Italy's most visited show cave: 313,000 people in 2024, 3,348 m of surveyed passage 72 m under the Apulian limestone, at a steady 16.5 °C. There are two routes and only one of them reaches the White Cave – the 3 km complete itinerary, which is 1.5 km in and the same 1.5 km back out. Everything about a visit turns on one thing English pages get wrong: the tours leave at fixed times in separate language groups, and the English ones are few. Every day of 2026 there is an English complete tour at 11am; between late March and 8 November two more, at 2pm and 4pm; and an English short tour only in the main season. The photography ban that English pages still warn about was lifted in 2024.
- TicketsThe online shop closes the day before.
- Price€25 (about $28.65) – Complete itinerary (3 km, White Cave), adult from 15, at the ticket desk
- OpenOpen every day of the year except 1 January and 25 December.
- Best timeA weekday in spring or autumn, on the 11am English complete tour.
- ClaustrophobiaLess of a problem here than the depth suggests.
Tickets and prices
The online shop closes the day before. The operator states it plainly: tickets bought online must be bought by the day before the visit, and online tickets are not on sale on the day itself. On 20 September 2026 the booking calendar had that day greyed out and offered the next day onwards. There is no last-minute online option – if you have not booked by the previous evening, the desk is your only route in.
Official prices
- Complete itinerary (3 km, White Cave), adult from 15, at the ticket desk€25 (about $28.65)
- Complete itinerary, child 6 to 14, at the ticket desk€22 ($25.21)
- Short itinerary (1 km), adult from 15, at the ticket desk€22 ($25.21)
- Short itinerary, child 6 to 14, at the ticket desk€19 ($21.77)
- Children up to 5, at the ticket desk (proof of age required)free
- Complete itinerary booked online, adult€28 (about $32.09) – €3 more than at the desk
- Complete itinerary booked online, child 6 to 14€25 ($28.65)
- Short itinerary booked online, adult / child 6 to 14€25 ($28.65) / €22 ($25.21)
- Children up to 5 booked online (booking fee on a free ticket)€1.50 ($1.72)
- Family ticket, online only: 2 adults + 2 children aged 6 to 14, complete itinerary in Italian€61 including fees ($69.91), i.e. €13 ($14.90) a head
- SpeleoNight, about 2 hours in the dark to the White Cave with two speleologists, from age 7€28 (about $32.09) plus online fees
- SpeleoFamily, about 1 hour off the tourist route, from age 4€15 adults ($17.19) / €9 children 4 to 14 ($10.31)
- Bianca di Notte, evening visit in July and August€25 ($28.65) / €22 reduced 6–14 ($25.21) / free under 6
- Geo Tour or Cave & Star, about 2 to 2.5 hours€15 adults ($17.19) / €12 children 6 to 14 ($13.75)
- "Una notte con Sirio" at the Sirio astronomical observatory€10 ($11.46) adults, €7 ($8.02) up to 14; the family session is €10 for one child plus one adult
- Hell in the Cave, the Dante show staged in the Grave, weekends all year€25 adults ($28.65), €20 under-18s ($22.92); combined cave visit plus show €42 ($48.13)
- Car park P1/P2 at the caves, P3 at the shopping centre with a shuttlepaid; visitors in August 2026 reported €5 (about $5.73)
- Grotte Link discount: show a validated FSE rail ticket from the same week, or an FSE season ticket, at the deska visitor in September 2026 paid €10 ($11.46) instead of €25 for the complete tour
- Planetarium Show, the private planetarium beside the caves (not the operator's)€6 ($6.88); a combined cave-plus-planetarium ticket was sold at the desk for €31 ($35.53) in August 2026
- Conversion€1 = $1.146, reference rate of 20 September 2026; dollar figures rounded to the cent
As of 09/2026 · source and direct booking: grottedicastellana.it
When everything is sold out
Each departure holds a fixed number of people and sells out from the top. In high summer the Italian departures are plentiful and the English, French and German ones are not: a French visitor in August 2026 found the first available French slot only in the afternoon and took an Italian one instead. Because the English complete tour runs just once a day outside the main season, a single sold-out 11am departure can cost you the day.
Tours and day trips to the Castellana Caves
Booking direct is cheaper, and by a clear margin: the operator charges €25 (about $28.65) at the ticket desk for the complete 3 km itinerary with the White Cave and €22 ($25.21) for the 1 km short one, with children aged 6 to 14 paying €22 and €19. Its own website charges €3 a head more than its own desk, so the only reason to book online direct is certainty of a place. A reseller or an organised day trip earns its keep in three situations. The first is transport: the caves are about 45 km from Bari and the classic pairing with Alberobello, 15 km away, is easier with a driver than with Ferrovie del Sud Est. The second is language – a packaged tour comes with its own English guide rather than competing for one of the cave's three daily English slots. The third is flexibility: the operator publishes no cancellation policy and closes online sales the night before, while resellers routinely offer free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. What a reseller cannot do is get you onto an English departure that has sold out, because it is selling the same fixed slots. Check the listing carefully for which itinerary is included: a tour that does not say "White Cave" or "complete itinerary" is the 1 km short route, and the White Cave is the reason most people come.
