In parts, it didn't even seem necessary!

Hope that helps. . . .

kja

That helps so much. We are pinching pennies to make this a nice long trip, and hearing that we can easily find our way around is a great help. I didn't want to do more work, and finding a guide would have been more. My work is busy now, and I've been putting a lot of time into trip planning, too. And I didn't want to do anymore spending, either.

I was in Matera three years ago, and I joined an Italian tour. I thought it was helpful, and one of the things we saw was a nativity carving in a church that was in a little side room, I was pretty certain I wouldn't have found it on my own. I am going back this summer and I am hoping to find an English speaking tour guide for my family. So I wouldn't say you need a guide to get around, more for informational purposes.

I'm leaving for Italy a week from today and plan to do a day trip to Matera from the Alberobello area.

Any tips on the best place to park and find the sassi, or hook up with a tour? I tend to enjoy exploring on my own but might join a tour for a bit if it's not too long.

How long do the tours generally last?

Our hotel arranged a private guide through the city's tourism office. The guide, a wonderful Matera native fluent in English, met us at our hotel the next morning and led us on a 2+ hour walk through all sorts of places I would never have found from the map (and I'm an above-average map reader).
Matera is one place where a guide is likely to make a big difference in how much you see and learn about the place.

The city's website mentioned above also has a number for Matera Turismo, where I bet someone could answer questions in English.
Our guide was named Nadia but I've forgotten her last name. There is one Nadia on that list, and if she is the same one we met in 2003, I can recommend her highly.

Hi KellyRome3,

Our private walking tour in Matera was the highlight of our stay there - yes, you can wander the sassi with the aid of a map but our tour guide brought the sassi to life with her insight into the history and culture of the sassi.

Our guide was Nadia Garlatti ([email protected]) who spoke fluent English and kept us enthralled for 4 hours.

Cheers, Ozlinz

BOOKMARK

Our tour guide in Matera was amazing - well-informed, fun, flexible, and helpful in all things -- getting us into centro, offering suggestions on lunch, etc. Highly recommended!
http://www.materatourguide.it/public/
Antonio was our guide.