Puglia trip Reoprt (continued)
We stayed at the bottom of the hill (about a 5 min walk up the hill to the old town) This was perfect for us as the bus stops were 1 min walk and we knew we were going to MF and Alberobello the next day.
DAY 5 TUESDAY ALBEROBELLO AND MARTINA FRANCA
The adventure continues. Caught a 7:40 bus (the Trenitalia app is awesome) 15 min, 1.3 euros, to Alberobello. Getting there at 8 am was perfect. The buses and people started arriving about 10. We basically had the trullis to ourselves. A bonus for us was that the Giro d’ Italia had a leg from here to Lecce today (185 Km). 2 1/2 hrs here was just right, really glad we are not staying here. Totally different vibe than in Locorotundo, much more tourist oriented. From Alberobello, took the train to Martina Franca, another hill town 25 min by train (again only 1.3 euros). In MF, took a little bus from train station up the hill…3/4 mile, a great move for the elderly! Walked around storico centrale for a couple of hours and had a very nice lunch at a little trattoria, La Tavernetta. Train back to Locorotundo (10min) to our place for an afternoon rest. Absolutely perfect weather 21c (70 F)! Dinner at Bina Restaurante in Locorotundo which was recommended by AirBnB host and was really good. Recommend reservations. Also ate at U Cardun In Locorotundo and it too was great.
DAY 6 WEDNESDAY TO BARI
On to Bari today. Caught the 8:40am bus (Tenitalia awesome) for 5.9 euros from Locorotondo to Bari. Really nice scenic ride actually. Arrived in Bari at 10:00. 15 min walk with bags from bus to air Bnb. Great host and location….. just two blocks outside of the old town. Had a sandwich for lunch at a bar and nice pizza at La Baresana Trattoria Pizzeria for dinner. Walked around exploring the Bari vecchio the rest the day.
DAY 7 THURSDAY MATERA
Up early this morning for the 7:30 bus to Matera. Good to get to the bus station a little early as bus gets full. The “bus station” as it is can be reached by going underground or over the train station. It is on the opposite side of the train station from the old town. The bus stop address: Via Giuseppe Capruzzi (in front of the DEA Cafe).
Arranging bus to and from Matera was the one time in the trip that Trenitalia app couldn’t help. First of all I didn’t want the train as it took 1 3/4 hr vs one hr for the bus. I used the Omni site for tickets. Drop off site in Matera is a pretty good hike uphill and there was a taxi so….. Returning to Bari from Matera I had to go first by bus to the airport then a train to central station.
Matera very popular and busy with tour groups, and rightly so. I sprung for a private guide for 2 hrs and we started at 9am, the numerous tours and people didn’t start arriving until10~10:30. Matera is an amazing place with an amazing history. 6-7 hrs was just right for us, although lots of people like to spend the night. Only rain of the trip was in Bari from 7 pm to 8 am.
DAY 8 Friday To Ostuni
This was the end to my public transportation. I rented a car from Europcar in Bari to return in Brindisi Airport. It is a 1 hr drive to Ostuni (the white city on a hill) from Bari. Ostuni is really beautiful and charming. Parked the car at Mediterranean parking. 15 euros for 24 hrs. This was one of the few times I had to use cash. There are lots of steps in Ostuni that hassled my wife’s knees so was not a favorite. We had a very nice dinner at Casa San Giacomo.
Day 9-13 LECCE
The drive to Lecce less then 1 hr from Ostuni. We parked at a lot just outside the gate (Porta Napoli) at Via Adua, 30 which was really convenient to the old town in Lecce. Cost was 50 euros for 4 nights/5 days. Could come and go as you pleased.