My family is travelling to Puglia for a week during the first week of September. We have two toddlers. What is the best city to stay in for a mostly beach holiday? We’d like easy access to nice beaches on a mostly daily basis. We’d like to do 2-3 day trips to villages/towns that are within a 1.5 hour drive.
Thanks for any recommendations!
Stay along the Ionian side of the Peninsula....beaches there tend to be sandy, not rocky like those the other (Bari, Otranto side)
Check for hotels near Ugento or even in the city of Nardo, which is a ten-minute drive to t really pretty beach cove in the town of Santa Maria al Bagno.
Anywhere in the vicinity of Porto Cesareo puts you near the beautiful beaches of Punta Prosciutto, known as the Maldives of Puglia, or the Caribbean of Puglia, depending on who you speak to.....
These are places to consider where I have stayed, but obviously the choices are endless throughout the region.
You can find plenty of sandy beaches that are suitable for kids on both seas (Adriatic and Ionian). Polignano is probably the only town that has mostly rocks and cliffs.
These are places where I have been over the years.
Otranto:
beach: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9BQvzgTJo3VtK6Pb9?g_st=ic
Perfect for toddlers, they even have a sort of low water area where toddlers play with fish.
hotel: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BvVutrcfHPw4QS3u5?g_st=ic
Vieste:
Perfect for toddlers and families
beach (many beach facilities in this large beach): https://maps.app.goo.gl/x4JYs5zhrRtkmVc68?g_st=ic
hotel: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vB94yQT3CCt8h5HZ8?g_st=ic
This beach is a short drive away also:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WYMV4UZW5PHTCJbT9?g_st=ic
Monopoli area: Monopoli has mostly smaller sandy coves, but they are allo adequate for toddlers. Below is an example.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/u9m6mrVXFy3Pb1Qo7?g_st=ic
My hotel was not in Monopoli so I will let you search on your own.
Polignano is mostly cliffs and rocks, so visit there, since it’s a pretty town, but probably not the best beach choice with small toddlers.
Gallipoli
Beach (however the choices are endless) https://maps.app.goo.gl/kBACRmKhTFqMkemt6?g_st=ic
Beach Hotel (same beach as above): https://maps.app.goo.gl/ALAF6eYXDGdFgpWA8?g_st=ic
Porto Cesareo might suit you but will still be busy that time of year.
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2023/11/puglia-in-september-2023-porto-cesareo_20.html
Easy day trips all over within less than an hour, including Lecce
Or the beach just to the south of Torre San Giovanni is lovely.
Senigallia would be perfect. It’s actually in Le Marche (just north of Puglia), but has a huge, wide, long stretch of sandy beach with a very shallow entry to the sea — no big waves. There are hotels along the beach with playgrounds on the sand for children. And restaurants where you can sit at a table on the sand with a cool drink while watching your children safely play a few feet away. La Tartana was our favorite.
We were there in late September a few years ago and there were no crowds. It had a charming little downtown area, lots of great restaurants including two with Michelin stars. Market day on Friday. A fortress by the sea. There’s a lovely little hill town, Corinaldo, nearby — with three medieval gates and 14th century walls, it would be fun to explore. And if it’s still there, a cafe downtown called La Meridiana famous for its hot chocolate.
It’s well situated for day trips but you might enjoy it enough to just stay put for a week.
Senigallia is over 300 miles from Bari, almost like from LA to San Francisco or more than Chicago to Detroit.
You have to choose, because the Marche region and Puglia are not that close, it's 6 hours of freeway driving or even more if measured from the Province of Lecce, which is further south from Bari.
Of course you’re right, Roberto. We travelled down the Adriatic coast once, from Senigallia to Lecce, and it is a long stretch. But the OP asked about beaches & toddlers. And as grandparents thinking about places we could take our grandchildren, we really didn’t see anyplace better than Senigallia.
If the OP is really intent on Puglia, a different solution might be available. For example. in Puglia we stayed at Masseria Montenapoleone, which had a toddler-friendly swimming pool. And fields of fruit trees to run through, plus some goats to visit. It was centrally located near Torre Canne (which has a rocky beach) but is within easy driving distance of Alberobello, Monopoli, etc. A little more information from the OP would be useful.
There are beaches suitable for toddlers in every region. Even rocky coasts often have small sandy coves. One has to choose the region where s/he wants to go, then within that region there will be sandy beaches where the water is not deep.
I would look close and to the north side of Gallipoli. The ones to the south had really deep sand that was a slog to walk through.
