macdogmom

Have started planning a week in Puglia for next May and I found this trulli to rent for the week. They have offered a slightly better deal if we want to just rent 2 bedroom part of house. It still comes with pool and we will be the only family on property. Any feedback? We will be renting a car and I am hoping we will can easily access restaurants at night. Thanks!

http://trulliitalyinpuglia.co.uk/ind...-to-Rent/TORT6

ekscrunchy

I am sure you know this, but it is unlikely that you can swim comfortably in an unheated pool in May unless you either like cold water, or it has been unseasonably hot. For me, the actual pool would not get much use, if any, but that does not take away from the house itself...

As far as nearby restaurants, I would prefer to see a map with the exact location. You will be driving in the dark, but that may not matter and, in any case, those towns are nearby so the drive should not be too long.

ekscrunchy

Also, I would inquire about the lighting; trulli are often dark inside so you might want to ask about lights near the bed, for reading, and perhaps elsewhere..

Looks like a nice renovation; I am unfamiliar with rental prices, however, so not sure of how this comapares to the going rates..

macdogmom

Thanks Eks, one of your trip reports stoked the desire to go to Puglia. Your description of Matera was so interesting and you fill your reports with FOOD, one of my favorite activities on our travels. Yes, I thought about pool not being heated, for me it is more to sit around and socialize. My kids and husband would probably have no problems, my husband paddle boards in the fairly chilly Pacific Ocean all winter. I do worry about weather and how it affects enjoyment of country houses. We rented a beautiful villa on Ligurian coast last May and had lots of rain and cold weather. Defintely changes your plans for trip. We are hoping to do some bike riding as well as touring around so hopefully will have sun. I also would like to see location on map-it does say it is 7kilometres from Martina Franca and Locorotondo. That would be a pretty easy drive for dinner and back.

kja

For me, one of the joys of Puglia was the pairing of robust local wines with the region's extraordinarily flavorful foods. I would not want to drive after even one glass of a wine that would pair well with Puglian cuisine. Just a thought.

yestravel

We drove around Puglia both during the day and night and had no problems. We had a glass or two of wine with dinner. I would not want to drink a bottle of wine and drive
Second the comment to check on lighting. Ekscrunchy's reports inspired our trip to Puglia and Matera. Loved the area. We have a TR from our trip last fall.

kja

OK - I actually had a glass of wine with EACH course ;-) I'm glad I didn't have to decide whether to do so or not, since I wasn't driving.

macdogmom

It's the eternal question of staying in a village or small city versus country life. I think lots of people, who rent in the countryside, have lunch out and then cook at home for dinner. I don't like to have large lunches in the middle of the day, so it is a dilemma for us. I feel like 7 kilometers is pretty doable and we will have 4-5 drivers to take turns being the designated driver home. The pictures of countryside around house look rather scrubby, maybe they were taken in summer. Does anyone have an idea of what that part of Puglia looks like?

ekscrunchy

Olive groves blanket the landscape around there; they are beautiful, so even though it might be a bit dry (which means not so much rain!) I would not say scrubby. Try to get an exact map of the villa, though. Then we can plot out some nearby places to eat. I thought the driving (well, I was not behind the wheel, but still..) was pretty easy, especially in the countryside. And when we entered a town, I always recommended ditching the car as early as possible and finding the restaurant, or a sight, etc, on foot, so as not have to navigate through often-narrow streets. (My advise was not always heeded, though) I get more anxious with a rental car than with my own, I think.

You guys are very kind with your comments..thank you. I really do love that area.

yestravel

Yes, that eternal question -- stay in a town where one can walk to restaurants or stay in the country and end up driving. Always struggle with that. That said in Puglia we stayed in the country everywhere. We ate most of our meals out, lunch & dinner. As I said we never had any issues driving. Roads are empty, and to & from our restaurants at least, there were no curvy mountain roads.
We were there last Sept/Oct and the landscape, while not green was lovely. The landscape was different and that made it enjoyable to me. And of course you can drive along the seaside.

jamikins

We found that many of the Masseria had restaurants on site. We stayed at one just a few minutes drive from Mesagne and had dinner there several times. It gave us the opportunity to stay in the countryside but also not have to drive at night.

