Puglia advice

I can tell you that the 2010 does not cover it. If you go to the tabs at the top of Rick steves' site you can look at the Guidebooksunder travel store. Just quickly looking at the Italy2011 it doesn't look like Puglia is covered there either. but have a look I may have missed something.
There is "Lonely Planet" at the bottom of the Italy books that Does list Puglia though =)

We used the Lonely Planet guidebook when we visited Puglia a couple of years ago, to plan the sites that we wanted to see, and for some lodging and restaurant recs. It served us very well. We loved Puglia; the food, wine, and the people. We found that a car, with a GPS, was the best way to see the area. We drove to college town of Lecce( a mini Siena) saw the cave town/houses in Matera, the Triulli homes in Alberrobello, explored the Grotto Castellana, and visited the coastal towns from Trani (wonderful bay side restaurants!), Pogliano a Mare (only for the romantic restaurant in a ocean cave) to Gallopoli. Stay out of Bari and Brindisi...except for their wonderful airports. The New York Times did a great article on Puglia a couple of years ago: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/travel/06Puglia.html

Hi, Meghan, I think you will like Puglia. I lived in Brindisi for 5 years way back in the 70's and loved it. Ostuni itself is very nice with its white-washed houses, but while in the area you might want to consider a side trip to Alberobello. It is here that you will find the distinctive "trulli" houses that you may have heard about or seen photos of. Lecce is another nice choice and features some interesting baroque architecture. Have fun. Bob http://home.comcast.net/~bepineurope/
PS-My brother and I will be visiting Delft next month, so if I run into you, you can buy me a brewski. :-)

There lots of travel tips on tripadvisor forum and a few books that you can order on Amazon. Be aware that Puglia is very popular and trendy in the summer as lots of Italians and foreigners come to Puglia for the beautiful beaches in late July and August. Beautiful towns around Ostuni that you shouldnt miss are: -Ostuni, -Locorotondo- Cisternino Trani POlignano a Mare Lecce For beautiful sandy beaches: Otranto and Gallipoli. My best advice is NOT to follow the tourist guide books....but just come here and get lots as Puglia is a quite welcoming adn easy-to-visit region and there are so many things to do and see that are not mentioned in the best guide book. I have a blog where I mainly cover food and wine of Puglia....but I also give some travel advice. So have a look if interested: Stile Mediterraneo Cooking School Puglia www.italycookingcourses.com Enjoy Puglia
Cinzia

Puglia is great, and it definitely less traveled and covered than most of the rest of Italy, if that is possible. We drove around most of the heel couple of Septembers ago during a week stay and loved just about everything about it. I think in the summer you will find the beaches pretty busy!