Puglia, Italy in Depth: Itinerary Suggestions
 

We have been to Italy many times from Como in the north to Sicily in the south including, of course, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast, etc. We are seriously considering the Puglia and would like your thoughts in terms of:

1. Is 7-10 days enough time to do it leisurely?

2. What are 1 or 2 towns to use as our base from which to take day trips to explore various towns and other areas?

3. We would like to drive and have driven in Tuscany, Sicily, Provence, etc. How easy is it to find your way to (and into) the various towns?

4. Can you recommend some good hotels/villas in the area? (FYI: we don't like big chain hotels but rather prefer small boutique types, although the room has to be very clean, secure, have a private bath/shower and nice furnishings)

5. We're coming from the US - I'm guessing we fly to Rome and then what in terms of flights to Bari? or Brindisi? or some other airport?

6. We love Italian food - any restaurant suggestions?

7. We ordinarily go in the spring or fall to avoid the tourist crush - any suggestions for best month to go?

8. What are the must-see towns, sites, experiences, local markets,other places of interest in Puglia that should not be missed (exclude churches unless they are so unique and unlike the hundreds of others in Italy ).

It's a long list, I know, but whatever information you have on any of these questions will be appreciated. (FYI: I have read many of the Puglia posts on this site already, including references to T&L, sloTravel, etc.).

Thank you very much.

---glenn

Puglia is a world in itself; we stayed for 6 weeks in the same villa rental each time we were there. I would suggest you stay in Lecce and in the Centro. There is quite a bit to do in town and driving to other areas for day trips is very easy, nowhere near the traffic of Tuscany etc. Day trips to Locorotundo, Alberrobello, Ostuni, Gallipoli (great seafood shops and restaurants), etc.
For us we took the train from Rome and rented a car in Lecce, returned it in Sulmona,Abruzzo and train back to Rome. The foods and wine production in Puglia are truly different from the North and very good. Salice Salentino has excellent DOC wines, Castello Monaci is a great place to viit, eat and buy.
Very hot in summer, many B&B type accomodations now sprouting up in the old city (Centro). Be opened minded on food, "Cucina Povera" meant using what is there/available, so traditional dishes use offal, horsemeat, (very good), as well as lamb parts, and wild greens. Orrecheti pasta originates in the region. Fava e chicoria is a unbelievable dish made from just wild greens and pureed favas.

Hello Glenn,
I would go in April but after Easter--the spring flowers are a feature. I would stay in 2 locations---Lecce and Martina Franca. The food in Puglia is not like any Italian food you have known--a regional cuisine. Get a good guide book and read about the primary destinations--do not miss Alberobello. You will like Puglia.

Hi, teambuilder -

Puglia is wonderful!

I just topped a post I wrote about some restaurants I patronized during a trip in May 2007, including a few in Puglia. I would particularly recommend the Grotta Palazzese in Polignano a Mare. Here's a link:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35020213

One church you might consider visiting is the cathedral in Trani. It has some unusual features that I found fascinating.

Also, you might consider including Matera in your itinerary. It isn't in Puglia, but is close and is unique.

Enjoy!

I was about to suggest a side trip to Matera. I spent three days and nights there in May and loved it. It is beautiful and the food is incredible. I've eaten in recommended restaurants all over Italy, and I have to say that the food in Matera was great. I will dig out some receipts if you are interested.

This restaurant in Ostuni was featured on Lidia's Italy PBS program and looks good:


http://www.osteriadeltempoperso.com/

We had a marvelous time there in May. Here is a link to my trip report that I posted on this site. If you have any other specifics afterwards, I would be happy to answer.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35000294

I'm also looking at Puglia for a holiday next spring. Can anyone comment on the driving? Is the driving scary in Puglia? Silly question, I know, but I'm a rather timid driver although I've driven in Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, etc. with no major melt-downs.

The driving is easy since it is almost all flat. Puglia looks more like Greece or Sicily than it does Italy---flat, semi-arid, lots of rocks.

one May we spent a week in Otranto, in an apt overlooking the harbor, near the fort.
lots to do, don't feel you have to rush somewhere else every day.
easy driving.
a most pleasant stay.

Folks: thanks for your comments and suggestions. I will continue to gather information and will post the results at a later date.

Julia, I was also wondering about the driving,because I have read reports here that say it is awful to try to get in and out of the various towns. Perhaps more an issue of poor signage than bad roads or bad drivers, but it scared me, because I read this more than once..try to find previous reports here that talk about this..

I'll let the other Puglia experts here chime in becasue I don't know the region very well...but...I have driven in Puglia and it is fairly easy. Probably the easiest driving we've done really....good roads, not much traffic, etc.

Flying into Bari is great...but...prices are always CRAZY into Bari (anytime I've checked from NY anyway!)

We have a vacation home on the Puglia/Basilicata/Campania border and almost always fly direct into Rome...and we rent a car in Rome - prices and availability for automatics are usually significantly better at the Rome airport than Naples or Bari.

Definitely the spring. I bicycled around when the poppies were in bloom..it was glorious. Driving would not be difficult but would be tricky in any of the cities- lots of one ways narrow streets and dead ends. I would avoid July and August along the coast. This is prime vacation time for Italian families. There are wonderful masserias and other small local hotels. I too would use Lecce as a hub. There is a terrific local travel agent in Lecce- Andrea at salentotime.it. He speaks excellent English and has knowledge of some wonderful area hotels which have incredible charm. A week IMO is not enough to do things leisurely but it will serve to wet your appetite for future trips..It may be the first of many!

Hi all,

great to see so much info about this area, thanks to everyone. I am looking for an apt/villa to rent for 4 adults for a week; somewhere fairly central so we can do day trips to towns. Does anyone have any suggestions?
thanks

Pat

re villas..a real resource is a travel agent in Lecce. His name is Andrea (speaks excellent English and French). He has some wonderful suggestions re rentals whether they be villas, rooms in Masserias (?sp). His agency is Salentotime and his web site (and I think it is still current) is salentotime.it. Good luck. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as I did.

Bookmarking

For those who have spent a great deal of time in Italy, which regions do you find most interesting? And between Sicily and puglia, which do you prefer? We will have one month and are trying to plan an itinerary.

This thread is 4 years old---you will likely get the same replies you got before.