I will be traveling via train for two weeks along the Adriatic coast of Italy. From Siracusa (Sicily), I will take an overnight bus to Lecce where I will stay for 5 days while exploring the surrounding areas. I would like to choose two more locations where I would stay for about 5 days in each place and be able to enjoy the surrounding areas. Can anyone recommend two more areas that would allow me to maximize my time and be able to explore multiple places of interest? Keep in mind that my main source of transportation will be the train.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Gordon of Honolulu
Posted by
5319 posts
Where do you need to end up?
Posted by
5319 posts
And does getting to Florence cut into the 5 days for the third location?
I would look at somewhere near Bari and then somewhere near Ancona.
That is a lot of ground to cover!
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Florence does not cut into my Adriatic coast time. I had the idea that while staying in Lecce, I could see Brindisi and surrounding areas (Alberobello, Taranto, Cisternino) via day trips from Lecce, Yes?
Thanks
Posted by
5319 posts
You will just have to check the train and bus schedules. In addition to trenitalia, in Puglia there is https://www.fseonline.it/.
Good luck!
Posted by
Washington DC
28462 posts
Public transportation in Puglia tends to be rather slow, and many of the picturesque towns are small, so service can be pretty infrequent, which makes it difficult to visit more than one place per day. Alberobello seems to be nearly 3 hours from Lecce by train or public bus, so not really practical as a day-trip by that mode of transportation. Taranto's perhaps 2-1/2 hours way, and Cisternino's around 2 hours away. That's a lot of travel time to see one small ltown.
As for Brindisi, I suggest researching further, because it's my understanding that it is not one of the tourist highlights of Puglia.
I liked Lecce a lot and enjoyed using it as my base in Puglia, but I did not depend on trains and public buses to get around. You might consider taking one or two of the one-day van trips organized by the Lecce tourist office. They run on demand, so you have to stop into the T.O. and see what might be planned over the days you'll be in town. I think I've found the info online in English in the past, but I'm not able to locate it at the moment. Here's the Italian webpage; at least the names of the towns to be visited will be clear. The trips are 60 euros and are not tours. They simply move you from town to town, with the driver pointing out the primary local sight or the old town and telling you when you need to be back at the van. I found this a very reasonably priced way to see 4 to 6 small towns in one day, albeit briefly.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2334 posts
Actually, we liked Brindisi - rather more than Taranto. Alberobello is a must, but it might be more easily visited from the Bari area. We liked Locorotondo better than Cisternino, but all these places are worth seeing. From Lecce, Gallipoli and Otranto are good spots to explore. Farther up the coast, we enjoyed Trani very much. We did all these places on public transportation, as well as the Gargano Peninsula.