Visiting Puglia region in October with my daughter. Looking for recommendations for a centric Airbnb or hotel to use as a base when planning to take day trips to the other towns (Lecce, Bari, Alberobello, etc). Should we use Bari as a base or which other location is more convenient? We will be visiting in October for about 2 weeks or so. This will be our first time in Puglia. :) Thanks!
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7225 posts
Will you have a car?
Posted by
CA, USA
1253 posts
We found the book "Lonely Planet Puglia & Basilicata" useful in describing Puglia and for planning our visit last fall. It's about 15 years old but the towns haven't changed that much (the train times in the book are mostly wrong though). We also looked for blogs with stories from travel in Puglia and watched YouTube videos such as walking tours. If you search there have also been a few threads on Puglia within the last year here on the forum.
Figure you can visit one town a day. Restaurants were open until around 2pm and then closed until dinner at around 7-8pm. Stores closed by 1pm and didn't reopen until 4-5pm or so. Often churches and museums are closed in the afternoon as well. So for most tourists they get out in the morning and visit, have lunch, then relax in the afternoon (at the coast, at the hotel, etc). A car isn't absolutely necessary but is convenient, and the rural nature means driving won't be difficult.
With two weeks you may want to have a few bases, say 5 days apiece, so that you don't spend so much time traveling from your base to places you want to see. Puglia stretches from the Gargano Peninsula to the Otranto area, so nearly 200 miles. Even with two weeks you may just want to visit a subset of the area. Bari is a larger town and is reputed to have some rough areas, although the old town is nice to visit. You can probably find more attractive places to stay.
Posted by
OP
San Diego
50 posts
Hi, not planning to rent a car.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16133 posts
Without a car it is best to stay along the main rail line along the coast. Where exactly depends on where you intend to visit. Bari is a large city, and the transportation hub for the region.
Posted by
Chicago
662 posts
Not to be too contrarian, but I'd consider renting a car, or having some form of
transport you can control.
Puglia is a rather rural/agricultural area, and places like Lecce and Bari don't
really have all that much to see.
Having a car will also allow you to stay in a masseria or two (which are located
out in the countryside) during your stay, which will IMO give you a much better
experience into Puglia overall.
Posted by
Mexico
162 posts
Hi!
I am just arriving from (almost) two weeks in Puglia with no car and we had a fantastic time!
Our bases were Bari ( 5n) Lecce ( 5 n) Matera (2 n).
We loved Bari and all the day trips that we were able to do from there.
Knowing what I know now, probably I would also stay at least two nights in a beach town like Monopoli or Polignano a Mare.
We took the bus to Alberobello from Bari , very easy to do.
We knew we could have seen more renting a car but we didn’t want the stress that would have come with it. So we decided to enjoy what we could see. And it was a lot and very enjoyable!
I am now in love with the area!
Posted by
OP
San Diego
50 posts
Thank you all for the suggestions! I’ve never driven in Europe and it is easier not to worry about parking, etc. I am looking forward to exploring this area!
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7877 posts
Hi Jessica, I don’t rent cars in Europe, either, and I had a wonderful time in Puglia in May. This has the details of the places where I stayed. A couple of the hotels in Rome were not exciting, but all of them in Puglia are places I would gladly stay at again.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
407 posts
Have you considered cycling? Is that an alternative travel mode of interest to you and your daughter? October could be a good time. E-bikes are available.
Puglia is not too hilly. Cycle touring could string together towns for you. On either a guided tour, or a less expensive “self-guided” tour, all luggage transfers are arranged.
For our experience see https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/southern-italy-30-days-three-ways-to-travel
Our vendor was a local company. https://www.pugliacycletours.com
Posted by
OP
San Diego
50 posts
Appreciate all of the feedback and recommendations! Keep them coming!! :)
Posted by
314 posts
Will be there in November for a month. S, F, 70+, solo, public transpo only. Will be the longest in Lecce; also staying in Matera and Polignano al Mare. Doing quite a few day trips, Naples for 10 days at the end. Out of the 30 days will be in a hotel for 2 nights, the rest will be booking.com apt stays. I hit the market for meals and do my laundry when I want in my apt.