joangk

Dear Fodorites,
Like so many of you in the throes of planning a trip, I've started to obsess about how many days/nights in certain locales. Here's our general itinerary - I would welcome any thoughts on timing/length of stay. Thanks in advance! (We are active, love good, local food, beautiful scenery, a bit of history and culture).
day 1: arrive/spend one afternoon/night in Bari citta vecchia
days 2,3,4: bike trip through towns of Itria Valley (e.g, Alberobello, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Ostuni)
day 5: rent car in Bari, drive along coast, stopping at Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, stay Lecce
day 6: Lecce and environs
day 7: drive to Gallipoli, coastal spots we missed yesterday, end in Matera
day 8: Matera
day 9: Matera and Castelmezzano
day 10: drive back to Bari to drop off rental car.
Just wondering if 3 nighs in Matera is too much. I know it's a very subjective choice - is the drive to Castelmezzano worth staying the extra night in Matera? Am I shortchanging the area around Lecce?
Thanks very much!

whitehall

Bike trip? Hadn't thought of that. Is it an organized group? I am always afraid of cycling on narrow roads. Puglia is not very hilly, so that should be an advantage. And, we see a lot of positive reviews online from other cyclists. We drove all over Puglia in the fall and don't recall seeing a lot of cyclists. Anxious to hear about your experience.

Your itinerary seems reasonable to us, given the amount of available time. Here is a link to our trip report on our week in Puglia: 7 days/6 nights in Puglia

We loved Lecce as a base for the southern areas of Puglia. Matera, which is in Basilicata, and therefore not part of our trip report was one of our favorite places ever in Italy. Since you are active, you should enjoy the hiking in the nearby hills, where there are caves, even a cave church and the site of more than one Biblical crucifixion scene from a major Hollywood film. I would want at least 2 full days there. We spent 2 nights there (and therefore 1.5 days) and felt a bit rushed.

MyriamC

Your 3 nights in Matera mean 2 half days (max) and one full day. We spent 2 full days in Matera which we found just right. We did not hike in the nearby hills, so it was just for exploring the two sassi. Magical place, BTW.

Rocket79

Hi Joan - I am curious as to where you're renting your bikes?

bilboburgler

I've cycled through that area, most of the roads are narrow and quiet while the local car drivers are well behaved (generally), depending on your specific route you need to look out for the Murge (pron the e) this is a high level plateau and a real pain to cycle up to if you drift off it towards the sea.

You are visiting all the usual draws, you might add Gioia for example with its Norman castle and Roman remains (plus the buffalo cheese is to die for). Many of the local towns look a bit naff from the outside. Don't panic, the centres are often little pearls.

Enjoy.

joangk

Thank you all for your great suggestions.

joangk

Rocket79,
We are going to go on a self-guided bike tour with Puglia Cycle Tours.

Rocket79

Ah, OK...Sounds like a lot of fun, I looked into that myself when we were thinking about Puglia.

kja

Just wondering if 3 nighs in Matera is too much.[/QUOTE]

Chiming in a bit late -- but I thought 1 full day sufficient for Matera. JMO.

yorkshire

I could spend a week in Matera! Go an enjoy it before it becomes overwhelmingly crowded, which I fear it will be one day soon. You will likely arrive late the first day, spend the second day exploring the sassi and the park across the gorge, and the next day is the trip to the mountains. You may want to do mor research for your Lecce days to be sure though.
Another option near Matera is the abandoned town of Craco, where we enjoyed a fascinating tour.

bilboburgler

Not sure where you will go but this might interest "Salento Bike Cafè" its a sort of coop where they have tried to develop a cycling culture for kids but some of the guys also organise learning "italian while you cycle". Good guys if passing try a coffee.