Polignano a Mare, Monopoli & Ancestral towns
 

Will be visiting Puglia this September-- a four night's stay with my husband as an anniversary celebration We need a convenient base in Puglia. that will allow us to make the most of the area and prefer one location. Plans are to arrive by rental car from Naples after a quick visit to an ancestral town in Campania along the way. Our Puglia stay follows, then we are off to Matera for three nights, the Amalfi coast for five nights, then heading back home from Naples. We can visit Altamura and possibly Alberobello from Matera.

Polignano a Mare and Monopoli seem to be locations that might allow us to see several towns as days trips, including my grandparent's birthplace, Giovinazzo, just outside of Bari. Does this make sense? We figure Polignano a Mare and Monopoli as a base will allow for shorter day trips to Trani and Lecce.

Suggestions? Looking for a special masseria with water views. We have never been to this part of Italy and we are very excited after reading the excellent trip reports here!
Mo

Puglia is a very large region of Italy and four days really does not do it justice. That said, you would probably have to decide on "upper", "middle" or "lower" Puglia for your stay in order for not to be driving too much to get from one place to the other. I would not choose a place in Monopoli, for instance, in order to do day trips to Lecce or Trani, it is just too far.

Personally I would take a day off Matera and add it to Puglia. I might then divide my time : 2 days in the Monopoli area, and 3 in the Lecce area.

You may have read my trip report on this site, gives you some other info you may find useful. We spent 11 days in Puglia and LOVED it.

Enjoy!!

I agree with Flame: While I thoroughly enjoyed fascinating Matera, I thought 2 nights, including about 1.5 days. were sufficient for my interests there. Adding a night to Puglia makes a lot of sense. But of course it depends on what you want to see and do.

BTW, are you sure visiting Alberobello from Matera makes more sense than visiting it from somewhere in Puglia? I stopped there on my way from Trani to Lecce -- very easy.

I loved Trani - stunning cathedral and pretty harbor. And Lecce really is something, with its uniquely frothy architecture. I thought Lecce worth closer to a day and a half, but again, it depends on what you to experience.

Enjoy!

I I don't believe I have read your report yet Flame. When is it dsted? I would love to read it. Was happy to see so much information about Puglia being shared here. Thanks for your replies.

Matera is where we have a bit of flexibility, and have we could cut it back and add another day to Puglia. We will definitely shoot for a more extensive stay in Puglia in the future. This time around, it's a sampler, per se. A desire to visit two ancestral towns while in the South brings us to Puglia, but I have two other ancestral towns in proximity yet to visit in the future-- Poggio Imperiale, and Apricena, as well as Campobasso and Mirabello.

Perhaps my question now should be where to base that will allow for the most day trips from one location --a location that isn't too far that it will make for a long drive to Matera. We would like to see the Adriatic! After Matera, we are off to Sorrento. Trying to tweak this itinerary -- my husband travels frequently for work and wants to minimize time in the car, so it looks like I've come to the right place. Our only must so far is Giovinazzo. And A/C. We will have a rental car, so parking is needed too. Suggestions?

Thanks!

Here is a link to my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...and-nights.cfm

It's perfectly possible to visit the provinces of Matera, Bari and Brindisi in 1 week.
If you want to see more, like the Salento or the Gargano Peninsula (incl. Tremiti Islands), you have to add mor time.
I would probably stay 2 nights in a Matera cave hotel and the other 5 nights somewhere in the Murge, may be around Martina Franca or Cisternino.

Thanks for the link Flame- will check it out

So, to tweak things a bit: rather than arriving in Naples and heading to Avigliano, Basicalata by rental,(overnight in Potenza/Avigliano, Basicalata), might it work better to either:

A) go directly to Bari from Naples to our base in Puglia via rental car after a night's sleep in Naples, moving Avigliano back to after our stay in Matera or

B) train to Bari from Naples on arrival day, one overnight in Bari. Pick up rental in Bari next day, Giovinazzo, then on to base in Puglia.


In this case, we'd cut our nights in Matera to two and could do Avigliano on our way to Sorrento.

We are looking at LaSomita in Ostuni now, and also Il Frantoio as a base in Puglia. However, the thought of no A/C in September makes us wary of Il Frantoio

Mo

P.S. just finished your trip report Flame! Excellent. Can't wait to experience Puglia!

Happy to be of assistance MoPet.

"B) train to Bari from Naples"
Marinobus would be direct (no changes like with the train solution), faster and cheaper.

Thank you neckervd! Will look into that!

In case you want to read more, here are reports of my first two trips to the region; the second trip includes Matera.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-di-senise.cfm


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ern-puglia.cfm

We returned to the region last fall, including the Salento, an agriturismo near Bernalda, and one of our favorites hotels, in Savelletri. I am happy to answer any questions.

La Sommita would have a distant sea view, I believe, from Ostuni; Il Frantoio...not sure if they would have any sea view as they are on the plain a few miles from the coast.

Yes, I keep deviating from my " must" list. Sea view would be nice, but things are booking up! Thanks so much for the links to your informative reports ekscrunchy- I enjoyed and am taking notes. Hey- have you an opinion of Giovinazzo?