Castellana Grottoes: Official Guided Tour with Entry Ticket
Visit to the Castellana Caves and Free Time in Polignano a Mare
Castellana Caves & Polignano by Boat – From Bari & Polignano
Polignano: Half-Day Tour to Castellana Caves with Transfer
Show all 5 offers
From Bari, Polignano and Monopoli: Castellana Caves Guided Tour
Booked through GetYourGuide (affiliate link, advertising). Most offers can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead. Prices as of 20 September 2026.
Opening hours and best time
Open every day of the year except 1 January and 25 December. There are no opening hours in the usual sense: you book a departure time, and the departures are set season by season on a timetable the operator publishes once a year as a poster. In 2026 the Italian complete itinerary leaves as often as hourly from 9am to 6pm at the height of summer (25 July to 6 September and on the spring bank-holiday weekends) and as rarely as twice a day, 10am and noon, through the deep off-season (9 November to 4 December, 9 to 24 December and 13 January to 6 February, with a handful of Carnival days excepted). The short itinerary does not run at all in that off-season: between 9 November 2026 and the end of the winter it disappears from the timetable, and the booking system confirmed it – on 20 September 2026 the English short tour could be booked up to 8 November and then not again until 5 December. Last departure is the last one on the board; there is no rolling last admission.
When it is quietest
A weekday in spring or autumn, on the 11am English complete tour. Between late March and early November the English complete itinerary has three departures a day, so a sold-out slot is not fatal; from 9 November to late March there is exactly one, and no English short tour at all. Avoid August if you can: this is the month Italy takes its holidays, the timetable stretches to an hourly Italian departure from 9am to 6pm, and 2026 reviewers described groups of 40 to 50 people, guides' voices overlapping in the corridors and a 15-minute queue to get out of the White Cave. August is also the only month with a German-language departure, if that is what you need. The cave itself is the same temperature every day of the year, so weather is irrelevant except as a reason to come: 16.5 °C underground against 40 °C above is the whole appeal in July.
Who it suits
With children
No minimum age and the operator markets it to families; reviewers in 2026 took children of seven and eight round the full route without trouble. The practical limit is stamina and attention: 100 minutes, 3 km and a lot of standing still while the guide talks. With small children, take the short route.
Minimum age
None for either itinerary. SpeleoFamily is from 4, SpeleoNight from 7, Hell in the Cave from 8. The operator advises against the complete itinerary for pregnant women and for anyone over 70, and against the visit generally for people with heart conditions.
Wheelchair
Better than the reference books say. Under the "Grotte 100% Accessibili" project there are two dedicated visits, both by prior booking and both after a check on the visitor's condition: a special 400 m visit from the Grave to the Caverna della Fonte, about 90 minutes, entering by lift; and the full White Cave route, about 3 hours and 3 km there and back, only where minimum conditions are met. Dedicated slots are 9am and 2pm, with no afternoon visit in August. Wheelchairs up to 65 cm wide can be accommodated and the operator has a limited number of its own. Book on +39 080 4998211 or segreteria@grottedicastellana.it; for wheelchair users there is a separate number, +39 380 7143284.
Pushchair
Pushchairs are banned from the route, full stop. In exchange the operator lends baby carriers free of charge at the ticket desk – ask for a marsupio. English pages that say baby carriers are not allowed either have it backwards.
Dogs
Small animals only, and only carried: in a pet carrier or in your arms. Italian guides report no charge for this. Nothing that walks on the path.
Claustrophobia
Less of a problem here than the depth suggests. The Grave is 100 m long, 50 m wide and 60 m deep with daylight falling into it, and most of the chambers are large. The corridors between them are narrower and the route is one-way in company; you cannot leave part way through. Anyone who needs an exit within reach should take the short route.
What to wear
16 to 18 °C (61 to 64 °F) with humidity around 90 per cent. That is warmer than Postojna or the Alpine caves and colder than an Apulian August: visitors in T-shirts in 40 °C heat were comfortable, but a light jacket or sweatshirt is the standard advice and you will be glad of it standing still. Non-slip closed shoes are the one firm rule – the floor is wet in places and slippery in others, and 2026 reviewers were still complaining about the number of people turning up in flip-flops. Trainers or flat rubber soles are what the operator asks for.
