Hello Travel Advisors, I have 7 days that I would like to schedule in mid-March 2024 after leaving Sorrento for four days (I've got these planned) and would appreciate advice for what to visit on the way to the next night. and where to spend it. We prefer to spend 2-3 nights in a central spot and take day trips. We will have a car and enjoy scenery, quaint towns, history and architecture. I'm initially proposing to spend 3 nights on Days 1-3; 2 nights on Days 4-5; and probably 2 nights in Bari (visiting a town or 2 along the way). I know I'm leaving out Lecce (we'll have seen Baroque architecture and winding streets in Sicily) but it seems like a big city to negotiate. I'm not opposed to seeing Lecce on one day and another area on another day. I very much appreciate your sage advice for this planning!
-6 days in Sicily plus RS Sicily tour (planned)
-Leave Sorrento (3 planned days), Visit Paestum, Overnight Matera
- Visit Matera, Overnight Matera
Day 1 - Leave Matera, Visit _____ on the way, Night in _?
Day 2 - Night in _; Visit ____ (Alberobello, Locorotondo, Cisternino, Gravina in Pulia?)
Day 3 - Night in __; Visit __
Day 4 - Visit ______ (Ostuni?) on way to next Night in _____ (Monopoli or Lecce?);
Day 5 - Visit _____ (Lecce, Monopoli, Polignano a Mare?); Same Night as in Day 4;
Day 6 - Visit ______ on way to next Night in Bari (near airport)
Day 7 - Visit Bari old town; Night in Bari
Fly home
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15826 posts
If you have a base in Alberobello or Locorotondo (which are only 5 min drive from each other), you can easily visit Martina Franca, Ostuni, Cisternino, Monopoli, Polignano. Locorotondo is probably the most central to visit all of the above towns (less than 30 min from any of them), although Alberobello is just next to it, your choice.
Further south I liked Otranto a lot (south of Lecce). Otranto and Lecce are maybe 40 min drive from each other. You decide if you want to stay in a larger town (Lecce) or a smaller town on the sea (Otranto) and visit the other from there.
Bari has a bit of a messy traffic, so I don't know if you'd rather stay in Giovinazzo, just north of the airport, especially on your last night. The Bari ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone where only residents can drive) encompasses the entire Bari Vecchia (Old Bari) district, so you can't enter there with your car (but it's the part you'll want to visit).
Posted by
OP
America's Vancouver and the First
110 posts
Grazie, Roberto - Your answer gave me some valuable insight. If I add a fourth night to the Alberbello area, I could see many of the towns you mention. Can I see about two in one day? I'll look at Lecce and Otranto for other nights. FYI, we plan to drop our car when we reach Bari and hope to find a nearby hotel that will allow us to take the train into Bari old town the next day. I'll check out Giovinazzo as a possibility.