Puglia Travel advice

Monopoli and Lecce make good bases for Puglia. There’s a 55-minute bus from Monopoli to Locorotondo. Locorotondo is close to Alberobello with its Trulli houses, and can be reached from Locorotondo by buses taking 15-20-minutes. Ostuni can be reached from Monopoli by train in about 20 minutes. Transit from Ostuni to Locorotondo takes 1.5-2 hours, so It’s more time-efficient while basing in Monopoli to visit Alberobello and Locotorondo one day and Ostuni from Monopoli on another day. Lecce to Monopoli is a 1:15 train ride.
Bari to Monopoli by train takes about 30 minutes.
Note that most attractions, shops and restaurants close for the Puglia siesta time from 1:30pm -5pm. This is a good time to hit the beaches, of which there are many just north and south of Monopoli’s old city center.

Thank you for your response. Is it worth spending the night in Locorotondo or just a day trip? I would like to spend 2 -3 nights in Ostuni before heading to Lecce.

I’d stick with Ostuni ( pop. 32K) and just daytrip to Locorotondo ( pop. 14K) and Alberobello from Monopoli. From Bari’s airport or city center, you can also reach the troglodyte cave houses of Matera by bus in one hour. This is one of the oldest inhabited towns on earth.

I did Puglia by public transpo in November 2024. I stayed in Polignano al Mare versus Monopoli. It was extremely challenging to go to Locotorondo and Alberobello in the same day but I had a schedule.

I'll tell the spoiler right now--wasn't able to do it.

Bus stops: After my trip to Loco and Albero I was leaving the following day from PAM to Naples and wanted to check out the Flix bus stop. Perfect, found it. There were also signs for other buses so I mistakenly assumed my bus for Loco left from the same bus stop as the Flix, why I assumed that I don't know. Arrived early at "my" bus stop and asked the first bus driver that came along if this was the bus to Loco, no it was not and with a wave of the hand directed me over the intersection. Got there, no signs but students waiting for the bus. Asked the first bus driver if his bus stopped in Monopoli, no. Bus was scheduled for 7:25 to Monopoli to change to one for Locotorondo. As I am standing at the stop at 7:15, the bus coming from the other direction says Monopoli, and there is no stop signs and he just zipped on by. Was that the bus I needed? At 7:15 was it a late bus or very early? Are buses ever early?

Turns out that was my bus and there were no other connections the rest of the day. So stayed where I was, got the bus to another town and then onto Alberobello as it was more important for me to see the trulli than wander Locotorondo.

It took a lot of figuring and testing and time scheduling to get my original schedule and just too bad I was on the wrong side of the street to get the bus I needed. Sita Sud is the bus line.

One of the main reasons visitors to Puglia rent cars is because of the skeletal bus schedules. Be sure to thoroughly check them because sometimes there are only 3-6 daily buses going to the smaller towns. Monopoli ( metro pop. 50K) does have better connections than Polignano a Mare ( pop. 17K) which is only 6 miles away.
There also may be more buses in service from July through September than during November as there are seasonal buses that only run some routes during the warmer months.
I suppose the local Italians know to go anywhere time-efficiently, you need to first start in Monopoli, Lecce, Bari. or Brindisi. And, in Italy, buses can be late and, occasionally, even a bit early.
Have a great trip!

I just travel by public transportation and had a wonderful time in the Puglia region last May. Where am I going this May? Back to Puglia! : )

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/my-1-month-independent-trip-to-southern-italy-tribute-to-my-husband

As you can read in my trip report, I love staying in several locations because they’re each unique.

To answer some of your questions, there’s a bus from Bari that goes to Alberobello. There’s a train that goes from Alberobello to Locorotondo, and yes, I enjoyed staying there overnight. If you’re younger, I would choose to stay overnight in nearby Martina Franca, instead.

My itinerary this May will be Trani, Matera, Giovinazxo, Bari, Alberobello, Locorotondo, Ostuni, Polignano a Mare and north to Caserta.

There’s a train from Locorotondo to Ostuni, but the Ostuni train station is outside Ostuni. When you buy the Ostuni train ticket, select the Ostuni Citta, so it includes the bus up into Ostuni.

And make sure you’re not trying to take public transportation on a Sunday. I’ve been burned twice with that plan, although the Locorotondo one made a great story - ha!

Jean,
I read your post where you mentioned you’re husband and my heart just broke for you. However, not knowing you, I am inspired by your strength. Thank you for your response. Where did you purchase your train ticket from Locorotondo to Ostuni Citta? I plan to spend 2 nights in Loco & 2 in Ostuni. Thanks!

Jean,
We have similar stops in Puglia. My itinerary in September will be Bari, Matera, Monopoli, Locorotondo, Ostuni & Lecce. Any other advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

MaryJo, the Ostuni stop will be this coming May. I planned to take a train for a portion of that trip from Locorotondo. There’s either the option to take the bus back to Bari and then the 45-minute train to the Ostuni train station (be sure to also plan the Ostuni Citta), or take some buses to reach it.