Advice regarding Gargano Peninsula?

Dan, I don't have any advice on San Giovanni Rotondo or Bari, but for visiting the Trulli houses I assume you'll be stopping in Alberobello? I'm not sure what advice you're looking for? Are you travelling with a rental car? If so, I'd suggest finding a parking spot and just exploring the main part of the town where the houses are located. As I recall, traffic can be a bit "thick" there at times. If you have time while in the Gargano Peninsula, you might stop and have a look at the town of Vieste. It's a beautiful location! Be sure to have a look at the Trabucchi, which are a fishing device unique to that area. You can also take boat tours of Caves created by the ocean. Happy travels!

Thanks Ken. Yes, we will have a car. We're thinking it might be fun to stay a night in a trulli house b&b in Alberobello. I'll need to research this. Thanks for the tip about Vieste. And that boat tour sounds wonderful. That's the kind of advice I was looking for!

Dan, make sure that any Trulli house that you stay in does not "weep" excessively. Some have that problem with changes in humidity. Be careful if you visit Bari at night; street crime can be a problem. When we visited Puglia we used the Lonely Planet guidebook, and it did a good job listing all of the sites to see. Our first base was near Tranni. Tranni is a great seaside town with excellent restaurants on the waterfront. Check out the Albergo Lucy B&B. Visit the Grotto di Castellana, and the other seaside towns. Depending on where you base yourself you should also see Matera, and Ostuni. For the second part of our trip we based ourselves in Lecce. Lecce is a college town that is like a mini Siena. We did day trips from there to Ostuni, Gallopoli, the East "heal of the boot", etc. We found a car to be invaluable, and a GPS is a must. The NY Times did an excellent article on Puglia a couple of years ago: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/travel/06Puglia.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5124&en=7fc0ee4c82bf1ba5&ex=1336276800&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Puglia has been a hot topic on this Board in the past few months.  There are several threads with lots of useful information (sites, food, restaurants etc) regarding each of the areas, north, central and south. Google Maps should be part of the planning process because Puglia is bigger than it initially appears to be. And Puglia is pretty well covered in Street View. I loved my couple weeks base camped in Lecce and you will have a great time up north I am sure.

A fun fact not covered by the recent thread: If you happen to drive by Canne della Battaglia, there is a monument to the Roman armry that was defeated by Hannibal there. It was largest single military defeat in Rome's history. Hannibal's battle plan has been taught in military schools ever since.  

Thanks for your thoughts Steve. We'll look out for weeping Trulli houses. As for Bari, my main interest is the Cathedral where St. Nicholas is buried. I think that will just be a day trip. We just got the Lonely Planet book, which will be a great help. Do you remember who you rented your car from? I'm looking at Auto Europe but haven't booked anything yet. We also plan to stay a night in Lecce - looks like a charming place. Thanks for that link to the NY Times article. That was great reading.

Dan, we always get a quote from AutoEurope. We have very good luck using them. They are a broker that uses all of the "Majors." Go to their web site and play around with pick-up and drop off locations. Usually, if you pick up at an airport of train station, if will cost you more.

Thanks Otariidae - I'll have to scroll around and find some of those threads on Puglia. We'll also have to check out Canne della Battaglia - I love history! And Steve, thanks for your thoughts on AutoEurope - I just reserved a car through them last night. There prices seem reasonable, and it looks like it includes insurance. I didn't order the GPS, because it looks that is a separate deal where it is mailed to us here and then we have to carry it with us on our whole 3 week trip. We're only using the car for 3 days. I'm hoping I can get a GPS when we get there for just the 3 day period. Has anyone been to San Giovanni Rotondo? I'm wondering if the Padre Pio sights are worth the trip. Thanks all!

In iTunesU there is a free lecture series from Stanford prof Patrick Hunt. The one entitled "Hannibal in Italy" might be a good read for you on the plane. I loved it. All the lecture in this series are good. You will need a map of Italy at hand, to follow along. You will never look at Lake Trasimeno the same way.

Dan, as a cautionary note; you can't get into and out of Lecce without a GPS. We did do it three times without one, but it never again. It is surrounded by "ring roads" and it really, really, really confusing. After that trip we bought our own GPS, and if has been our salvation. I won't leave home without it. They are so cheap nowadays, and we use our at home. Yes, and some people have reported that they even lost the GPS that AE rented them. It you get a car with one, make sure that it speaks "English". Have a fun trip!

Thanks for the tips. I will work on making sure we have a GPS, if only for Lecce! I remember being in some towns in southern Spain without one and finding it extremely frustrating.

Last October we visited the gargano peninsula by car. We arrived from the north and spent 2 nights at San Giovanni Rotondo. We chose Hotel Centro Accoglienza Approdo San Gionvanni. We found it on venere.com and it was nice. It is a little institutional and caters to some big groups (it is large) but after spending a week on a farm it was a nice change. The rates are reasonable and the rooms are spacious by Italian standards. The dining room there is also somewhat institutional feeling (like a conference center), we had dinner there the first night and then breakfast 2 days. We arrived at the hotel at night and the next day drove to Monte Sant'Angelo. Then the beautiful scenic drive down the mountain and along the coast to Vieste and Peschici. That drive was one of the highlights of our trip. Full of hairpin turns so it's slow going. The 3 towns we visited that day were picturesque and full of local charm. Definitely off the beaten path. The next day we toured the church at San Giovanni, it took most of the morning to see everything. Since our main goal in San Giovanni Rotondo was to see the church we didn't mind that the hotel was close to the church but not right in the historic part of town. We left after lunch, headed for Matera. I highly recommend visiting the gargano peninsula.