Photography
Allowed since 2024, with conditions – and this is the point on which English pages and recent visitor reports contradict each other, because both were once right. For decades photography was permitted only in the Grave, the entrance chasm. The access rules now read: you may take photographs and film during the tour's scheduled stops, with non-professional equipment, and you may not hold the group up to do it. No flash and no additional lighting. Commercial photography needs written permission from the company in advance. In April 2024 the operator also launched "Grotte Click!", a dedicated 1 km photo walk of about an hour and a half with five scheduled stops, stabilisers allowed but no professional tripods; it does not appear in the 2026 experience calendar.
Getting there
By public transport
Genuinely doable, unusually for an Italian show cave, and there are two stations with confusingly similar names. Ferrovie del Sud Est run from Bari Centrale on the Bari–Putignano–Taranto line. "Castellana Grotte" is the town station, about 1.5 km from the caves; "Grotte di Castellana" is the halt at the caves themselves, roughly 200 m from the entrance. The halt at the caves was out of service from June 2019 for track works and then from June 2024 for a rebuild, and was due back on 14 December 2025 – check it is actually being served before you plan around it. The journey from Bari takes about 50 to 55 minutes for roughly €3 to €5. The operator also sells Grotte Link, a combined train-and-bus ticket from Bari Centrale (the bus leaves from Via Capruzzi near Largo Sorrentino, about €3.30 on top of the rail fare). Keep the ticket: showing a validated FSE ticket from the same Monday-to-Sunday week, or an FSE season ticket, gets a discount at the cave's own desk – one visitor in September 2026 paid €10 instead of €25 for the complete tour.
By car
Three car parks, all paid, which surprises people who read older pages describing free parking. P1 and P2 sit beside the cave area – P1 was closed for works through 2024 and cost the operator about €60,000 in lost income, so check it is open – and P3 is at the Grotte shopping centre on Via Putignano with a shuttle. Visitors in August 2026 reported paying €5. Allow time: you must be at the entrance 15 minutes before your departure.
From the nearest city
Bari is the base. Bari Airport is 57 km and about 46 minutes by car, the port of Bari 50 km and about 50 minutes, Brindisi Airport 82 km and about an hour. From the city of Bari it is about 45 km. The caves sit 1.5 km from the centre of Castellana Grotte and in the middle of the classic Valle d'Itria circuit: Alberobello is about 15 km and 17 minutes away, Polignano a Mare about 17 km, Monopoli about 18 km, Ostuni about 53 km. Pairing the caves with Alberobello in one day is the standard Apulian itinerary and it works – the difficulty is not distance but the fixed English departure time.
Tips for your visit
- Work out your English departure before anything else. 11am runs every day of the year; 2pm and 4pm only from 21 March to 8 November. Everything else about the day – train, parking, Alberobello afterwards – follows from that one time.
- Buy at the desk if you are going on spec, online if you want certainty. The desk is €3 a head cheaper and sells for the same day while places last; the website closes the night before and charges €1.50 even for a free under-5's ticket.
- Take the complete itinerary if you have come for the White Cave. It is the only route that reaches it, it is 3 km out and back rather than a loop, and it takes 100 minutes.
- Bring a jacket you can carry. 16 to 18 °C and 90 per cent humidity does not feel cold walking, but the tour stops often and you stand.
- Wear closed shoes with grip. The floor is wet and slippery in stretches and the guides say so at the start; 2026 visitors were still watching people pick their way down in flip-flops.
- Use the toilet at the ticket desk before you go down. There are none in the cave and you are underground for up to 100 minutes with no way back.
- Leave the pushchair in the car and ask for a free baby carrier at the desk. Pushchairs are not allowed on the route.
- You may photograph, but only at the stops the guide announces, with a phone or an ordinary camera, no flash and no holding up the group. The old blanket ban ended in 2024.
- Keep your train ticket. A validated FSE ticket from the same week, or an FSE season ticket, buys a discount at the desk – one visitor in September 2026 paid €10 instead of €25.
- If you are going in August, take the first departure of the day. Groups of 40 to 50 and overlapping guides in the corridors are the standard August complaint; at 9am in 2026 people found the site almost empty.
What the internet gets wrong
None of those times is right except by coincidence. The operator's 2026 timetable and its booking system give the English complete itinerary at 11am, 2pm and 4pm across that period, and the English short tour at 1pm and 6pm from June to late July and in September, 1.30pm and 6.30pm from 25 July to 6 September, and 1pm only in spring and October. There is no 9.30am or 2.30pm English departure at any point in the year. The same page prices the tours at "€ 16" and "€ 12"; the 2026 desk prices are €25 and €22.
Four years before anybody had been to the bottom. The cave was entered by Franco Anelli on 23 January 1938. The same infobox gives an elevation of 263 m against the operator's 330 m, and the article text says "the point of maximum depth reaches 122 metres", where the operator gives 72 m.
The 122 m figure has spread from English Wikipedia across the English-language web. The operator's own pages say 3,348 m of passage and a maximum depth of 72 m, with the tour route at about 70 m. The Grave, the entrance chasm, is 60 m deep on its own.
