Southern Italy A List - Best Way to Travel

The train from Sicily to Puglia takes a very long time--or at least that was the case in 2015. Buses were actually faster. I visited Matera on a van trip from Lecce, so I don't know about transportations direct from Sicily to Matera (not great, I would guess). I suspect a car would be best but don't know what you'd pay for it or whether there would be a significant drop charge for a return somewhere on the west coast (Salerno? Naples?).

If this is your first trip to Sicily, I'd skip Matera and Puglia and throw that time to Sicily. Two weeks is the minimum time I recommend for Sicily if you have a car. The island is doable without a car, but that calls for some extra days. If you dropped Puglia (which I do love, but not at the expense of severely inadequate time in Sicily), you could simply fly from Catania or Palermo to Naples.

You don’t mention how much time you have but you will need a lot to see all those places and should definitely add more days to Sicily.

Thank you both. Guess we are trying to do too much and should do some editing. Have been to Sorrento and Amalfi area a few times so perhaps will have to pass this trip.

It's going to be very hot in late June and July in both Sicily and Puglia. I wouldn't go at that time of year again if I had another option.

If you choose to keep Puglia in the mix, the best way to get there from Sicily might be to fly from your last spot in Sicily to Naples. Spend what time you like there, then take the FrecciaLink train/bus combination to Matera. You will see this on Trenitalia if you enter Napoli Centrale as you starting point and Matera as the end point. The ticket will be for a Frecce train from Naples to Salerno, and bus from there to Matera. The total travel time is just under 4 hours; the bus ride consumes 3 of those hours.

From Matera you proceed to Bari in Puglia by train run by Ferrovia Appulo Lucane (FAL). You can see the schedules on Trenitalia but to buy tickets you use the FAL website:

https://ferrovieappulolucane.it/en/lines/timetables-and-fares/

Travel time to Bari is 1 hour 47 minutes. There is a very nice lodging option right across the piazza from the Bari train station I can recommend if you are interested.

Buses go from Bari to Alberobello in 1-2 hours. (A bus from Matera to Alberobello takes 4-5 hours, with several changes, so not recommended). Or consider renting a car to visit this part of Puglia (Val d’Itria), especially if you want to stay at a Masseria or in a typical Trullo.

For visiting the coastal towns of Polignano al Mare or Monopoli, a train from Bari is quick and easy. A car would be inconvenient, due to parking issues and restricted area.

From Bari there are direct trains tomRome, taking 4 hours.

Acraven and Lola - thank you.
My travel buddy is a teacher so this is the only time her schedule allows. We will cool off with gelato breaks:)
Great ideas for the hotels and transport - will look into them. Probably take a flight from Sicily to Bari and pick up a car. Love driving in Italy but haven't been this far south before. Nothing like a road trip!

An air-conditioned car is a major advantage in southern Italy in the summer. I spent a lot of time standing at street-corner bus stops. I did enjoy that trip; it's just that I was very aware I'd enjoy it more at a different time of year. You should expect every day to be really hot. It's not that there might be a heat wave.

Pay attention to what reviewers of potential lodgings say about the quality of the air conditioning, but keep in mind that you won't have access to that nice, air-conditioned room when you're on a day trip out of town. (That's where the car with a/c is so very valuable.)

Thank you for the warning...reminder, lol. I've been in Florence/Rome during the same time of year and the ac in hotels was not that strong. May have to adjust and take more breaks.

I've had one hotel room that was supposed to be air conditioned but wasn't (perhaps a difference in what "air conditioned" means in different countries) and one room where the air conditioning was broken in the entire hotel for all four nights I was there, during a heat wave. That as maddening. Otherwise, I've had no real complaints, and I travel a lot in the summer. I think my preference for the cheapest room possible is an advantage. The cheapest rooms are very small, and a weak air conditioning unit will work better in a small room.

If you choose a multi-room unit (such as even a small apartment on Airbnb) be very careful to find out which room(s) have a/c. I dodged a bullet in Venice last year, because the air conditioned 1BR apartment I chose had an a/c unit only in the living room, nothing in the bedroom. That would have been a problem if it had been hotter, but it was late September and no a/c was necessary.

That's a tremendous amount of ground to travel unless you have a lot of days to spend. I've done all of that area by car which is ideal, transportation in southern Italy is a little less convenient than in other parts of Italy.

From Sicily, you just take the car ferry across. I will warn you, I've driven all over the world and Palermo is one of the few places that made me nervous, they are aggressive! But seeing Sicily by car was well worth it for the convenience and time savings. A car in Pulia is also very beneficial, the only way I would see it.