Matera / Alberobello

Puglia and Basilicata (and several other wonderful regions of Italy) are not in Rick's books, but there is plenty of information here in this forum. One place to start is: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/travel-guidebook-for-southern-italy

As for places to stay, we enjoyed our cave room in this B&B in Matera: https://lacortedeipastori.com/

I would not stay in Alberobello itself but in your own private trullo nearby (there are lots --- we loved ours but it was for six people) or in a trullo that is part of a B&B --- our favorite place was Masseria Aprile, just outside of Locorotondo: https://www.masseriaaprile.it/en/camere-con-trulli/

Awww, thanks so much!. I greatly appreciate the reply.

Please go beyond Rick Steves destinations. There is more to Apulia than Alberobello. Explore Lecce, Gallipoli and Taranto as some suggestions.

Rick Steves’ (RS) uses Lonely Planet (LP). What makes LP a good guidebook is they let you know when the next edition will be available as RS does. An updated version of LPs Southern IT guide comes out in May '22: https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/southern-italy-5?via=Z2lkOi8vbG9uZWx5LXBsYW5ldC9Xb3JrYXJlYTo6Q2F0YWxvZzo6Q2F0ZWdvcnkvNTllZTQ5YjlmOTJlYTE0MTg2MDU4NThm.
Rough Guides is also good but, unfortunately, they don’t let you know when the next one will be available. Therefore, I wait until the day before I depart and purchase an electronic version that I read on the plane.

Thanks for mentioning the Lonely Planet book, Mary Pat. I bought the Puglia chapter in the e-book version, $4.95.

hey hey dwhornick
happy you came to the right place to ask questions, these posters know their "stuff"
theculturetrip.com/14 reasons to add puglia
theculturetrip.com/chef raffaella de vista's guide
tripsavvy.com/top places to visit in puglia
eatwith.com/alberobello or bari or matera or any town you'll be in or near. lunch, dinners, cooking classes in residents home for fun and entertainment.
onelessrat.wordpress/7 things to do in bari
experiencedtraveller.com/matera
italymammamia.com/things to do in bari
enjoy, have a great time, hope this gives you more info to research
aloha

Thanks so much. :-)

Accommodations are better found online, not in books. Especially now with so many changes.

We spent a week in beautiful seaside Polignano a Mare, used it as a base to explore Puglia. . Loved Lecce.
Glad I saw the history and caves in Matera but it isn’t a place I would want to stay several nights.

Your post is several months ago, situations changing rapidly, but...

I am leaving shortly for a tour (different company through my university alumni association). It has been a piecemeal search online for information (and also I have relatives who have travelled there pre-Covid). I too would like to see more information about this area by RS; this tour grabbed me when I saw it, sounds so interesting. Our base is a hotel in Polignano a Mare with excursions mentioned to many places in related forum threads and Lonely Planet. I see one RS tour {Best of South Italy in 13 Days Tour} that includes Alberobello and Matera, two of the visits we will do from Polignano a Mare. Since my trip was originally to occur in April 2020, I have had some time to search for more information, still haven't found a single cohesive source. But the bits and pieces I have gathered have me excited to finally get travelling again.

We’re headed to Puglia in three weeks. My go to for charming places to stay in Europe (in all price ranges) is Sawday’s. I haven’t seen them yet, but found good places in Matera, Lecce, and a farm near Martina Franco. Can let you know how they turn out.

Thanks! I will look forward to hearing from both of you when you return.

For others looking for tours that cover Puglia and Matera, I found this one with HF Holidays, a UK company we have used for walking holidays in England. They stay in one place (Altamura) and visit the highlights (including Matera which is not in Puglia) from there. It look tempting but we scheduled our trip for March and they only run the tour in April.

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays-and-tours/guided-walking-altamura?format=pdf&vid=557