True until April 2024, wrong since. The operator's access rules now permit photographs and video during the tour's scheduled stops with non-professional equipment. The company announced the change itself, noting that until then photography "era possibile compiere soltanto nella Grave". Visitors in August 2026 report taking pictures throughout.
The fares are labelled [2007] on the page itself and are less than half the 2026 prices. "Accessibility: no" is the more damaging error – the operator runs a dedicated accessible programme, "Grotte 100% Accessibili", with two booked itineraries, lift access into the Grave and wheelchairs available on site.
Flash is not restricted to some areas, it is not allowed at all, and nor is any other supplementary light. The restriction that actually bites is not the flash but the timing – only at the stops.
Four different sets of prices, none of them current. In September 2026 the operator charges €25 and €22 at the desk, €28 and €25 online. The complete tour is 100 minutes, not an hour.
The opposite of the problem. There is an English complete tour at 11am on every open day of 2026, including the whole of November and December – the booking system offered it for Wednesday 18 November, and for 11am only. What does vanish off-peak is the short itinerary, which is not on the timetable at all between 9 November and the Christmas week.
The drive is about right, the train is not. Ferrovie del Sud Est take roughly 50 to 55 minutes from Bari Centrale. Worth the extra half hour anyway, because the rail ticket earns a discount at the cave's ticket desk.
Pushchairs are banned, baby carriers are the operator's own solution to that ban. It lends them free at the ticket desk.
The four-language claim is the one that catches people out. German appears on the 2026 timetable exactly once – 1pm on the complete itinerary, in August only. French runs at 2pm through most of the season with a second departure at 6pm in August. Outside those windows there are two languages, Italian and English. On the temperature the operator contradicts itself between 16.5 °C and a 14–18 °C range, so 18 °C is the top of the band rather than the constant.
Well meant, but the operator asks for 15 minutes, and in 2026 Italian visitors were complaining about being kept standing in 40 °C sun well past their departure time having arrived on the quarter-hour as instructed. Fifteen minutes plus the walk from the car park is enough.
they are two different tickets. Only the complete itinerary, 3 km and 100 minutes, reaches the Grotta Bianca; the short itinerary, 1 km and 50 minutes, turns round long before it. A September 2026 reviewer put it exactly right: the White Cave "is not included in the partial tour".
History in brief
- For centuries the Grave – "the deep one" in the Castellana dialect – was a chasm people avoided. Travellers on the nearby country road reported vapours rising from it at dusk among the bats, and popular belief held these to be the souls of suicides trying and failing to climb to heaven.
- The first descents are documented rather than legendary. Vincenzo Longo (1737–1825), a Castellana humanist and jurist, is remembered as one of the first to go down with a group of contemporaries; the Dizionario corografico del Reame di Napoli of 1852 records men of Castellana descending at dawn on ropes and hawsers and not surfacing until late in the day.
- Municipal records found by the local historian Donato Mastromarino show the chasm being entered for grimmer reasons: on 21 December 1800 the town was ordered to pay for a descent to recover bodies, and twenty carlini went to Bartolomeo Simone of Polignano for being the first man lowered in. A second document of 19 June 1847 covers hoisting a body out with a machine fetched from Monopoli.
- In 1938 the provincial tourist board of Bari asked the Italian Institute of Speleology at Postojna – then Italian – for a speleologist to assess local caves for tourism. On 23 January 1938 Franco Anelli (1899–1977) came to Castellana, found the other cavities too small, and climbed down into the Grave. At the bottom he squeezed through a low passage into a chamber so large his acetylene lamp could not light it: the Caverna dei Monumenti.
- Anelli returned on 25 January with a Castellana labourer, Vito Matarrese, and the two pushed about 300 m in before a shaft stopped them at what is now the Corridoio del Serpente. In March they reached 600 m from the Grave and were stopped again in the Corridoio del Deserto. Anelli's first survey was completed in September 1938.
- After Anelli left, Matarrese went on alone, crossed the shaft in the Corridoio del Deserto and reached the Grotta Bianca – the operator and the Apulian tourist board date this to 1939, while English and Italian Wikipedia and showcaves.com say 1940.
- Anelli later became director of the site and coined its most quoted line after Italy lost Postojna to Yugoslavia in 1945: "the Castellana caves have given Postojna back to Italy". He moved his collection and library to Castellana, which is why the town is a speleological centre.
- President Luigi Einaudi, visiting in 1952, called the Grotta Bianca the most beautiful cave in the world – the origin of a superlative that has been repeated ever since. The Grave has doubled as a film set since the 1950s, for Mario Bava's Hercules in the Haunted World, Monicelli's Casanova '70 and Alien 2: On Earth among others.
