ohhh. that sounds great! unfortunately, we are there the last week of june.

eks, i booked nadia for our trip in matera! so happy she's available.
thanks again!

I am having the identical dilemma for my late May trip (7 nights)! We fly into Bari early morning, and I was thinking we could go to Matera for a night, then to Otsuni area for two nights and Lecce and/or Otranto for 4 nights.

I like the idea of staying in Lecce proper, but a masseria in Otranto sounds great, too (like Montelauro - although couldn't afford that for too many nights!). Not sure if it's better to have one base in the south, or divide up.

I'm looking at all the same places to stay, like La Rascina, il Frantoio, Torre Maizza, Lama di Luna (although worried too remote) – or maybe somewhere cheaper right in Martina Franca. For Otranto, maybe a splurge at Montelauro. For Lecca, maybe Roof Barocco B&B.

Such hard decisions! Any further suggestions?

I should amend my statement above, because after looking at the prices for these places, I can see that Torre Maizza is way out of reach for me!

Yes, that Torre Maizza is amazing but out of our budget range also.

Cathy, I have obsessed over tripadvisor reviews on every place you mentioned above. (except didn't come across Roof Barocco. I am way too picky about accommodations. I make myself crazy, actually. But I am really excited about the accommodations I chose.

Anyway, we are doing the reverse trip, starting in lecce, but here is what i finally came up with. (everything reserved)

Lecce -- we arrive by train around 2 and use that afternoon and evening to explore the city. Staying in PALAZZO PERSONNE.

Next day, we're going to have a big driving day, exploring the eastern Salento coast, having lunch, maybe see OTranto, maybe sit on a beach for a while, etc. Plan to end up that evening at LA RASCINA.

So with two nights at LA RASCINA, we have a full day and half to explore the nearby towns - Ostuni, Martina Franca, Cisterno, Locorotundo, etc. They seem to be very close together.

After checking out of La Rascina, we will head to Matera for one night and stay in HOTEL L'PIETRA.

Then we will move on to LAMA DI LUNA for two nights. From there, we will visit Trani and Castel del Monte.

We then take the train from Bari to Rome.

Now I need to focus on all the amazing restaurants.


Wondering how far in advance I need to make reservations for the popular ones....

Eks? Franco?

Dina let me say that I think your hotel selection is a good one. As far as reservations, if you plan to eat at Antichi Sapori near Lama di Luna, you should have the hotel book this several weeks in advance. I would mention it to them when you make your hotel reservation. They were not so quick to respond to my e-mails and I had to send a message more than once in order to get a response.

I would also book (ask the hotel to do this) Masseria Barbera a few days in advance if you plan on Sunday lunch. There is another restaurant in Montegrosso that seems to get good reviews in Italian: http://osteriamassari.altervista.org/





If you plan to eat at Le Zie in Lecce you might want to book that ahead of time, too, since it is small and well known to tourists. You can book that by e-mail:

http://www.lezie.it/



To Cathy: There are many, many hotels including many masseria hotels that do not get mentioned on this forum but that look quite lovely.

It is difficult to search for these without being familiar with the area because the review sites such as TripAdvisor.com and booking.com list these by location and many are in small towns that many of us have not heard of before. And when you do find them, the reviews are often in Italian only.

To give you an example of what I mean, here are a couple in the Lecce/Otranto area that I found on TA and that appear both attractive and more moderately priced:





http://www.makyva.it/home.html


http://www.masseriapizzofalcone.it/sito/en/


http://www.appide.it/en/camere.htm

Yes, Masseria Barnera, Anticha Saporo, and Le Zie are at the top of our list.

I've already made my hotel reservations, so I was thinking to do it one month ahead. Late June isn't the height of tourist season. We were in Umbria last year at this time and found restaurants practically empty.

Thanks for the advice, Ekscrunchy! Appide looks interesting.

I was looking at a beautiful book of photos, MASSERIA: The Italian Farmhouses of Puglia, that contains a chapter on Appide, as well as one on Torre Maizza, Barbera, Lama di Luna, etc.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/084...4TZYGH75YJ2WKR

thanks, eks.
i just put that book on hold at my library.
can't wait to see it.

Dina let me know what you think. The photos are beautiful but I wish it had more captions and explanatory text. You will be counting the days til your trip once you see those gorgeous properties!

Now that my trip seems to coming together, one part seems a bit foggy still...

We plan to spend a long day driving south of Lecce to explore the beautiful coastline. We hope to have a delicious lunch, take a swim at a beautiful beach, and see some beautiful scenery. Some have mentioned renting a little boat and visiting grottos, but I'm not sure how/where to do this.

Some places of interest that have come up in my research include:
Otranto
Porto Badisco
Terme di Santa Cesarea
Torre del'Orso
Santa Maria del Leuca

If you have any restaurant, location, or activity suggestions, please let me know!

(should i start a new thread with this??)

Dina: I can give you a few (not many) tips here, but I am away from home and without my own computer, so may have to wait until late this week. We stopped at Porto Badisco which I thought was lovely, but it was pretty shuttered as far as eating spots when we were there in mid-September..more in a few days...

Hi Dina,
Just found this post.We will be in Puglia late April and into May,and are staying at la Rascina.I will be adding to my barebones itinerary as I fill in the days.Please comment.Emailed guide Nadia,but have not heard back.Was she prompt in responding to you??I tried for a res.At Antichi Sapori for the Saturday afternoon we will be in the area.I phone,and was told they were "complete" for 28 April.I will try again...fingers crossed.

Carolina: Send another e-mail to Nadia if you do not get a response to the first one.

Oh my carolina, that is too bad they're booked up soooo far in advance. i'm going in late june, so it may be even more crowded then! did you try masseria barbera, which has been highly recommended here, and is close by?

yes, i must say, nadia did email me within 24 hours. i would try again.

would love to see your itinerary! please share...

Dina: See if you can book Antichi Sapori now..ask Lama di Luna to do it for you.

I contacted Pietro at Lama di Luna, but he told me they wont accept reservations in early March for late June, so he said to remind him in April.
Still, I probably would have waited til May, so am appreciative of the heads up.

I think I'll start a separate restaurant thread...