Good morning. My family and I are looking to Puglia and the surrounding regions for our early summer vacation.
Looking at 10-12 days total. I know we are across the sea from Croatia and have read that Greece may be an option as well.
Not looking to cram too much in but completely open to suggestions and guidance as we put our trip together.
10 days is not even enough to see the basics of Puglia, which is a huge region, and you want to add Croatia and Greece? Crossing the sea by ferry to Greece takes 18 hours, not much less to get to Croatia (almost 10 hours to Dubrovnik). You should curb your enthusiasm.
Some information below. But you can also use the search box of this forum.
Appreciate the link and your opinions on other countries. This is the reason I wanted to get information from fellow travelers that have been to the region.
We've spent several weeks in Puglia but always in fall or spring. Returning for another 10 days this October. Here's my recommendations.
Locorotondo -----
Masseria Aprile
(one of the nicest places we’ve stayed at in Italy)
Matera in Basilicata ---
La Corte dei Pastori B&B
Puglia restaurants we especially liked
(all from our most recent trip in 2018 except for the last one)
Osteria Monacelle (favorite place on this trip) in Ostuni
Vicolo 45 in Ostuni (it's in a cave)
Osteria del Tempo Perso in Ostuni
Trattoria Fiori di Zucca in Lecce (outside the walls)
Pizzeria Doppio Zero in Cisternino (different ancient grains used in the dough)
L’Antica Locanda in Noci (interesting vegetables like wild grape hyacinth bulbs)
Antichi Sapori in Montegrosso (worth a drive just to eat there)
Towns in Puglia close up for most of the afternoon, maybe noon to 4:00pm, even churches. We like it that people prioritize family & eating meals at home over being convenient to tourists. We spent this time exploring the old town centers before & after lunch, & eating long lunches --- always order the house antipasti!
Alberobello — Do see both the touristy side (just try to imagine it without all the shops!) and the other side. Rione Monti is crammed with shops selling trulli knick-knacks that spill out into the streets every few feet. Walk through and try to imagine it all gone. Go to the Aia Piccola rione for a less commercialized experience & to the terraced public gardens across the main street for the best view of the Rione Monti. Eat somewhere else, like in Noci (a little west of Alberobello). If you have a car, drive all around the area to see lots of trulli in the countryside.
Bari --- Quartiere delle Orecchiette: from Piazza Federico II di Sveva you'll see the Strada Barone, & from there two little lanes that lead into the old quarter with arches. Walk along Arco Alto and Arco Basso. Explore the maze of the old town. Two churches.
Grottaglie — THE ceramics town in Puglia with lots of shops, we like Antonio Fasano shop at Via Caravaggio, 7 or 8
Lecce — maybe my favorite church facade & several cool churches, many places to eat, Roman ruins in the central piazza, great gelato, a fun town to walk around in
Matera in Basilicata — Walk all over the sassi area —- there is nowhere like it. Sasso Barisano (being renovated, shops & restaurants) & Sasso Caveoso (more like it was). Typically furnished sasso at Vico Solitario 12, in the Sasso Caveoso. Little museum full of stuff collected from the old cave-dwelling way of life.
Ostuni — LOVE the old center of Ostuni.
Otranto — mosaic floor of its cathedral (people & animals & mythical creatures)
Polignano a Mare — views, a couple hours was enough for us, tiny medieval center on the edge of the limestone cliffs, nice small pebble beach crowded in summer.
Ruvo di Puglia — 13th-century Romanesque cathedral. Museo Archeologico Nazionale Jatta has a great collection of Greek pottery in four packed rooms.
Trani — cathedral, fun passeggiata by the sea, with fishermen unloading their wares. Really interesting old town, including medieval Jewish section.
Troia — cathedral, we spent an hour or more with a marble carver across the street from the church, watching him work & visiting his workshop and buying one little piece with a carved flower on it. Unplanned, just saw the guy working there. One of those “Italy is so great” experiences.
We found the book "Lonely Planet Puglia & Basilicata" useful in describing Puglia and for planning our visit. It's about 15 years old but the towns haven't changed that much (the train times in the book are mostly wrong though). We also looked for blogs with stories from travel in Puglia, and watched YouTube videos such as walking tours.
My wife and I were in Puglia in 2022, for 10 nights, and we didn’t even begin to see everything that region has to offer and you’re thinking of visiting Dubrovnik too? Stick to Puglia. There’s so much to see that it would take one years to see it all. I mean, no offense, it’s your vacation, but like another said the ferries are long and will eat up a lot of your precious time. You should also post your itinerary so that we can help you.
Agree. Ten days is not nearly enough even to see the highlights of Puglia, and a minimum of two days is essential for Matera.
I've made many trips to the region, most recently last September.
And still I have many places I've yet to visit.
You should rent a car; driving is very easy outside Lecce.
In Matera we stayed at one of the best, certainly most unusual hotels I've experienced in many years of world travel; you need to book well in advance to get a room. Price is well worth it:
https://www.sextantio.it/en/legrottedellacivita/matera/
Another idea is the Gargano in northern Puglia--beaches and forest. Vieste is a glorious white town on the sea with good beaches and calm swimming.....from there you could visit the area near Minervino and the great restaurant ANTICHI SAPORI, mentioned above. Trani is not far away, and Castel del Monte an easy drive. Again, car is essential for that area.
We were in Puglia for a week last month, basing in Trani, which we loved. Here is a link to my trip report with details:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/puglia-a-week-in-december
I agree with others, there is so much to do that you shouldn't head to Croatia or Greece during your 10-12 days. Perhaps choose two base towns, one in the north of Puglia and one in the south, plus a couple of days in Matera.
Thank you all for the recommendations and I will reiterate that the reason for my post is to start gathering information on what makes the most sense when planning our trip. I was not set on other countries just gathering ideas at this time.
We will stick to Puglia and pick some of the areas based on recommendations and research. Clearly not enough time to see the whole region.
I will post some updates as plans come together.
A car is not essential for Puglia - trains and buses are available and that’s how we saw the area. But the public transportation does eat up time. On the other hand, so does finding parking.
Another vote for Masseria Aprile in Locorotondo- a lovely place, outstanding breakfast, and a great base from which to make day trips around the area. A car is essential.
We also loved staying in Lecce, a wonderful small city. Grotteglie if you love ceramics as I do is a great stop for a hour or two. Lastly an overnight in Matera- you will never forget this experience; be sure and take a tour here.
There is loads to do in Puglia- I’d prioritize my time here and keep Croatia and Greece for future travels.
Just an update. We are postponing our trip until fall as the planning is a bit rushed, along with other commitments. We were finding a nice home base and seems like in and around Polignano made sense to us. I know it was mentioned that there was not much to see there, so curious about others thoughts.
Vieste looks really cool if we wanted to make that our northern base.
We do want to do Matera. Are two nights sufficient?
We were finding a nice home base and seems like in and around
Polignano made sense to us. I know it was mentioned that there was not
much to see there, so curious about others thoughts. Vieste looks
really cool if we wanted to make that our northern base. We do want to
do Matera. Are two nights sufficient?
Polignano is tiny, but it is a convenient place for exploring the coastal towns as well as the Itria Valley just inland.
If going to Gargano, Vieste would be my choice, but I think you'll be mostly doing nature stuff there--it's hours away from anything else.
Two nights is fine for Matera, but don't hesitate to stay longer if you find plenty on your list of things to do. I visited twice for two nights and hated to leave both times.