You can read our trip report and see our pics here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-do-italy.cfm

We were there the second week of July in 2012.

Ferkin

I too would want to know where it is. 7 kms from those towns would put you in Cisternino on one side or near Alberobello on the other both you would think they would mention. Trulli can be dark and cold and remember Martina is 1,400 ft above sea level. You can see from this chart
http://meteovalleditria.altervista.o...ina/NOAAYR.TXT
average night temps were 50F and the coldest night on may 20th was 41F not really sitting around the pool i the evening weather. My diary shows we didn't eat outside in the evening till the 31st May. Average highs were 66F and we had 2 inches of rain that fell over 13 days of the month. If it is down the SP 56 it is fairly desolate down there, not much around. In brochure speak cosy bedroom normally means can't swing a cat and tranquil means middle of nowhere !! As others have said you may end up paying a lot for a pool you never use in May. Around Cisternino you have lots of villages with small pizza joints and butcher shop restaurants as well as the big towns ( as we call them) maybe look around there too.

macdogmom

Thanks for all your replies, I have requested a pin on google maps and hopefully we get more specific location tomorrow am.

macdogmom

Thanks for all comments, Ferkin you convinced me to go in another direction for our trip to Puglia. So now thinking 4 nights in Ostuni at La Sommita (with day trips and maybe one cycling day) and 2 nights in Matera. Any suggestions for hotels in Matera? We like modern.

kja

I loved the Locanda di San Martino in Matera:
http://www.locandadisanmartino.it/en

yorkshire

macdogmom, will you share any info you find on cycling trips, and I'll do the same? I am hoping Puglia will be my next destination (man, airfare into Bari is expensive though), and I want to balance out staying in a city with day trips into the countryside. Here is a link I bookmarked with Matera hotel info: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/10/...t-matera-italy

yestravel

We stayed here http://www.sangiorgio.matera. The furniture was simple and streamlined, but not sure I would consider it modern. Room was very large with a small kitchenette area. It also had a very nice Italian tiled bathroom.

This what we said about it in our TR
"This was a converted cave dwelling in a dispersed hotel. Quite luxurious. The cave (American pronunciation) had a cave (French pronunciation) – a wine cellar! Unfortunately, it didn’t have wine. We literally ran right into the reception area where we could leave our car. The walk with luggage to our suite was quite a walk. And I might add the staff did not offer to carry anything, so we trudged up 100 mts consisting of stone steps and walking on slippery stone walkways with our 2 suitcases and miscellaneous stuff to get to our room. While we really liked this place, be wary of the walk to the rooms with your luggage. Perhaps other staff would help?"

bilboburgler

Yorkshire you may like http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Puglia_Guide.php

macdogmom

Thank you Yorkshire for the food republic link. Great recs on food and hotels. I think our cycling is going to be somewhat unstructured. I am hoping we can rent bikes for a day through our hotel and set off to explore Valle D'Itria region. I want to wait to see what weather is like so probably will not schedule anything beforehand. Last May we had wet, windy and cold weather on Ligurian coast-hoping for warm and dry in Puglia.

ekscrunchy

The only problem with La Sommita is that you will have to negotiate the winding, narrow streets of the historic district both when you arrive, by car, and then by rental bike, each time you leave the city. Does get good reviews, though.

By the way, on our last trip, for which I never did write a report here, we "discovered" the "white" town of Carovigno, which did not seem to attract as many tourists as some of the other towns in the area. If you find yourself in the area, it is worth a visit. We veered away from our usual routine and ate at a rather "fancy" restaurant (Osteria Gia Sotto L'Arco) for which I had read very good reviews. The food was a bit mannered, but still good…run by a family, in a glossy, contemporary space. There seemed to be many fornillo/meat restaurants in the town.