Hi fellow travel enthusiasts! I'm planning a solo adventure to southern Italy for April 2020 for roughly two weeks. I've kind of been all over the map when it comes to where to spend my time and have spent some reading recommendations for various places. For me, I tend to go where my nose and belly takes me! Foodie adventures galore!!!! From what I have read so far, Puglia and Sicily have really rich and vibrant food scenes. I'm not one for bouncing around from place to place as I really want to get a sense of a region, so I'm thinking it would be best to spend the two weeks in either region. I would also add that I'm not interested in renting a car. What say you - Sicily or Puglia?
Posted by
seattle
2063 posts
I suggest Sicily. Amazing sites and food. I spent almost a week in Palermo alone and never ran out of places to visit. I also enjoyed Puglia, but it involved more moving around.
Posted by
Washington DC
27393 posts
Either would be good, but I think there's somewhat more variety in Sicily. Stretch your time a bit if you can. I had 17-18 days (also without a car) and it really wasn't quite long enough for me, even though I have little interest in Greek sites and therefore skipped Agrigento, Segesta and Selinunte. I also had no time for the Aeolian Islands.
One thing to keep in mind is that you'll need to use buses sometimes (as would be the case in Puglia), and there are few Sicilian city-to-city buses running on Sundays. That will potentially affect your itinerary.
Should you ultimately decide on Puglia: The tourist office in Lecce (beautiful Baroque town) arranges van transportation (not really tours) to some of the smaller towns in Puglia. When I was there in 2015 they didn't operate on a fixed schedule, but rather on demand. Therefore, patience and flexibility are required. But they were a good way for a carless person to get to 4 or more small towns in one day--something that would be impossible if limited to public transporation.
Also if you go to Puglia: You should include Matera in the neighboring area of Basilicata.
Posted by
11367 posts
The seafood in Sicily is wonderful. Puglia also has good seafood but mixed with Cucina Povera, chick peas in pasta, etc. We loved the wine, Primitivo, in Puglia. You can’t go wrong but I give Sicily the edge!
Posted by
Irving
3039 posts
Sicily and if you go to Cefalu eat canolis which my sister never liked until she tried one there.
Posted by
Hampshire, UK
402 posts
For me, this is a very easy choice - Sicily.
That said, I think it is far easier moving around Sicily if you have a car, whereas Puglia does have a decent public transport network.
Food wise, Sicily often has some elements of arabic flavours in it's traditional dishes (being under moorish rule for some time).