puglia

My Uncle went to Puglia in June last year and stayed in Otranto. The average high is 27 celsius and 82 Farenheit. He said it eas livley but not too crowded.

In Puglia, the term for an agriturismo is "masseria." There are lots of them to choose from. Many of them have pools, and are just a short distance from the sea. All will serve breakfast and some will offer other meals. I think you'd need a car, to get to and from the masseria and airport/train station. Driving is really easy. You could pick up a car in Brindisi or Bari (whichever town you are flying into). You would be very near the Val d'itria, so could drive around a little and visit Alberobello and Locorotondo and other trulli villages. Justin Timberlake's wedding last October was held at a resort, Borgo Egnazia, near Fasano in Puglia. If you look it up on Trip Advisor, you will see others nearby. Fasano is maybe half-way between Bari & Brindisi. We stayed at a lovely masseria just a few miles away, Masseria Montenapoleone, last October. Highly recommended.

Thank you both so much for all the information . I looked at the Masseria Montenaoleone and it looks wonderful. We would fly there on Ryan air, and rent a car in Bari. I appreciate all your help ! Any other thoughts, let me know....

We used Lecce as a base but agree that Masseria Montenapoleone looks very nice. In addition to Bari, look at Brindisi as a place to fly into. We did that last October (from Milan.) Note that Ryanair flys from Paris Beauvais Tille Airport. Also, in that region, a GPS is really helpful!

Definitely bring a GPS. And before you come, try to get explicit driving instructions to the masseria from Bari (or Brindisi, whichever you choose I think Brindisi is closer). When you arrive at the gates to the masseria, stop close by the road and set your GPS to "HOME" from there. We initially drove down the long driveway and set it while sitting in front of the office. The first time we asked it to take us "Home" it tried to go cross-country, across some fields! If you set the GPS "home" on/near the road, it will take you via roads to the gate. Be aware that lots of places in Puglia close down between about 1 and 4. So we would take our day trips in the morning, have lunch and be back at the masseria early afternoon. Then we'd read by the pool or drive to Torre Canne (a little seaside town about 5 minutes away) for gelato. Most restaurants don't open for dinner until about 8, so we bought wine and cheese and had our own happy hour at the masseria. And finally, if you like to cook, MM has a fully-stocked guest kitchen with olive oil and herbs, plus whatever they're harvesting at the time. You can pick up some pasta or whatever and cook yourselves a feast.

You've been so helpful - perfect information - I'll do all as you suggest ! I don't think Ryanair flies to Brindisi- and that's the best deal I've found so far, but still researching. Thanks again....

RyanAir does fly into Brindisi. Do a Google search for "flights to brindisi" and you'll be given the option of looking at all the carriers that provide flights into Brindisi. Here's a cut-and-paste of the results. Flights to Brindisi, Italy (BDS) From Duration Airlines Rome, Italy 1h 17m Alitalia, Ryanair Milan, Italy 1h 38m Ryanair, easyJet, C.A.I. First, ... Bologna, Italy 1h 25m Ryanair City of Brussels, Belgium 2h 30m Ryanair Cologne, Germany 2h 15m airberlin Eindhoven, The Netherlands 2h 30m Ryanair Geneva, Switzerland 1h 55m easyJet Girona, Spain 2h 15m Ryanair London, UK 2h 55m Ryanair Milan, Italy 1h 38m Ryanair, easyJet, C.A.I. First, ... Munich, Germany 1h 45m airberlin Paris, France 2h 30m Ryanair Pisa, Italy 1h 35m Ryanair Rome, Italy 1h 17m Alitalia, Ryanair Stockholm, Sweden 3h 5m Ryanair Stuttgart, Germany 1h 50m Germanwings Turin, Italy 1h 50m Ryanair Venice, Italy 1h 27m Air One, Volotea
Zurich, Switzerland 1h 52m airberlin The challenge is that not all of those flights are offered every day.

RyanAir even has a nifty page about Brindisi: http://www.ryanair.com/en/flights-to-brindisi/ It has unintentionally hilarious descriptions of the place under Top 5 Things To Do: Sea - Here the sea gives wave upon wave of emotions... Nature and Landscapes - Here Mother Nature is an explosion of emotions... Events - Here each event is a feast of emotions... Sport - Here sport is the most emotional holiday...
Wellness - Here being well is a real emotion... Who the heck wrote that? :-)

Thank you again for all this information - i took a break from trip planning but am back on it - I'll post a Puglia report when I get back !

Hi Jody. We went to Puglia in May and found it quite interesting. Lots to see, but many kilometers of driving required! You might like to red my trip report Puglia. The food is amazing, so is the wine, and it is easy on the budget. Laurel

Fabulous blog ! Really enjoyed reading it - will follow in your culinary footsteps ! Does anyone know about renting a car at the Bari airport, and returning it at or near the railroad station in Bari ? I see there are some downtown Bari car rental locations, but I haven't figured out how close they are to the train station. Also, any preferences/thoughts about which rental agency to use ? There are a lot to choose from.....

Jody, go to the Autoeurope.com website and use your mouse to play with all of their options; car, pick-up location, off locations, rental agency, etc. AE is as broker based in Maine that reps all of the major rental agencies. They guarantee their rates, etc. If you have any questions you can call them at their headquarters in Maine. We generally use them for all of our rentals in the EU. At the very least we use them to establish a base rate, and then check Costco, etc. No matter who you rent from, read the contract and make sure that you understand all of the insurance coverage,etc. Take your GPS from home, loaded with EU maps, a Michelin map of Italy, a compass, your driver's license, and a International Driver's Permit (that you can only buy for a few bucks at your local AAA office) Remember that Puglia is going to be extremely!!! hot in July, so staying near a beach is a good idea. Look into lodging in a Masseria. Here is a great Puglia overview from the NY Times a few years ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/travel/06Puglia.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0