We will be driving from Matera to Lecce. Are there any places we should stop along the way? In addition, we will be using the car (I wad convinced to rent one after reading the forums) around Lecce. Any recommendations for beaches? Thanks for any suggestions.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
2286 posts
If you like ceramics, one route (the fastest and more southern one) takes you to Grottaglie --- our favorite shop is Bottega Ceramica Di Fasano Antonio on Via Caravaggio, 7.
The 2nd fastest (according to Google) and northern route takes you past Altamura (bread), Bari, Polignano a Mare (much loved by several people here), and Brindisi (a lovely Romanesque church with frescoes near the airport that I like).
The slow middle route, which Google would never suggest, takes you through trulli country --- are you already visiting Alberobello, etc.?
Posted by
Franklin, TN
336 posts
Where are you going after Lecce? If you are headed back toward Bari, you can visit all the cute towns that Nancys8 mentioned then. When we drove back to Monopoli from a day trip to Lecce, we passed lots of beaches just north of Brindisi. Some that were public and you were on your own, and some that were beaches with facilities, chair and umbrella rentals, etc. It would not have been hard to find a place for a beach day - I don’t have a specific name though.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
18094 posts
Massafra, Grottaglie, Francavilla.
If you want to take a little detour also:
Alberobello, Locorotondo, Ostuni.
Near Lecce, on the beach, I like Otranto.
If you like suggestions for hotels (with parking) and beach in Otranto I can provide.
Posted by
OP
288 posts
Love these suggestions. If the personal items are in the boot/trunk and hidden - have you had problems with break ins?
Posted by
7002 posts
It’s always a risk, even in the boot. Not that I haven’t taken that risk, twice in Puglia. Never leave anything you cannot live without (or get home without) in the car, but there strategies one can take like parking in a prominent location, back in to make trunk inaccessible, etc. I pack my day bag as I leave the previous location so no one sees me fiddling with things in my trunk. A thief can absolutely spot a rental a mile away and knows how to access a locked boot. Unfortunately, I have heard of people having their dirty laundry stolen on forums, but I always lucked out and frankly I have taken this risk on multiple trips to Italy. It would really suck royally to have my favorite clothing and toiletries stolen, but it’s nothing I could not recover from (once my rage settled), so that’s my risk-tolerance evaluation.
On such a long drive, I’d only want to make brief stops anyway, for example a stop in a pottery store in Grottaglie would be on my list (had to skip it when I had the chance due to torrential rain), or stopping to see the temples near Metaponto (nice chance to stretch the legs). I would probably nix the archaeology museum in Taranto that I would otherwise love to do because that would require a long side trip and lunch and leaving the car somewhere I could not keep an eye on it. Hope that helps!
Excursions from Lecce: the east coast has the best scenic drive (south from Otranto), on the west side, I loved the park at Porto Selvaggio.