OUR PUGLIA ITINERARY -- advice needed, please!
 

Would love some insight and advice on our itinerary, which is still in the early planning stages. We will have about a week in late June. We are a couple in our 40s who love great food, beautiful towns, gorgeous beaches, and charming places to stay.

Here's what I'm thinking so far...

SALENTO AREA (2-3 nts)
We would like to explore the beautiful beaches, eat great seafood, and see Lecce.
I was thinking to stay in Lecce and the use the car to venture to the sea during the day, enjoying Lecce in the evenings.

The Palazzo Persone seems beautiful and very affordable, with a great location in Lecce. But not sure if you we should be staying on the beach somewhere and just taking a day trip into Lecce.

MURGIA AREA (2 nights)
Our goal is spend two nights and explore small charming towns in the area (need to narrow it down: Locorotonda, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Polignano e Mare) and eat great food.

Thinking about Masseria Abate near Noci
or
Don ferrante in Monopoli
or
somewhere else (any suggestions in Ostuni?)

BARI AREA (1-2 nts)
Again looking for great food. Want to eat at Masseria Barbera (thanks to Franco and Ekscrunchy) and see Trani.

Thinking of staying at Lama Di Luna or somewhere in Trani.

MATERA (1 night)
Would like to stay overnight at the Hotel in Pietra.
But if we're driving, is it enough just to spend a morning and have lunch?

Thanks so much, in advance, for any insight.

Dina

Matera definitely deserves a whole day, and more than that if you go to the Cripta del Peccato Originale, which you absolutely should do - the artistic highlight of every Basilicata trip!

I would stay at Lama di Luna (which ekscrunchy recommends) - Trani is one of the few places in Puglia that already start being touristy in an unpleasant sense. As far as great food in the Murgia, you already know my Puglia/Basilicata trip report...

Thanks, Franco. That is what everyone seems to say about Matera.

It looks like we will have 6 nights.

I am now thinking 2 nights in Lecce, 2 nights in the Murgia are, 1 night in Matera, and 1 night at Lama di Luna.

Would really like to reduce that to 3 places instead of four, but am worried about missing out of course.

Hmmm....

That plan sounds good to me at first glance.

I've yet to find (in my reading) an appealing sounding hotel right on the beach in the Salento. I'm sure these must exist but from my reading it looks like the nicest hotels are inland. So I would keep the plan of staying in Lecce, and that hotel is, indeed, in a superb location.

I know what you mean about wanting to trim the hotels down to 3, but I am not sure that this is possible if you include Trani.

Yes, you must spend the night in Matera. That view of the illuminated sassi from the belvedere on the main piazza is one of the most memorable I've seen in Italy.

I'm not sure this has any relevance at all for you, but I mention it because it surprised me: Matera is only an hour from the Bari airport.

Yes, I think I'l definitely stick to Lecce.

We will be flying out of Bari, so that's great news. I guess I need to decide between...

2 nights Lecce
3 nights in the Murgia region
1 night in Matera
(skip Lama di Luna and Trani area food)

or

2 nights Lecce
2 nights Murgia region
1 night Matera
1 night Trani area at Lama di Luna

Though I'm not usually an advocate of one-nighters, I'd choose Plan B. The region between Trani and Castel del Monte is too interesting to skip, not least food-wise. And there is a fair chance, I dare to insist, that Valle d'Itria (what figures as the Murgia region in your list) might disappoint you, atmospherically.

Franco,
do you recommend staying on the coast in the Murgia -- in Monopoli, Ostuni, or Polignano a Mare -- as opposed to a masseria in the countryside?

D; We'll wait for Franco's response, but remember that Ostuni is not on the coast, although it is just a few miles inland.

I agree with Plan B--you can get a good feel for the immediate area in a 2-night stay.