- The Franco Anelli speleological museum opened on 23 January 2000, the 62nd anniversary of the discovery, in a building designed in 1952 by the architect Pietro Favia. It is run by Gruppo Puglia Grotte, the local caving club founded in 1971, and houses the Apulian Speleological Federation's documentation centre.
- Since 2008 the Grave has hosted Hell in the Cave, a staging of Dante's Inferno with dancers, aerialists and projections, now running most weekends of the year. A clean-up of the Grave floor in 2006 turned up a depression at the base of the north wall that suggests the system has more to give.
Frequent questions
How much do Castellana Caves tickets cost in 2026?
At the ticket desk, €25 (about $28.65) for the complete 3 km itinerary with the White Cave and €22 ($25.21) for the 1 km short itinerary; children aged 6 to 14 pay €22 and €19 ($21.77), and under-5s go free on proof of age. Booked online the same tickets cost €3 more a head – €28 and €25 – and even a free under-5 costs €1.50 in fees. The online-only family ticket is €61 ($69.91) for two adults and two children aged 6 to 14, but only for Italian-language complete tours at 9am and 6pm between 1 April and 6 September.
What time are the English tours at the Castellana Caves?
The complete itinerary in English leaves at 11am every open day of the year. From 21 March to 8 November there are two more, at 2pm and 4pm, and over the Christmas and New Year weeks there is a second departure at 4pm. The English short itinerary runs at 1pm in spring and autumn, at 1pm and 6pm from June to late July and through September, and at 1.30pm and 6.30pm from 25 July to 6 September – and not at all from 9 November until the Christmas period or from mid-January to 20 March. Italian and English groups are separate departures with separate tickets.
Do I need to book Castellana Caves tickets in advance?
Not necessarily, but you have to decide the day before. The online shop closes at the end of the previous day and does not sell for the day of the visit; the ticket desk sells only for the current day, while places last, and charges €3 a head less. So either book the night before or turn up early and take your chances. With only one English complete departure a day outside the main season, a sold-out 11am slot means a wasted journey.
Can you take photos in the Castellana Caves?
Yes, since 2024 – but only during the stops the guide announces, with non-professional equipment, without flash or any other added light, and without slowing the group down. Until April 2024 photography was allowed only in the Grave, the open entrance chasm, which is why so many English pages and older reviews still say photographs are banned. Professional or commercial photography still needs written permission from the company beforehand.
Do you see the White Cave on the short tour?
No. The Grotta Bianca lies at the far end of the system, roughly 1.5 km from the Grave, and only the complete 3 km itinerary reaches it. The 1 km short itinerary covers the Grave, the Caverna della Lupa, the Monuments and the Owl and turns back. If the White Cave is why you are going, book the complete tour.
Do you walk back, or is there a lift?
Both, in that order. The 3 km of the complete tour is the round trip – you walk out to the White Cave and back along the same route to the Grave – and only then do you ride up. Two lifts at the base of a 28 m viewing tower take every group back to the surface; nobody climbs out. Going down is on foot, by a staircase through an artificial gallery, and if stairs are a problem you can ask at the ticket desk to go down by lift as well.
How many steps are there at the Castellana Caves?
The operator does not publish a figure. Italian tourism sources describe a staircase of 110 steps cut through an artificial gallery to the floor of the Grave; a figure of 265 also circulates, and English visitor accounts say "about 200". What matters in practice is that the steps are all at the start, going down, and that the way back to the surface is by lift.
How cold is it inside, and what should I wear?
Warmer than most people expect: the operator gives a constant 16.5 °C (about 62 °F) on one page and a 14–18 °C band on another, and the official timetable poster prints 16°/18°. Humidity is around 90 per cent. Visitors in a 40 °C Apulian August were comfortable in short sleeves, but the tour stops often and you stand still, so a light jacket or sweatshirt earns its place. Closed non-slip shoes are the firm rule – the floor is wet and slippery in stretches.
How long does the visit take?
The complete itinerary is 100 minutes for 3 km, the short one 50 minutes for 1 km. Add 15 minutes because the operator asks you to be at the entrance a quarter of an hour before your departure, plus the walk from the car park, plus whatever the group ahead of yours costs you at the pinch points. Budget half a day if you want to add the free speleological museum or the planetarium next door.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes, and there is no minimum age. Families in 2026 took seven- and eight-year-olds round the full 3 km happily. With smaller children the short route is the sensible choice – 100 minutes underground with no way out is a long time. Pushchairs are not allowed on the route; the desk lends baby carriers free. The operator advises against the complete itinerary for pregnant women and anyone over 70, and against the visit generally for people with heart conditions.
Is the cave wheelchair accessible?
More so than the reference books admit. The "Grotte 100% Accessibili" programme runs two booked itineraries with specialist staff: a 400 m visit from the Grave to the Caverna della Fonte lasting about 90 minutes, and the full White Cave route of about three hours, subject to a feasibility check. Entry is by lift, dedicated slots are 9am and 2pm (no afternoon visit in August), and wheelchairs up to 65 cm wide are accommodated, with a limited number available on site. Booking is compulsory: +39 080 4998211, or +39 380 7143284 for wheelchair users.
