Everybody's doing it, I might as well, too.
Like more than a few others, we're going to Puglia next year (Fall of 2025). I've been working on the trip plan for a while. I have flights booked, the car rented, a stack of travel guidebooks, maps, a bazillion web pages bookmarked, and I've started booking some (not all) of our accommodations (everything I've booked so far is fully cancel-able, so if I have made a disastrous choice I might still be dissuaded). But I'd like some input on how my time is allocated, so I'm seeking insights and recommendations from those who know the region.
For context, this will be our third trip to Italy, but our first "below the knee" (other than Sicily, which we of course loved; the furthest south on the Italian mainland we've been previously was the Amalfi Coast). We are very comfortable traveling independently, we love a good road trip, and often tend to move fast (though I'm trying to reform my speedy ways somewhat). Our interests are those typically listed by most longtime participants here (culture, scenery, history, food, art, architecture, etc., with an extra emphasis on photography and some things others might consider quirky or even slightly weird). We don't do well with intense crowds or packaged tourism being sold to us. Our time in Puglia is September 16 - October 6, hoping to avoid the worst of the crowds and heat.
We have 20 nights and 19 full days there (not counting arrival or departure days). We will have a car. I've driven all over Europe and beyond, and can handle pretty much anything. I know all about ZTLs, automated cameras, and how foolish/illegal/awful it can be to try to drive/park in the historic centers of old cities. We will generally be getting around (long distances) by car, and be on foot once we are in cities/towns. I plan for a (very) roughly, kinda circular route (clockwise) around most of Puglia (dipping into Basilicata and maybe even the edge of Calabria, too), starting and ending in Bari.
I have a few specific questions but first, here is my tentative itinerary and allocation of days/nights:
- Day 0: Flight from USA arrives Bari late afternoon. (Sleep Bari, 2 nights).
- Day 1: Bari Vecchia.
- Day 2: Bari to Vieste (Sleep Vieste, 1 night)
- Day 3: To Tremiti Islands. Early arrival on the islands on Day 3 and late departure on Day 4 should give us most of 2 days there (Sleep San Domino, 1 night)
- Day 4: Back to Vieste (Sleep Vieste, 1 night)
- Day 5: To Polignano a Mare (Sleep Polignano, 4 nights)
- Days 6, 7, 8: We are using Polignano as our base for this area, doing partial/full day trips to coastal and interior places.
- Day 9: To Lecce. Sleep Lecce (3 nights)
- Day 10, 11: We are using Lecce as our base for the city itself and surrounding areas
- Day 12: Out to the coast and down to the southern tip of the boot heel, (Sleep Santa Maria di Lueca, 2 nights)
- Day 13: In/around Santa Maria di Lueca, maybe some beach time
- Day 14: To Gallipoli (Sleep Gallipoli, 2 nights).
- Day 15: In/around Gallipoli and nearby coastal areas
- Day 16: To Taranto (Sleep Taranto, 1 night)
- Day 17: To Matera (Sleep Matera, 3 nights)
- Day 18, 19: We are using Matera as a base for some out-of-town day-trips and sightseeing in the area
- Day 20: Drive to Bari, drop car, our flight out departs early afternoon (it's not really very far from Matera to Bari, and we will allow plenty of time); our flight out is intra-Schengen, not back to the USA
My questions follow after the jump...