I can't really recommend anything since I know well, as I already said on another thread recently, that everybody wants to stay in a trullo or a masseria there, and so did I, so I cannot wholeheartedly try to dissuade you. I just wanted you to be prepared (which you certainly are, in the meantime) for a - sometimes brutally - modernized rural region; and what I can and will add is that personally, I shall next time try to find a nice accomodation in the centers of either Cisternino or Martina Franca or, yes indeed, Ostuni, which is by far the prettiest town thereabouts (although a bit less conveniently located to daytripping than the others).

On the coast, no, by the way. The coast is not part of Valle d'Itria, and plain ugly.

Ugly? even monopoli and polginano?

The historic core of Polignano is beautiful but like most of the other towns, it is surrounded by miles and miles of ugly low-rise "suburbs." I did not find Monopoli to be particularly pretty but I only stopped by for the weekly food market in the center, so I missed the beach/lungomare areas.

I agree about staying inland to see the trulli/white towns, especially since you will have 2 nights with the new plan. There seem to be dozens upon dozens of trulli hotels in a compact geographical area, so you have plenty of choice.

Be prepared that the interior furnishings of these trulli structures that have been converted to lodgings may not be as picturesque/charming as the exterior promises. And some of these may be a bit dark inside. I got my "trulli fix" at this hotel and I would recommend it for the beautiful grounds spotted with many trulli; the large pool; the nice breakfast; and above all, the excellent location just outside Cisternino. We had a standard room which was located in a trulli but the furniture, at least in the least pricey rooms, was in the IKEA vein.

http://www.villacenci.it/

Sorry, my last message wasn't clear enough. I was referring to the landscape, not the towns. Polignano (where I haven't been) seems pretty; Monopoli, not so. As always, Google Street View is your friend when looking for information of this kind.
But once again, Ostuni is extraordinarily, stunningly pretty, so if you can figure staying there, then you can hardly go wrong.

Dina I took a look at the files I collected before my first trip to Puglia.

Found this masseria hotel with a good location nr. Ostuni and more reasonable pricing than Villa Cenci; looks like it gets good reports:



http://www.larascina.it/

Yes, I found that place, and it looks lovely.
I also found the Masseria Frontaio,
but I am a little concerned about the fact that neither place has air conditioning!

We will be there in late June, which i know gets quite hot!

But I have decided I want to be close to Ostuni in order to be close to all the great places to eat nearby. I wish I could find someplace on the sea near there. I really don't mind if I miss staying in a truli.

Here's my revised list: (which has nothing with a sea view)

Lecce - one night
?SOMEPLACE NEAR OSTUNI? - two nights
Matera - one night
Lama di Luna - 2 nights.

If anyone can comment on the lack air conditioning at these two places -- do they stay cool? or suggest something else, i would be so grateful!!

thanks again...

Franco will shudder, but this one is on the sea northeast of Ostuni and has good reviews on 2 sites. Torre Canne is known for unpretentious seafood restaurants, and especially for sea urchin, which may not be in season in July. I would guess that the drive to Ostuni would take 15 minutes or so.


http://www.dellevante.com/it/home/

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...si_Puglia.html





I'd not seen this one before but it is in the general area; not ON the sea but very close and with pool; just thought I'd put it into the mix since online reviews are very good. These masserie structures have thick stone walls that should keep the rooms cool, so as long as the guest rooms are actually IN the historic original building(s).....

http://www.masseriamontenapoleone.com/

http://www.venere.com/bandb/fasano/b...ontenapoleone/

actually found out La Rascina DOES have AC. yay!

eks, i will check out those properties. i didn't see your posting earlier when i posted about the AC.
i did contact LA RASCINA and am waiting to hear back.

i think my trip is finally starting to take shape.. thanks to YOU!

Dina, you are too kind. Let us know how it works out and what the final plan will be!

Dina: Do you know about Martina's Festival of the Valley of Itria in July? Not sure if your dates correspond but if they do: opera (a few names unfamiliar to me), concerts and film.




http://www.festivaldellavalleditria....px?EdID=00000E