Early Planning for Puglia -- Help, Please
 

We are in the very early planning stages for a trip in mid September for about 3 weeks to Southern Italy with a focus on Puglia. As with any trip I started perusing the travel boards first and came across ekscrunchy's excellent TRs on her two trips to the region. She pointed me toward the equally excellent report by Franco, so now I have lots of ideas on where to go...way more than I could possibly use in a 3 week trip. So I need help to figure this out.

For this trip we'd like an exploration of S. Italy's cultural heritage to include good food & wine, beautiful, scenic drives and charming villages. We are not interested in beach time, but visits to beautiful beaches would be fine. We hope to be able to develop an itinerary that will minimize moving lodging every couple nights if possible. We enjoy staying in local places, B&B's, Inn or the Italian equivalent. Tend to stay in mid-range places ($150USD), but will splurge upon occasion. I've noticed on the various threads that lots of interesting sounding places to stay have been mentioned, but haven't researched any.

We would like to either arrive or depart from Naples. We have never been there other than to board the ferry to go to Sicily. We would plan to visit Paestum possibly as a day trip from Naples. Except for Naples we would have a rental car. We would rent a car upon leaving or arriving in Naples. We would arrive or depart from either Bari or Brindisi depending upon the trip itinerary. We've been to Italy a fair amount, but never to this region.

Here are some of the main cities/villages we thought would be nice to visit and/or stay in;
Matera, Fasano area, Cisternino, Martina Franca, Locorotundo & Ostuni, Salento area -- Lecce, Otranto

Thanks for your thoughts!

Moving this edited response from the other thread..to start this one off.

You also could consider taking the train to Salerno and picking up your car there, then heading for Paestum for an overnight. Any interest in the Cilento? I just spent some time there and can offer details if needed..



The next step might be to decide whether of not to venture to the Gargano peninsula. An interest in wine might make the Mt Vulture/Melfi area a good stopover on this route.

I've not been to either the Gargano or northern Basilicata...from the small peek I've had into Basilicata, I am eager for more and you have the time for this...


If you have an interest in food, you might enjoy spending a night or two at a rustic country agriturismo. A chef friend of mine raved about this place, which was featured in a long ago issue of Gourmet magazine. (Not available online, though). It is more or less on the route if you skip Gargano and visit the Pollino Park before moving on to Matera.

http://www.agriturismoacacia.it/agriturismo.htm


There are a couple of highly regarded restaurants in Terranova di Pollino. And then there are the Albanian speaking Arberesh villages. I've read about these but never been (yet).

http://www.comune.terranovadipollino.pz.it/


http://www.initaly.com/regions/ethnic/arberesh.htm

I'm mentioning these because you have to formulate the most interesting route plan from Naples to your first destination in Basilicata...

Is there a good book anyone recommends for reading about this region? I haven't found any.

eks - once again thanks -- hadn't even known about the Park and it looks interesting for a day or two esp with a good places to stay and eat.
Don't think we are interested in Cilento at this point. Also read about the Gragano and it sounds nice, but again, not this trip.

Taking the train to Salerno is a great idea as it would eliminate driving in Naples.

PS - I c u r from NYC ...heading up that way tomorrow.

I've been watching ridiculously expensive airfare for the last few weeks and we may go in and out of Naples. It will save over $200 for the two of us to do it that way. If we need to add a day for a drive back that's not a problem.

To respond to your question about a good book on the area -I highly recommend H.V.Morton's "A Traveller in Southern Italy" for very readable history and background. It was written in 1969 but still available (and also maybe in your library). It isn't a "guidebook" - more a travel memoir by a very well informed and terrific storyteller. He also wrote "A Traveller in Rome" (also in the 60s) and it continues to be the book I love to read before every trip.

