Cinque Terre vs. Puglia (in April without a car)

1 - You can definitely do Puglia without a rental car. The areas you mentioned are quite accessible by public transportation. We haven't been to Polignano, but have been to Bari and Alberobello. Trani is one of our favorites, easily accessible by train. #2 - Haven't been to Cappadocia, but with only three nights I'd skip Matera. #3 - Cinque Terre USED to be wonderful. Now, I think even in April, it's SO overcrowded. The last time we were there (2011, third week of September), the trains were constantly packed. Not pleasant. (And we were staying in Bonassola, north of the CT. I think the towns in Puglia will be open for business in April as well. Happy planning.

I was in Puglia this past April.

All areas were open for business. Matera, Alberobello and Polignano were busy but not so much that it felt overcrowded.

However, not going down to Lecce and spending some time exploring the area is like not really seeing Puglia. There are trains and buses that can take you to all of the places you mention.

I have been to the Cinque Terre twice and felt as if I was in NYC during rush hour. I won't go back. But I will consider going back to Puglia.

If you do decide to go to Lecce, look into day trips to Otranto and Gallipoli.

April in Puglia is not at all crowded, though it can be colder than one would expect. Holy Week processions are wonderful events in Puglia in the days leading up to Easter on April 12. The largest is in Taranto but many of the cities have them. Skipping Matera is a mistake - it's one of Italy's greatest sites and nothing like Cappadocia.

Thank you, everyone! This is all very helpful. Cinque Terre sounds quite miserable -- although, as a New Yorker, crowds do not easily scare me :)
We're leaning toward going to Puglia now.

One thing that has changed since Janet's visit in 2011 is at least double the number of local trains connecting the five Cinque Terre towns, every half hour. Of course, trains may still be crowded as the number of cruise ships docking at La Spezia continue to increase, too. However, we can't worry about "shut down" and overcrowded at the same time. Before Easter weekend (Good Friday is April 10, 2020) is likely to be less crowded (especially from the angle of booking a room) than during those holidays or the April 25 Italian Liberation day, which makes another good excuse for Italians to take a break.

Note: Matera is not in Puglia, rather in Basilicata.
We loved Polignano a Mare, lovely town on the Adriatic. Do not miss Lecce either.

Here's a trip report on visiting Puglia and nearby areas without a car. Spoiler alert - they liked it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-bella-puglia-plus-basilicata-and-rome

I just got back from my third stay in the Cinque Terre, and it was anything but "miserable." It was wonderful, even in May. As with Venice, if you steer into the crowds, yes, it will be quite awful and unpleasant. But there are ways to avoid or at least minimize the annoyance of the crowds. It would be a shame to avoid such a beautiful place just because of its reputation - I guess people avoid Venice for the same reason.

If you like to hike, you'll be tempted to hike the lower trails between Corniglia and Vernazza and Vernazza and Monterosso - those will be the most crowded hikes, the ones the tour groups take. (Lower trails between Riomaggiore and Manarola and Manarola and Corniglia are still closed due to past slides.) But there are other trails. On this last visit, I hiked between Monterosso and Levanto (one town north of Monterosso) and between Manarola and Corniglia via a steep climb up to the town of Volastra. Both hikes had some tourists - more on the Volastra hike, which is also a difficult hike due to the large number of steps up, up, up! But it's also a rewarding hike with stunning views down, perhaps the best views of any of the CT hikes.

If you don't want to hike, I probably wouldn't go to the Cinque Terre in April, though. The towns are crowded in the daytime, and if you aren't going to hike...what else are you going to do there? If you hike, hike some of the alternate trails in the daytime and come back at night when most of the day trippers have left.

There is also more to the Italian Riviera than the Cinque Terre. Consider for example visiting a little further to the north, say to the Portofino peninsula, to towns like Camogli and Santa Margherita Ligure - lovely towns much less busy than the Cinque Terre towns, especially in April. There are some hiking opportunities there as well of various difficulties.

Wow, everyone, you have been so helpful!
We have decided to go with Cinque Terre, since we do love hiking and can handle crowds (we are New Yorkers, after all!), and Puglia seems a bit harder to get to from the rest of the places we're visiting (Amalfi Coast, Emilia-Romagna, and Milan).

Jenny
My wife and I and 3 adult children are headed to CT in early April also. I think you made the right decision. Ive talked to so many people and it is magical. They say crowds arent bad early and later after 3 pm when day trippers are gone. We too had a difficult decision but now after all the research we have done we are looking so forward to this. And we too are not afraid of crowds even coming from Vermont. Have a great trip!

I think you made the right choice as CT region is wonderful! We were in CT last May and with some planning you can easily avoid the crowds. We stayed in La Spezia and caught the trains to various CT towns and started hiking early 0730ish. One important consideration is to check the cruise ship schedule and avoid the mid day (1000-1500) when they fill the towns. We adjusted our plans around the cruise ships and crowds were fine (and we come from a small town).