My husband and I will be traveling to Puglia region this fall. I am so undecided as to where to stay. We plan on at least 12 days. We will rent a car. We prefer quiet dinners we can walk to. Any suggestions would be helpful.
We are intersted in seeing
Matera
Alberabello
Locorotundo
maybe Martina Franco?
Polignano a Mara - maybe go the cave restaurant but reviews are terrible and I her it is very expensive
Monopoli
Bari ( to make orichetti )
and maybe stay 2 nights in Vieste on Gargano Pennisula on our way to Cortona after Puglia.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8827 posts
We spent 13 nights back in late November/early December. We rented a car (in Naples, and returned it in Bari), and stayed in Airbnb’s, so many dinners were prepared at home, using local ingredients, but we also walked to some lunches and dinners.
Our first stay was in Altamura, the “city of bread,” which was convenient for a daytrip to Matera. Second, we stayed way south, in Lecce, which has several places to learn to make orecchiette, and from where we visited many nearby locations. Third stay was just inside the Martina Franca old town, and that was probably the favorite of the three. If you don’t stay in Martina Franca, definitely at least visit there one day. It was from there that we went to Alberobello, Locorotondo, and Cisternino, among other towns. We stayed one night in Bari after turning in the rental car, before catching a train back to Naples the next day.
Besides Bari, we visited other seaside towns farther south (Gallipoli and Otranto), but didn’t go to Polignano a Mare or Monopoli. We also didn’t get to the Gargano Peninsula, but plan to on our next visit this fall, which will include Lecce again.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17804 posts
They are all great destinations.
Matera is a city famous for the Sassi area, you can stay there one night. Cars are not permitted in the Sassi area, so if you decide to stay in the Sassi, you need to find parking outside.
Alberobello and Locorotondo are less than 10 min apart. Both are quaint. You can stay in the area and from there visit both. I've always stayed at this same resort outside of Alberobello, but if you prefer in town accommodations in either you can find plenty. Just be aware that cars are not allowed in the historical center of either, so the car will need to be parked at a lot outside.
Martina Franca is also pretty. It's only 10 min drive from Locorotondo, so you can choose one base location to visit all 3 towns.
Polignano a Mare and Monopoli are on the coast. They are both less than 30 min drive from the towns mentioned above (Alberobello, Locorotondo) so the choice is yours if you prefer to stay on the coast or on the interior and use one place for a base to see it all. Another place worth visiting that is not far is Ostuni. That is also no more than 40 min from any other place mentioned above. It is less central, so maybe it should be visited from the others as a day trip rather than the opposite.
Bari is a big city, and not car friendly, but it has an interesting historical center (Bari Vecchia, i.e. Old Bari). I'm not a fan of big cities, so I wouldn't spend more than one night. Orecchiette can be found anywhere, not just in Bari, as a matter of fact I can find them at Safeway grocery store in California as well (my wife makes great orecchiette alle cime di rapa) and even at Safeway in Hawaii ($4/lb however, ouch!)
2 nights in Vieste is great, the Gargano is beautiful. The road to Vieste is kind of tortuous so it can't be easily visited from anywhere else. If you have time you can also visit Peschici, only 30 min from Vieste. Great beaches on the Gargano as well.
Other nice choices are Lecce, a baroque city, and further south on the coast, Otranto. They are only 30 min from one another.
From Vieste to Cortona is easily nearly 7 hour drive + pit stops. So be prepared for a long drive. It's almost all 4-6 lane freeway, so not difficult.
Posted by
new york
1567 posts
I'm chuckling about Roberto's mention of the road to Vieste. One tip: Do not depend on your GPS or you may end up stranded on a dirt road in an olive grove, like we were, along with several other befuddled tourists..
It does not matter which town you stay in the Val d'Itria...they are all close together so just choose a good hotel, maybe in the countryside, so you can park easily and drive to various other towns during the days..
One town on the coast (or two, if you go as far as Salento); one town in the Valle d'Itria; Matera; maybe one location in the Murge (Montegrosso, etc,). maybe Bari.
Example:
Martina or Cisternino or Ostuni
Monopoli
Otranto
Matera
Bari
Trani or Montegrosso (only with more time)
Posted by
116 posts
Thanks for all this good info. We are going to Puglia in September