2 Bases for 23 Nights in Puglia

We found Polignano a Mare to be a perfect base.
It has a mix of a vacation town and a real town. Beautiful views of the Adriatic Sea. We spent ten days there and could have stayed longer. Good dining options too. Monopoli is only 5min away by train.

We really enjoyed Vieste on the gargantuan peninsula. We’re there in October and seemed vibrant without tourists

Lecce is a great base. I like Suki’s recommendation of Polignano al Mare too. We stayed there as well and it was nice to have the seaside location in contrast to landlocked Lecce.

23 nights! Fabulous way to really get into a region. It will be quiet there. We went in May and it was still quiet. Our experience is that you will eat very well and it will not cost much.

As much as I loved staying in Ostuni for a week in late March, I'm going to suggest Trani. It's north of Bari with a medieval centro and Jewish quarter, it's on the coast but it's not a beachy or vacation or heavily touristed town, its attractive harbor has colorful fishing boats, there's a pretty city park, and its beautiful Romanesque church is right on the sea instead of buried in the old town as most are. You can get there by train and also by train visit other towns with Romanesque churches such as Barletta, Bisceglie, Molfetta, Giovinazzo, and Bari. With a car, you can get to all sorts of other places, such as Ruvo di Puglia (nice museum there, too), Altamura, and Matera.

If you DID want to add a third base, and rented a car, you could stay in a trullo in the countryside, and more easily get to towns like Ostuni, Cisternino, Alberobello, and Noci.

Are you flying from Rome to Brindisi and then taking the bus to Lecce? Or, if you like my idea of Trani, flying to Bari and taking the train to Trani? The train from Trani to Lecce takes a good hour to an hour and a half.

While I love Lecce, I found Polignano a Mare to be a less than perfect base. But we stayed cheap and I'm a terrible parallel parker. I'm sure that was a factor. Ostuni is very small but charming. We also liked Martina Franca. In Ostuni, I think you'd have to park at the bottom of the hill in the satellite lot, though, which might be a deterrent. Martina Franca was easier to manoeuvre. If you're interested in staying in a trullo, both Locorotondo and Alberobello are good choices. But most people find a few days in one is enough. Vieste is nice, but for me a little isolated. Driving the hilly Gargano takes time and it helps if speeding tailgaters don’t bother you. I'd stick with Lecce and probably Ostuni or Martina Franca.

Consider where you want to be for Easter which is a big deal in Puglia with ceremonies and events starting on Thursday (April 6, 2023) and going through Sunday. Towns celebrate in different ways, large and small, often with pageants or reenactments.

I second the Trani idea and it would complement Lecce well. We found the old part of Ostuni quite touristy and the newer parts of the city not inviting: ditto Polignano a Mare.

in may and june i spent a total of 10 days in puglia. i based first in bari for 6 days. though bari is a big sprawling city it has an interesting core. lots of train options too, which i used to visit barletta, bisceglie, bitonto, andria, palo del colle, molfetta, bitetto, ruvo di puglia, altamura, and gravina. the airport allowed me to make a side trip to malta. after i returned from malta i went to lecce for 4 days. lovely city, lots to see, and also a great base for train trips. i visited ostuni, brindisi, otranto, galatina and gallipoli. i took a train back to bari and changed to another to go to matera. puglia is beautiful, full of all the things you have listed. i especially like the 'puglian romanesque' churches. don't miss the byzantine church in galatina. if you like, take a look at the link i have in my profile for photos from my trip. with the amount of time you have, you will be able to really enjoy puglia. good luck.

This past July, we stayed in Nardo' for a week, Valle d'Itria (near Ceglie Messapica) for 5 nights and the Gargano peninsula (Rodi, to be exact) for 2 nights. Nardo' was enchanting and I could've stayed longer, but it's small & I imagine it must be pretty dead in the off season. We visited Lecce for a day trip and I could see it being a good base for the Salento. I'd also recommend basing yourself in Otranto, which being right on the sea gives you the best of all worlds.
The Valle d'Itria is lovely and absolutely worth your time, but it requires a lot more driving around, which is not my favorite way to travel.

In the Salento we visited Nardo' & its beaches, Porto Selvaggio, Lecce, Otranto, Baia dei Turchi, Punto Prosciutto.
From Valle d'Itria we visited Grottaglie, Matera, Alberobello, Locorotondo, Ostuni, Monopoli, Ceglie Messapica.
In the Gargano, we mostly stayed around Rodi (honestly not high on my list of recommendations), with a quick visit to Peschici. This portion of the visit was mostly a way station to break up the drive back to Rome.

There's so much to see in Puglia, and even being there for 2 weeks I feel like we barely scratched the surface! I'm really sorry we missed Martina Franca, Cisternino, Trani & Bari. We just couldn't fit everything in. Have an amazing time!

Love Puglia, but public transportation is somewhat limited and generally not fast. Are you planning to rent a car? If not, with 23 days available I'd definitely want to split the time among three or more bases.

We stayed in Locorotondo for 4 days this fall. The Centro Storico was like a fairy tale. It was a beautiful maze, with every nook more sweet and interesting than the last and there's a beautiful park and piazza at the top.

I can't say I'd recommend it as a base since it's a 15 minute walk to the train station and it seems only locals are permitted to park in the historic area (quite narrow, slippery, and steep streets). I don't think the rest of the town is typical of places most tourists would prefer to stay, but to each their own.

My sister traveled extensively all summer and found that not everywhere in Italy felt warm or friendly for her. She was very turned off by Rome and several much smaller places as well. I found this baffling since I adored the people in Rome and everywhere else in Italy (and I would classify myself as uptight). Locorotondo was the first place in Italy that challenged my impression of that. There was an excess of effort on my part in ensuring I spoke (granted, quite primitive) Italian in the most polite of terms and with the best inflection I could muster while ordering food or interacting (always switching to English if the person preferred) and there were a couple of times people seemed quite pointed about not wanting me there. (Fair enough, lol.)

My impression was that the town is a vacation spot... but it seemed to be primarily Italians vacationing. Of course, it was shoulder season, but few spoke English, we came across zero Americans and only a couple dozen Brits on a day tour. If that's what you're looking for, it's glorious. The piazzas are stuffed with people and music and laughter and little children running around til midnight on a Sunday, but on Monday, you'll have the place to yourself to the point of stillness. (I wouldn't plan a day trip there on a Monday as most establishments are closed as far as I could tell... not even gelato could be had.)