I'm taking my husband to Italy then Munich(Oktoberfest) for a surprise 75th birthday celebration next Sept. We spent 3 weeks in Italy a few years ago and loved it. He's said that he loves "anywhere in Italy" and would move to Germany just for the beer!
The trip plan so far: short and sweet 10 or 11 days total (we miss our dogs) Fly into either Bari, Florence or Pisa depending on where we end up going, then to Munich then home. We love staying in the countryside but a city or village setting has it's advantages too, no need to drive to a restaurant for dinner and drinks when you can walk from your B&B. With that being said... I can't decide if we should go the Puglia area and base ourselves out of one location then doing day trips.(I've already booked several lovely places that I can cancel. Or.... stay in the Tuscany area, I was thinking Lucca, (already investigated great B&B's (inside the city walls) making a day trip to the Cinque Terra, or stay in the Cinque Terra for 3 nights then in Lucca for 2 night. We've not been to the Cinque Terra and aren't huge hikers but are in great shape since we're both runners and snowboarders. I've not been to Lucca or Pisa but have spent time exploring some of hill towns in Tuscany. We've never been to the Puglia area either. I appreciate everyone thoughts and input always so helpful.
Posted by
Washington DC
27401 posts
Puglia is the only one of your possibilities I've been to relatively recently (and that was back in 2015). I love it, but it is terribly hot in the summer and might still be unpleasantly warm in September. Take a look at the actual, day-by-day historical weather statistics available for many towns on timeanddate.com. They go back at last 10 years, so you can see what it was like in September 2019, September 2018, etc. I've linked to Monopoli's data for last month. You can experiment to see which towns' statistics are available. I see they have Bari, Ostuni, Otranto, Alberobello, Martina Franca and Gallipoli but--for some reason--not Lucca.
The tourist office in Lecce (a lovely Baroque city) organizes van transportation to some of the surrounding towns. Unless things have changed, they are not guided tours, just transport to a series of smaller towns with an Italian-speaking driver who will simply point you toward the histoic center of town and tell you when to return to the van for the next leg of the trip. As far as I know the trips are not scheduled, but offered on demand, so you have to be flexible and let the T.O. know what you're interested in during the period of your visit. I was able to get to a bunch of places while based in Lecce; there was even a trip that included Matera (still offered). The cost was very reasonable--well under 100 euros per person for a full-day trip.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
If you liked Tuscany, I think you can do much better than Lucca. It's a flat town out on a flat plain - so not one of the charming hilltop towns that are scattered throughout Tuscany and Umbria. No views out over beautiful valleys.
I would encourage you to look into Orvieto or Assisi instead. If you decide on Orvieto, you can fly into or out of Rome.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
I have just returned from Puglia. I have also enjoyed Tuscany with a base in Siena and enjoyed CT with a base in Monterosso al mare. I recommend Tuscany.
Posted by
OP
Placitas, NM, USA
175 posts
Thank you all for your thoughts and input. I've bent many of the locations suggested and my thought into fly into Pisa, spend the night there since we'd arrive in the late afternoon. See sites in Pisa, then take the train to Cinque Terra, spend 3 nights there, take the train to Lucca, spend 2 nights there(1 day) fly out to Munich from Pisa. I 'm okay with renting a car but I think we can do this with out a car. I've been to the hill towns in Tuscany as well as Siena, Florence among others so trying something new. Thoughts.
Posted by
bedford, indiana
459 posts
S we did the flight into Pisa, 6 days in the CT area and two nights in Lucca so I like that plan. In the CT to get out of the rush a bit (although we were there in early October and the crowds were fine) we stayed up in Moneglia at a great B&B. It is a short train ride up the coast from the CT area and provided great access and we loved the B&B and the owners. There are only two rooms for guests in the B&B, here is the link on Trip Advisor. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g616174-d3974210-Reviews-Sussurri_Di_Mare_SeaWhispers-Moneglia_Italian_Riviera_Liguria.html We did do some hiking between the villages but the ferry and other things along the CT make it cool even if you dont want to hike. I also would like to suggest a lady we hired for a half day walking tour in Lucca. Wanda Martinelli was great. We did the tour the first morning in Lucca and she provided us with such useful information about the city that we would never have discovered without using her information from her great tour. We did a half day tour but wish we had done a longer one. https://www.luccatours.com/ So if you go the CT/Lucca route keep these folks in mind. We did not have or need a car for this trip which was kind of nice. In our earlier trip we used a car for the Dolomites and around to Venice but for CT/Lucca no car was needed.
Posted by
Massachusetts
847 posts
I think your most recent post makes sense. With only 10-11 days and wanting to include Munich you don't have time for Puglia. Plus you really need a car especially in a short trip. There are trip reports of people 'doing' Puglia by pubic transportation but they are usually very slow travel type trips of a month or so. With no car and only a week or so I say for Puglia, much as I loved it.
For no car your plan is doable. Pisa and Lucca are not the 'best' of Tuscany but they are easily reached by train, close to the CT and easy access for flying to Munich.
Posted by
11367 posts
Your plan sounds fine. We spent four nights in Lucca but have also spent a lot of time in other parts of Tuscany. But do put Puglia on your list for the future. It is much less touristed. Another area we enjoyed due to lack of tourists was the beautiful Piemonte. It is easy to get to from either Nice or Milan.