How do I get to the Castellana Caves from Bari without a car?
By Ferrovie del Sud Est from Bari Centrale, about 50 to 55 minutes for roughly €3 to €5. Two stations have nearly the same name: "Castellana Grotte" is the town, about 1.5 km away, while "Grotte di Castellana" is the halt at the caves, roughly 200 m from the entrance – but that halt was closed for works from 2019 and was only due back in service in December 2025, so check before you rely on it. The operator also sells Grotte Link, a combined train-and-bus ticket from Bari Centrale. Keep the ticket: a validated FSE ticket from the same week earns a discount at the cave's desk.
Can you combine the caves with Alberobello?
Easily, and most people do. Alberobello is about 15 km and 17 minutes from the caves, Polignano a Mare about 17 km, Monopoli about 18 km. The constraint is not the driving but the departure time: fix your English tour first, then build the rest of the day around it. An 11am tour puts you in Alberobello for a late lunch.
Is parking free at the Castellana Caves?
No, and older English pages that say otherwise are out of date. There are three car parks – P1 and P2 beside the site and P3 at the Grotte shopping centre on Via Putignano with a shuttle – and all are paid. Visitors in August 2026 reported €5. P1 was closed for works through 2024, so check which one is open when you arrive and allow time for the walk.
Are the museum and the observatory included in the ticket?
The Franco Anelli speleological museum sits at the exit, beside the lifts, and Italian guides describe admission as free at the end of the cave visit; the operator publishes no separate price for it. The Sirio astronomical observatory on the terrace is a different matter – it runs its own evening sessions at €10 for adults and €7 up to 14, on set dates. The Planetarium Show next to the caves is a separate private business at €6, and the desk has been selling a combined cave-plus-planetarium ticket for €31.
What is Speleonight, and is it worth it?
An evening tour of the same 3 km route to the White Cave, done in the dark: helmet, headlamp and two speleologists from Gruppo Puglia Grotte, a detour into the Caverna delle Concrezioni Coralline which is off the tourist route, a stretch of the Corridoio del Deserto walked alone in silence, and then the lights coming up in the White Cave for the return. €28 (about $32.09) plus online fees, at least two hours, from age 7, maximum 25 people, six dates in the summer of 2026. Be there 30 minutes early. If you have done ordinary show caves before, this is the version worth the money – the milder family version, SpeleoFamily, costs €15 for adults and €9 for children from 4.
Sources
Show 42 sources – every figure on this page is sourced
- www.grottedicastellana.it/informazioni-utili/orari-e-prezzi/ – 2026 desk prices (€25/€22 complete, €22/€19 short, free under 5), family ticket €61 online only, online tickets not sold on the day of the visit, 15 minutes before departure, free baby-carrier hire, paid toilet at the ticket desk, car park P1, groups over 20 by e-mail
- www.grottedicastellana.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/timetable-… – The operator's official 2026 timetable poster: every departure time by season and language for both itineraries, including all English, French and German slots; closing days 01/01 and 25/12; 16°/18° (60.8/64.4 F); pictograms for no smoking, no litter, no restrooms, anti-slip shoes, small pets only, not recommended for heart patients or pregnant women
- www.grottedicastellana.it/informazioni-utili/itinerari-di-visita/ – The two itineraries (3 km/100 min with the White Cave, 1 km/50 min), route at about 70 m depth, multilingual guides, 14–18 °C, trainers or flat rubber soles, the named chambers on each route
- www.grottedicastellana.it/informazioni-utili/regole-di-accesso/ – Access rules: photography and filming only during scheduled stops with non-professional equipment, no slowing the group, no smoking, no touching the formations, pushchairs banned with free baby carriers instead, small animals only in a carrier or in arms, slippery floor, complete itinerary not recommended for pregnant women or over-70s, visit not recommended for people with heart conditions
- www.grottedicastellana.it/scopri-le-grotte/ – 3,348 m of passage, maximum depth 72 m, constant 16.5 °C, 330 m above sea level, Upper Cretaceous 90–100 million years, over 15 million visitors since opening, 1.5 km from the town centre
- www.grottedicastellana.it/scopri-le-grotte/la-scoperta/ – Discovery history: the Grave legends, Vincenzo Longo, the 1852 Dizionario corografico, the 1800 and 1847 municipal documents, Anelli's descent on 23 January 1938, the return with Vito Matarrese on 25 January, March 1938 and the September 1938 survey, Matarrese reaching the Grotta Bianca in 1939, Anelli's line about Postojna
- www.grottedicastellana.it/informazioni-utili/grotte-accessibili/ – "Grotte 100% Accessibili": two booked itineraries (400 m/90 min and the full 3 km/3 h), lift access into the Grave, wheelchairs up to 65 cm and some available on site, dedicated slots at 9.00 and 14.00, no afternoon visit in August, free admission for Disability Card holders plus a reduced companion ticket, booking numbers
