bubblywine

I'm putting together a trip to (mostly) Puglia with my grandmother for the end of November. I need your help mapping out how much time to spend in each place.

We both like walking (88yo grandma can do 2-3 miles/day), love visiting UNESCO sites, always order dessert and generally travel to eat, and live for wine. I plan to rent a car. While we haven't talked in detail about the budget, DG has said this is her last trip to Europe and I want to make it really special.

Here's the trip:
Day 1 Overnight in/near Bari *we get in several hours apart, need lodging that can pick us up
Day 2 Castel del Monte & Trani; overnight in/near Bari
Day 3 Alberobello & Locorotondo; overnight in/nearMartina Franca
Day 4 Fasano & Gravina & Cisternino & Ostuni; overnight in/near Martina Franca
Day 5 Cisternino & Ceglie Messapica; overnight in/near Lecce
Day 6 Lecce
Day 7 Uggiano La Chiesa & Giurdignano; overnight in/near Galatina/Otranto
Day 8 southern Salento; overnight in/near Galatina/Otranto
Day 9 Drive to Matera
Day 10 Castelmezzano & Castelmezzano; overnight in/near Matera
Day 11 Irsina & Acerenza; overnight in/near Matera
Day 12 Miglionico & Montescaglioso; overnight in/near Matera
Day 13 Drive Grandma to Bari airport

From there I'll go on for another 3 weeks of travel in Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily but I'll ask for your help on that later.

Questions:
Are 4 nights too many for Matera and the surroundings?
Where is a good base for Southern Salento?
Does the itinerary generally seem okay?
What are your top places that we should not miss?

isabel

Wow - that's so great that your grandma at 88 can travel like that and that you are doing a trip with her. I know lots of people (including on this site) travel well into their early 80s but 88 is wonderful. And maybe you guys will have so much fun it won't be her last trip.

Anyway, I think your itinerary looks pretty good. I think you might be right that 4 nights in Matera might be too much though. I don't see that you are going to Polignano al Mare or Monopoli. We based for several days in Polignano and loved it. You might want to consider stopping there for a couple of nights if you reduce your time in Matera.

Here's my trip report from our trip to Publia - scroll halfway down to get past the Amalfi Coast part.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ast-puglia.cfm

kja

Another WOW from me -- should be an awesome trip!

Just a few comments:

Are you traveling from Seattle or elsewhere that will likely lead to jet lag? If so, you might want to give yourselves a night or two in Bari or Trani before you pick up your car. Although many people don’t realize it, driving with jet lag is just as dangerous – for yourselves and others – as driving drunk. I thoroughly enjoyed Trani, so that would be my choice, but Bari should also be a great place to stop for a night or two, and it is very easy to get from the airport into the city.

I adored Lecce and remember walking and walking and walking just to see the city. I’m quite certain I walked more than 4 miles while there, but maybe I was just inefficient? But with Lecce’s long “pause”, you might not be able to see everying you want to see before or after things close, so you might consider adding a night. It’s a delightful city, so I think you might both enjoy some extra time there.

I think it’s possible that 4 nights in Matera could be a bit much, but then I didn’t make all the day trips you are planning, so I could be wrong.

For your personal onward travels, note that many of us find 2 weeks the bare minimum needed to see Sicily’s highlights. In fact, many of us have found 2 weeks inadequate for that purpose! Adding in Basilicata and Calabria with 3 additional weeks could be quite a challenge.

Hope that helps!

bilboburgler

jet lag, the odd thing closed, watch out for mondays, tiredness.

I'd need a day off every so often to do my washing and catch my breath and I'm 50 ish

There is a danger that "if its monday it must be belgium"

I'd also ask your mother what she wants, she may like to join in a cookery course, or yoga or painting and sometimes there is an idea "less is more"

I'd plan a little less and allow for a day to be completely cancelled every so often.

Martina Franca?

bubblywine

Thanks all! More questions:

Would it make more sense to use Lecce as our base for Southern Salento? Now that I'm looking at drive times everything seems pretty close and that would give us more flexibility to just hang out.

Trani looks so wonderful and I'd opt for there over Bari if I can. Has anyone done an airport transfer there? Either hiring a driver or through a hotel?

Updated:
Trani (2 nights)
Martina Franca (2 nights - probably an agriturismo)
Lecce (4 nights)
Matera (4 nights

*I could take a night from Lecce and a night from Matera and go to another spot or keep the pace slow. If I were to add another place, where should I add?

The onward trip: Potenza (3 nights), Maratea (2 nights), and maybe two cities in Calabria or on the Cilento coast (5 nights total). I'll have two weeks in Sicily (the minimum needed, I know) before flying home.

jubilada

Although we will have a car the hotel we are staying at in Trani does provide airport transfers .

Albergo Lucy is the name of it. No doubt if they can arrange that others do do.
You can filter for that on Booking.com

bubblywine

Thanks for that info, jubilada.

Isabel - what a great trip report!

yorkshire

Both b&bs I have stayed at in Bari picked me up at the airport, so it is a common service.
Le Nicchie
B&B La Maison Del Borgo Antico
Both had friendly proprietors, clean nice rooms with tiny showers, and spiral staircases that were a tad difficult to navigate. Can recommend both for a budget place to spend one night enjoying old town Bari and shaking off a flight. Breakfast=nothing to write home about.
OH, you were asking about Trani, but I'll leave the info.

I would have loved four nights in Matera. You might look into visiting Craco as well.
Lecce is a great base for the south. You might want more time at Martina Franca area.

yestravel

Fabulous you are traveling with your 88 yr old grandmother! I would drop a night from Matera & add it to Martina Franca. Here's our TR
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...a-short-tr.cfm Also agree that Poligano Mare is a nice little town to visit at least.

As to your onward, loved Maratea and Cilento coast, but I would check on what they are like in November. Might be really windy, rain and cold even.

PS - were you at a DC GTG many years ago? I remember the name as I loved it!.

bubblywine

yestravel - yes I was at that! Always great to see well-remembered names on here

Thanks for the trip report