blej

After what we hope will be a wonderful five days on the Amalfi Coast we are considering a change of scenery and spending the five remaining days in Puglia. Many of the Puglia posts I've read are for longer visits. I'm hoping that perhaps by eliminating the Salento area and only going as far as Ostuni we can get a feel for the area without rushing??

We will rent a car in Amalfi and at the end will have to return to Naples for the return flight. I would appreciate two places to stay from which we can explore the wonderful places I've read about.

kja

Hi, blej -

It depends on what you want to see, but it is certainly possible to enjoy visiting a few places in Puglia with only a few days. As an example, I stopped in Matera for a day and night on the way to Puglia and then spent half a day and one night in Trani, a few hours in Alberobello, a day and night in Lecce (longer would have been nicer), and an evening in Polignano a Mare.

Hope that helps!

blej

We would consider Trani, Alberobello, Ostuni, Matera and any other places that others have found a must see. Lecce, I think would add too much driving as it would be round trip.

ekscrunchy

Another option would be to tour the Cilento region; less driving. Perhaps you could find an agriturismo in that area, something like this:


http://www.donnasilia.it/page/home_en.htm

vademecum

Just to add to what I wrote about Puglia in the response to your enquiry about the Amalfi Coast - we drove from Positano to Matera (about 4 hours) and spent the night there. The next day we ended up leaving later than planned because we were so enamoured with the place and kept 'discovering' treasures wherever we wandered! When we did get going, we headed for Alberobello, where we stayed overnight in one of the 'trulli' houses (www.trullidea.it), which was super!
The next day was spent driving through Puglia, with stops in various towns, like Martina Franca, Locorotondo and Cisternino - but really, it's all very scenic. We drove through Ostuni and continued to Monopoli, where we stopped to have lunch at a restaurant called La Torretta del Pescatore, near the sea. Really good food, lovely setting, well-priced. Then on to Polignano.

We drove up past Bari, almost to Foggia, before finding our way to the right road and heading back towards Naples. All that in 3 days! And you've got 5! You'll definitely be able to enjoy it more! And you could even get down to Lecce.

By the way, the website for La Locanda di San Martino in Matera is: www.lalocandadisanmartino.it. They have a really nice website and you'll get a good idea of the various rooms and what they're like. I'm definitely planning another trip there.

Ciao!

panecott

vad,
How long was the drive from Matera to Alberobello? And did you travel on secondary roads?

I want to do a day trip to Matera and I'm trying to figure out the best starting off point.

vademecum

Hi,

We travelled along a secondary road, the S271 which became the S171, and it didn't take very long, though I can't remember exactly! Probably an hour and a half, 2 hours max. There isn't a main road linking the 2 towns, but it's all so scenic that there are obligatory stops to take photo's along the way!

Hope this helps!
'Vad'

panecott

Thanks, vad. That sounds perfect. I'll be in the Alberobello area for 3 days so that will work.

And the secondary roads are just what I want. I often wish I had a penny for every time I stop for photo ops when I travel!

blej

Dear Vademecum,

You are a wealth of helpful knowledge. I am still trying to digest all you've told me about Amalfi.

In Puglia we would like to take it real easy. I can appreciate the three day trip you took and how much you saw. That's usually the way we travel. This time we'd like to do something similar to your trip in five days, thus leaving a day or two to take it easy, stay in place, perhaps not get in the car at all. By the way, that won't be easy for us because I like to drive. But we need to see less and enjoy more this trip.

So if any suggestions re: two places where we could stay (or just the towns)that would help.

By the way - do rental cars have GPS now? We drove for days in Tuscany and Piedmont without trouble, but we did get lost in Siena on the way to the train station to pick up our daughter at night. We were terrified she was going to be left alone for quite awhile. We were rescued by a cheerful man who came out of a bar and walked to our car where we had stopped. When we told him our predicament (in very broken Italian and mostly gestures) he waved his hand to follow him, got in his car and led us to the station just as the train came in. I know this happens with some frequency and it has made me more helpful to people here at home, but a GPS would be helpful in more deserted areas.

panecott

blej,
There have been at least two or three other Puglia threads in the last few days that will answer many of your questions.

I'm pretty sure AutoEurope offers GPS, b/c I saw an offer for free GPS for March rentals.