*Need help w/Puglia itinerary*
 

Hello. I am traveling to Puglia with my husband and 14 year old son next summer for 10-14 days. We are flying into Brindisi in late July and may fly out of Bari. We like to explore, eat good food and wine and visiting beaches. We also wouldn't mind renting a boat for a day or more and sailing up the coast and roughing it w bit, but when we are land based we prefer staying in small quaint but hip boutique hotels.We also prefer to stay at a hotel in a town, so we can walk to/from lunch and dinner and with sea views. However, would be open to staying inland in one town if we choose 3 different locations.

I would be very appreciative of your feedback about the following:

1. Is this too much time to spend in Puglia? If so, can you suggest another area to combine it with? We have already been to Positsno, Venice, Florence. Wouldn't mind returning to Amalfi and have always wanted to visit Tuscany.
2. If we were to base ourselves in 2-3 locations, which towns would you suggest? I have liked everything I have heard about Monopoli but don't know if that is a good place up north to stay.
3. Would it be best to travel by car or train?

Many thanks!

Because it's close, and so wonderful, you might add Matera to your itinerary. No water, though. Full of hip boutique hotels, fabulous food.

You might want to search this board for threads on Puglia, particularly the planning threads, but also the trip reports. There are MANY of them. Type "Puglia" into the search box at the upper right.

I agree with tuscanlifeedit that adding Matera is well worth considering.

In Puglia, I would suggest that Lecce should be one of your bases.

I traveled in the area by bus and train, but then, I spent less than a week there. Many people want a car for at least part of their time there. If there is any chance that you might have jet lag, wait a day or two until you've recovered to pick up a rental car: Although many people don't realize it, mounting evidence shows that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous to yourselves -- and others -- as driving drunk.

read up about Masseria (wiki is your friend)

By far better to rent a car than travel by train.

Make one base in the area of Trani; we liked Lama di Luna (Inland) but there are other options.

http://www.lamadiluna.com/

yep car or bicycle are the best ways of getting around. July will be hot

I did a trip to Puglia that was 8 days (2 Lecce, 4 Polignano, 2 Matera) and while that was 'enough' we could have easily used another couple days. There were several things we wanted to do that we didn't get to. Especially if you want to rent a boat and go at a leisurely pace. If you did want to combine Puglia with another region I think the Amalfi Coast would be the best. Or Rome (which would then be easy to fly out of). Seems like going all the way up to Tuscany wouldn't be worth it for just a few days.

Here's my trip report. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ast-puglia.cfm

For our almost three weeks in Puglia we will base in Martina Franca, Trani and Leverano.

Thanks so much for your feedback everyone. We are going to start in Puglia, I believe in two different locations unless you think one is sufficient, then spend a night or two in Matera per everyone's suggestion, and then head to Praiano in the Amalfi coast. We prefer to stay in the historic center of a charming town, where we can walk to/from good restaurants for dinner, bars (after we put our 14 yr old to sleep) and cafes in the morning and live like locals. We are likely going to rent a flat from airbnb or another site for that reason and also because we need 2 separate bedrooms. We tend to save our explorations to neighboring towns and sites for during the day.

I am focusing on Monopoli or Polignano a Mare in the north, but am struggling about where to stay in the south or elsewhere. We also prefer to be close to the sea and beaches (although we aren't totally averse to spending 2-3 days inland if it is worthwhile). So, if you all think it worthwhile to spend time in another location other than the Bari area, I was looking into Lecce, Ostuni and even Gallipoli, even though it seems a little more out of the way than the first two.

I would also greatly appreciate your input as I feel I am spending a lot of time spinning my wheels and would love to start booking places. Many thanks!!!

Lecce is a delight, and IMO, especially so after dark.

Gallipoli is a good base for the Salento and its beaches. It's a charming town with a fishing harbour. Having a car will enable you to get to the nicest sandy beaches in Baia Verde, south of Gallipoli, or even further south to the Maldive del Salento. Note that the Adriatic Sea is a rocky coast with no sandy beaches.

Lecce is a wonderful place to walk about but you need to take a car to swim in the sea, some of the hotels will have pools in town.

I think you may be missing a trick not looking at Masseria (fortified farms) in the countryside, often with lovely restaurants and pools to die for the local fields are worth walking in. Ok you don't get the evening walk about unless you are in town, but otherwise you get a great place to stay. I'd look at say some of them near Ostuni.

All good suggestions. I much prefer Lecce to Bari. Matera is amazing, One of the best meals I've ever had was at Antichi Sapori in Montegrosso, about 40 minute drive inland from Trani. Unforgettable.

We are in Matera now. It's amazing and not to be missed. Very, very special!