travel to ostuni

I'm not sure about transportation from Sorrento to Matera but my husband and I are planning a trip to the Puglia region for October. It seems best to rent a car to explore that area. We're using Hertz and picking up in Lecce, traveling north to Urbino (with stops along the way) and dropping off in Orvieto on our way to Rome. We will have a rental car for about 10 days - I believe that the cost is around $400 US.

We did Puglia plus Matera solely on public transportation, but we had three weeks. It's challenging but, fortunately, we weren't in a hurry - just seeing the countryside. We never did make it to Ostuni, which was certainly on my list. With only 7 days, I'd definitely recommend a car, especially if you're wanting to make day trips out from each town. If you want details about public transportation, feel free to send a PM.

I think the answer to this question depends on if you want to have a car while in Matera. From what I've gathered (in preparation for our trip in October), Matera is more of a "walking around" place with limited parking. We will only be there 2 nights, so we decided we do not want or need a car there. However, with 3 nights, you might want a car to explore the area around Matera on the third day. So if you do want a car the whole time you are in Matera, it would probably make sense to rent it in Sorrento and drive it to Matera. If you don't want a car in Matera, you could train to Bari, take a bus or train to Matera (they run hourly), and pick up a car there when you leave. (That's what we are doing.) Or even pick up a car for your last day in Matera. Once you leave Matera, I think a car would be very handy to explore the Val d'Itria (trulli villages) and Ostuni.