cdurham

In May we'll be staying a week at Polignano a Mare as a base home. With the exception of 1 night during the week in Alberdobello. We would love to see the following towns: Monopoli, Ostuni, Locorotondo & Matera. Any suggestions on how we can visit these on day trips, maybe combining a couple together. We will not have a car and depend on public transportation or private driver (as long as it's not to expensive). Or any other town that we could see combined for the day. We are in our mid 60's and somewhat fit. But, climbing a lot of stairs will slow us down. Thank you, Carla

BowenLinda

My second Puglia base was Polignano a Mare this October and I visited Monopoli and Ostuni by train and Alberobello, Locorotondo and Cisternina via taxi arranged by my hotel, for the day. I forget the cost, sorry.
Matera is that much further west and didn't fit in with my plans.
Take a look at the Trenitalia site to see what other towns are directly accessed from PaM (lots).
PaM is charming. I hope you enjoy it as much a I did.

HappyTrvlr

We spent ten days in Polignano a Mare and visited the towns you list plus many more. However, we had our own car which I highly recommend. We loved Polignano and exploring the area. We went as far north as Trani and south to Lecce.
We did combine many towns on day trips. Matera was a longer drive as it is west of Puglia, but still doable. It was my least favorite place due to it’s history.

neckervd

You can do a lot by train from Polignano:
Bari, Cisternino, Ostuni, Lecce (all by direct trains, but some railway stations (Cisternino!) are at some distance from the cities);
Matera, Castellana Caves, Alberobello, Martina Franca (all with a train change at Bar);
Otranto, Nardo, Gallipoli (all with a train change at Lecce).i
Count 2 days for a trip to Termoli, Tremiti Islands and Gargano Peninsula (Vieste).

zebec

Hi CD, I am not sure how long the drive would take down to Gallipoli but we would recommend it.
As for the rest, here's an excerpt from our loooooooooong 'Bella Puglia' TR here:

PaM=outstanding array of high-quality gelato shops, a beach plus proximity to nearby St. Vito. St Vito is a tiny, chilled-out seaside site, featuring an abandoned monastery plus a trio of quiet cafes.
Monopoli= full-on, authentic residential Puglian port town with nice seaside walk and VG large weekly market *bonus=compelling little marina with arch entry onto view of Venetian porch thing seen in our Progol's photos.
Eezy peezy train rides without much conductor presence (honour system), especially heading south.
Trani has the most authentic fish market. Locorotondo also has a large weekly market.
I would not miss Matera.

I am done. the *gelsi neri

HappyTrvlr

Are you staying in a Trulli in Alberobello?

cdurham

Happy Trvlr and all. Thanks for all the information. It will be helpful for our travel time there. Yes, we will be staying in a Trulli, but only for one night. We will do this during the middle of our 7 night stay in Polignano. We prefer not to rent a car, but if need to we can. As of now our plan is as follow:
Arrive late Sunday to Polignano (7 nights apartment on the cliffs close to Lama Monachile)
Monday - Polignano
Tuesday - Polignano or explore other surrounding towns
Wednesday - Train to Fasano, then taxi to Alberobello (does this make sense)? Stay one night, head back to Polignano the next day. Yes, we are paying for 2 places, but we fill its worth not hauling stuff for just one night stay.
Note: would we have time to visit other places on the way to Alberobello and on our return to Polignano? Maybe Locorotondo??
Thursday - explore more in Polignano
Friday - train to Monopoli and Ostuni
Saturday - Polignano or explore other surrounding towns
Sunday - fly out of Bari for Venice and ferry to Rovinj (staying 6 nights). Continue our trip through Croatia
Thanks again for all the feedback.

zebec

Yo CD,
In Rovinj maybe look out for the (weekly?) outdoors dance event that locals partake of near the harbor. A charming, old-school freebie and dose of real culture. You could surely join in!
best
I am done. the dancers

cdurham

Zebec,
Yes, we LOVE Rovinj!! We'll be staying on the harbor, as we had done before in the past. Such a lovely town and the outdoor events. Hope, they have it while we are there in the middle of May.

BowenLinda

From PaM I visited Alberobello, Locorotondo (my favourite) and Cisternina in about 7 or 8 hours. I enjoyed all three towns and they are located close to each other.

BowenLinda

From PaM I visited Alberobello, Locorotondo (my favourite) and Cisternina in about 7 or 8 hours. I enjoyed all three towns and they are located close to each other.