- www.grottedicastellana.it/informazioni-utili/come-raggiungerci-2/ – Bari airport 57 km / 46 min, Brindisi airport 82 km / 60 min, port of Bari 50 km / 50 min, car parks P1, P2 and P3 with shuttle, all paid
- www.grottedicastellana.it/le-grotte-di-castellana-finalmente-a-… – Press release of 19 April 2024 announcing "Grotte Click!": until then photography was possible only in the Grave; 1 km, about 90 minutes, five scheduled stops, stabilisers allowed but not professional tripods, no flash, personal and social use only, commercial shots by prior agreement
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/speleonight/ – Speleonight: €28 plus online fees, about 3 km and not under 2 hours, from age 7, maximum 25, 30 minutes early, 2026 dates, the non-tourist Caverna delle Concrezioni Coralline, 500 m of the Corridoio del Deserto walked alone, and the return to the surface from the Grave by panoramic lift
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/speleofamily-2/ – SpeleoFamily: €15 adults / €9 children 4–14, about 1 km and at least 1 hour, from age 4, maximum 25, 2026 dates
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/family-ticket/ – Family ticket: €52 (4 × €13) plus fees, €61 total, online only, Italian-language complete visits only, valid 1 April to 6 September 2026 and only for the 9.00 and 18.00 departures
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/bianca-di-notte/ – Bianca di Notte: €25 / €22 reduced 6–14 / free under 6 at the desk, July and August 2026 dates at 20.30
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/hell-in-the-cave/ – Hell in the Cave staged in the Grave: weekends year-round, 21.00 Saturdays and 20.00 Sundays, €25 adults / €20 under-18s, combined visit plus show €42, be at the desk 30 minutes early, Grave dimensions 100 × 50 × 60 m
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/osservatorio-astronomico/ – Sirio observatory run by ACAS: "Una notte con Sirio" sessions at €10 adults / €7 up to 14, family session €10 for one child plus an adult, 2026 dates, sessions move into the Franco Anelli museum in bad weather
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/geostarexperience/ – Geo Tour and Cave & Star: €15 adults / €12 children 6–14, 2 to 2.5 hours, 30 minutes early, Cave & Star combines the cave with observation from the Franco Anelli museum
- www.grottedicastellana.it/esperienze/museo/ – Franco Anelli speleological museum: opened 23 January 2000 on the 62nd anniversary of the discovery, run by Gruppo Puglia Grotte (founded 1971), housed in Pietro Favia's 1952 building, home to the Apulian Speleological Federation's documentation centre
- www.grottedicastellana.it/scopri-le-grotte/lo-sapevi-che/ – Five bat species and the endemic cave fauna, the films shot in the caves, the concerts in the Grave, the unexplored depression at the base of the Grave's north wall
- www.grottedicastellana.it/grotte-link/ – Grotte Link, the combined FSE train-and-bus ticket from Bari Centrale, and the discount at the cave ticket desk on a validated FSE ticket from the same Monday-to-Sunday week or a valid season ticket
- www.grottedicastellana.it/grotte-card/ – Grotte Card: at least 10 per cent off at participating businesses on showing the cave ticket within 30 days
- shop.grottedicastellana.it/webshop/webticket/shop – The operator's own booking system on 20 September 2026: the seven products (complete and short in Italian and English, complete in French, Speleonight, SpeleoFamily), online prices €28/€25/€1.50 complete and €25/€22/€1.50 short, the rule that online sales close the day before, English complete at 11:00/14:00/16:00 on 22 September and 8 November but 11:00 only on 18 November, English short at 13:00/18:00 on 22 September and unavailable from 9 November to 4 December
- it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotte_di_Castellana – The Grave as a 60 m overhanging chasm, the stairs-and-lifts system, the 1 km and 3 km itineraries, the named chambers, the bacon-slice alabaster, Scolecobasidium anellii in the Caverna Nera, the 2006 clean-up, Einaudi's 1952 verdict, Hell in the Cave since 2008, and the 1940 date for the Grotta Bianca
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellana_Caves – The English-language errors cited here: "Show cave opened 1932", elevation 263 m, "the point of maximum depth reaches 122 metres", "about 18 °C", the White Cave "about 1500 metres from the Grave", Matarrese's discovery dated 1940
- www.showcaves.com/english/it/showcaves/Castellana.html – Fares and timetable labelled [2007] (adults EUR 8 / EUR 13), "Photography: allowed", "Accessibility: no", "T=20 °C"; also the useful detail that the stairs down can be swapped for the lift on request at the ticket office, and that the tours enter a lift to return to the surface
