Suggested 5 day itinerary in Puglia starting in Bari. We be arriving by ferry from Dubrovnik and will rent a car and be flying out of Bari. Is there car rentals at the airport? Is it better to drive south or north of Bari? We are looking for interesting towns with good restaurants, accommodations, and shopping.
Posted by
Boston
1713 posts
There is quite a lot of information from the very informative James Martin on Wandering Italy. Look here: http://www.wanderingitaly.com/maps/puglia-maps-guide.html
Posted by
Washington DC
27237 posts
Trani is picturesque, but most of the major Puglia tourist spots are south of Bari unless you want to go all the way up to the Gargano Peninsula, which is pretty and green but not what the typical American tourist means when they speak of Puglia. Most people especially want to see the trulli in and around Alberobello, In your case, the nearly-in-Puglia Basilicata town of Matera is not to be missed since you will have a car.
I really liked the larger baroque city of Lecce and used it as my base for day-trips to a lot of small surrounding towns. Get hold of a guide book that covers Puglia, note the towns that sound interesting, then take a look at a map. There are plenty of picturesque towns in the area, many with striking cathedrals, so you can easily put together an efficient loop trip out of Bari.