There really is a lack of information in English on these regions. I have these books and together they cover the basics:

Cadogan Bay of Naples and Southern Italy

Lonely Planet Puglia and Basilicata

This collection of chapters by different writers makes an interesting read:

http://www.amazon.com/Venturing-Ital.../dp/1932361642

This is a photo book, more of the coffee table variety, without much text, but interesting to look at:

http://www.amazon.com/Masseria-The-I...1809532&sr=1-6


Worth reading if you have time; the author and his wife spent a year in a small village in Basilicata:

http://www.amazon.com/Seasons-Basili...1809787&sr=1-1







Good food-related background information and recipes of the region from a respected food writer; I bought this used as prices are astronomical for new editions:

http://www.amazon.com/Flavors-Puglia.../dp/0553066757

There are a few more food books that I can list if you like; these cover the entire country but I refer to them for restaurant details; among these are the SlowFood Osterie guide, published annually in Italian. (There is an English edition from 2006 that is still useful) And there are a few other Puglia guides on Amazon that I don't have, so take a look.



Agree about those airfares; we've flown into Naples from JFK on Iberia a few times.
Great connection.

linawood & eks - thanks for the book suggestions i will check them out.

I would suggest to you some nice village to see in Puglia: Alberobello, the capital of trullos (close to Locorotondo and Martina Franca): don't miss it!; Gallipoli and the little village of Specchia in Salento. And enjoy Lecce, it's very very nice. If you are interested in wine, there are two great wine ares here: Primitivo in Manduria and the Negroamaro wine region, you will find a lot of good wineries here. I would add a book too: the new Lonely Planet "Southern Italy" travel guide, I am reading it and it's well done. Welcome to Puglia! Ciao, Fabio

We have definitely decided to fly in and out of Naples, so will be doing a circle drive. Right now we're thinking of starting in
Naples - 3 days
Paestum - 1 day
Terranova di Pollino - 2 days
Lecce, Orantano, Salento area -- would love to find a place to base ourselves for 4-5 days and explore the region. I saw Galatino mentioned as a nice, quiet town with some rental possibilities. Any thoughts on that?
Cisternino, Martina Franca, Locorotundo & Ostuni area - stay somewhere and visit these towns - 4 days
Matera - 2 days
Somewhere in the Castel de Monte area to explore around there - 2-3 days
Return to Naples 1 night & fly home

We have a couple books on order - Venturing in Italy: Travels in Puglia, the Land between Two Seas & Cadogan Bay of Naples and Southern Italy. We had Seasons in Basilicata so started reading it!

Thoughts on this itinerary would be appreciated. Thanks

yestravel - I know absolutely nothing about the area but in looking for places for myself I saw this rental in Galatina:

http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p40...jROP&utm_term=

Sorry about the long link. But this place makes me want to go there.

rosetravels -- thanks for the url. Looks like a beautiful rental. We have decided to try and stay in Galatina. So many beautiful places it is hard to decide.

If you are flying in and out of Naples try to give a day for touring the Palazzo Reale in Caserta. A treasure that rivals Versailles. Staying is Matera would be wonderful...we did only as a day trip in 2010 and wish we had planned differently. Stop in Altamura on the way for bread!!!

Thank you - I will check these places out. And I always stop for bread so appreciate the recommendation.

After reading more TR's and looking at the books we got, I think we have decided upon the following time frames -- any comments on the timeframes would be great. The order has been somewhat determined by availability of places to stay.

Naples - 4 nights including 1 day train trip to Paestum
Andria countryside - 2 nights (Castel del Monte, Trani)
Ostuni or Fasano area - 3 nights (Alberobello, Locorotondo, Cisternino, & Martina Franca)
Galatino - 5 nights in apt (Salento)
Matera - 3 nights
Mormanno - 2 nights (Terranova di Pollino)
Naples - 1 night
Fly Home

Thanks!

This is such an appealing itinerary, DH and I are now moving forward on a plan to follow in (at least some) of your footsteps. And, I definitely second Dedec's recommendation of a visit to Palazzo Reale in Caserta. It is a gem...the grounds are fabulous.

Caio,
~MarnieWDC