- www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g651999-d247244-Reviews-G… – Visitor reports of August and September 2026: photography now taken freely inside, €10 instead of €25 with a Bari rail ticket under Grotte Link, paid parking around €5, a €31 combined cave-and-planetarium ticket at the desk, groups of 40 to 50 and overlapping guides in August, 16–17 °C, the White Cave "not included in the partial tour", the 3 km described as a round trip, few French and English slots against many Italian ones
- turismo.puglia.it/bari/grotte-di-castellana/ – Apulian regional tourist board: Vito Matarrese reaching the Grotta Bianca alone in 1939, distances 1.5 km from the town centre, 18 km Monopoli, 45 km Bari, 53 km Ostuni
- www.giornaledipuglia.com/2025/04/le-grotte-di-castellana-si-con… – Operator's 2024 results presented in April 2025: over 313,000 cave visitors, still Italy's most visited caves, revenue up from €5.4m to €5.8m, concession to the municipality €1.6m, lost income from the P1 car park works; the separate 110,519 figure is overnight stays in the town, not cave visitors
- it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stazione_di_Grotte_di_Castellana – The halt serving the caves, opened 1991 on the Bari–Taranto line, out of service from June 2019 for track works and from 9 June 2024 to 14 December 2025 for a rebuild – distinct from the Castellana Grotte town station
- www.vieste.it/tour/itinerario-grotte-castellana/ – The descent: a staircase of 110 steps cut through an artificial gallery down to the Grave, and lifts at the base of a 28 m panoramic tower assuring the way back up
- www.planetariumshow.it/biglietti/ – Planetarium Show, the private planetarium beside the caves: €6 full price, free under 5, cash and cards at its own box office, which also sells cave tickets
- www.airdolomiti.eu/destinations/bari/what-to-do/bari-castellana-caves – Airline destination guide with the wrong English departure times ("short tours in English … at 9:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. … long tours … at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.") and outdated prices "€ 16" and "€ 12"
- www.hecktictravels.com/grotte-di-castellana-caves/ – Claims "depths of more than 120 metres", "Full Tour (White Cave): 3 km / ~100 min / from €18", "Short Itinerary: From €13", "Strollers and baby carriers are not permitted", "Off-peak (November–December), tours may only be offered in Italian", "20 minutes by train from Bari"; correct on 16–17 °C and on the White Cave lying at the end of the full route
- mominitaly.com/grotte-di-castellana/ – Claims "The max depth of the Castellana Caves is 122 meters below street level!" and the pre-2024 photography rule ("You can take photos in the first part of the tour … but in other parts photos are prohibited"); correct on booking at least the day before, on no toilets in the caves and on pushchairs being banned
- travelwithkat.com/stalagmites-and-stalactites-and-things-that-g… – "Normally photography is not allowed but I was very kindly given permission to photograph the caves" – the pre-2024 rule, still circulating; correct that only the long route reaches the White Cave
- thinkingnomads.com/discovering-grotte-di-castellana-caves-pugli… – Claims "Long Path: €15 (reduced €12)", "Short Path: €10 (reduced €8)", "Guided tours typically last around 1 hour", a "73 m depth" system and "Photography is usually allowed inside the caves, but be mindful of using flash photography"
- travelpuglia.com/exploring-the-caves-of-castellana-an-undergrou… – Claims "flash photography is prohibited in many areas to preserve the delicate ecosystem" and "Arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled tour"; correct on guided tours being compulsory and on roughly 16 °C
- italytripper.com/en/place/castellana-caves-underground-world-apulia/ – Claims "Constant temperature 18°C, humidity over 90%" and "Guided tours in Italian, English, French and German"
- pugliaparadise.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-castella… – Claims depths "of over 120 meters" and "a constant 17°C (63°F) … with humidity levels near 90%"; corroborates over 15 million visitors since opening and the 90–100 million year age
- www.visititaly.eu/tickets/castellana-caves-guided-tour – Reseller listing selling through TicketOne: "The tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes", guide in Italian or English, strollers not permitted, not recommended for people with heart conditions or visitors over 70, full refund until 11.59pm the day before and no rescheduling
- glocalgems.com/eng/posts/guide-to-castellana-caves/ – First-hand account: a €28 online ticket for the full tour, around 16 °C, slippery stairs at the start, and reaching the caves by the FSE train-and-bus Grotte Link from Bari Centrale for about €5
- www.nonniavventura.it/le-grotte-di-castellana/ – Italian guide stating that admission to the Franco Anelli museum is free and that it sits at the end of the visit; its own prices (€18/€15) are out of date
- kanoa.it/grotta-del-trullo/ – Nearby site Grotta del Trullo at Putignano: €7 full, €4 reduced 6–14, free under 6, 40-minute guided visits in several languages, spiral staircase of over 12 m, explorative tours at €15 and €30, not wheelchair accessible
