During the month of May my husband and I will be driving from Sicily to Bari. We are considering basing ourselves in Bari for a week, making a few day trips in the region. Has anyone taken this drive? Is Bari a good base for exploring the region? Any recommendations for places to stop along the way?
Posted by
6652 posts
If you are doing day trips by car, I’d look for a smaller place to avoid the parking issue and having to drive in and out of Bari.
Posted by
857 posts
Does it make financial sense to break your rental in two? You'd probably save $200 minimum.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17543 posts
Scilla in Calabria is a nice stop.
Tropea is too, but it would require a slight detour from the most direct way.
Another stop, also requiring a detour, could be Matera.
If you have a car I wouldn't base myself in a big city like Bari. Traffic and parking would be a problem.
In any case there is no place that can be used as a base to visit the entire region. The region of Puglia is too vast (especially long) and driving from the far north of it (like Gargano Peninsula) to the tip of the heel (like Santa Maria di Leuca) is a 5-6 hour drive.
First you need to decide what you want to see, then you determine a base.
A good base to visit some major locations in central Puglia could be Locorotondo/Alberobello area. If you prefer to be on the coast, then Monopoli or Polignano would do the job. Obviously from neither locations you could take day trips to the Gargano Peninsula, or to Otranto or Gallipoli, and probably not even Lecce, given the distance.