Would like to visit Puglia area July/August for about 6/7 days.
Can anybody please advise where the best place would be to base ourselves and what towns and "sights" we should visit in this period?
We intend to rent a car.
Any other suggestions would be gratefully welcomed.

High season, very high season.

Do you want town, countryside or coast?

It will be hot, you want a pool at least and either a/c or thick walls.

I'd look up Masseria, lecce, monopoli.

Will you hire car or use trains/buses?

In the south visit Lecce old town, in fact just about any Centro storico Will be wonderful. Gravina has some amazing cliff churches. Try and get on a nonna cooking course. The best of Puglia is the people and cooking is the heart of the people.

Where are you flying into or are you driving here or catching the train.

bilboburgler has asked some key questions!

I loved Lecce and Trani.
Although Matera is not part of Puglia, including a night there is well worth considering IMO.

Bella Puglia (also Basilicata and Rome)

I am done. The end.

Probably will fly into Bari? or if you have a better suggestion?
Will hire a car.
Want to do both towns and coast

IMO, Bari is a good base for the visit of the places which are most visited by non European people: Matera, Castellana, Alberobello, Ostuni, Monopoli....
But it's rather too far away for the Salento or the Gargano.
So all depends on the interests of the OP.

This was our week in Puglia, half in Lecce and half in a "trull" house: 7 days/6 nights in Puglia

Matera is in Basilicata, and we visited there on our way out of Puglia. One of the most amazing places in all of Italy! Last year, it was busy there due to its prominence as an EU "cultural capital." This year, it might be busy when the latest James Bond film hits theaters. ×

thanks

a trulli house

You will find that in a car off the major roads that things take a long time, that you need GPS of some form. The whole area closes for a "pausa" from 12 to 3 or 1 to 4, when everything closes down except on the beach. The locals are very very laid back, so don't be surprised to see signs "back in 5 minutes" in shop windows, or 3 dishes delivered to your table when you ordered 2. I recommend turning off any Western European/North American hustle and just go with the flow.

Bari and Brindisi are both easy to access airports. Hire from broker Auto Europe. Italian car hire law is pretty special and down in Puglia, you are in an interesting area for crime. You need a broker you can trust for any nonsense thrown at you. Do not assume that your Hertz (or similar) is the same Hertz in Puglia, it could be a franchise and any relationship you have with your local Hertz is nada in Puglia.

Puglian beach etiquette is very much you pay to enter, you pay for a shaded bed and you stay roasting for a day. Often the local hotel has a deal with a beach bar so the prices are a bit lower. "Officially", every beach should have a public section. "Officially" is a word open to interpretation though to be fair things have become a lot better in the last 2 years. If staying in the country (rather than in town) try and stay in a Masseria (fortified farm) or a Trulli (field shed/poverty based housing converted into accommodation for tourists). On the beach, you'll find that some hotels even have yachts you can spend time on and there are some very special cliff-cave based restaurants in the area. In towns aim for the Centro storico and find small B&Bs which are often very good value. Use Tripadvisor which is pretty clean in europe.

Meant to type "trullo" house. I believe "trulli" is plural.

We used Hertz in Bari airport and booked it via Hertz national website and used our account with them. They were very professional and more expensive than if we had booked the Hertz car via Auto Europe. ×

One doesn't actually need a car to enjoy Puglia -- it depends on where, exactly, one wants to go.

Good to know that it cost more than it otherwise would have! Thanks, whitehall.

Hello Barry: I am attempting to complete my Puglia trip report from May this year. Also, click on my name to see my planning thread as I received wonderful advise from other Fodorites.

Regards Ger

Agreed. We sometimes travel with a car and sometimes without. We are glad we had a car in Puglia. However, you do not NEED a car to see many places in Puglia, and many people have a great time there without a car. We also agree with a popular travel blog that says: “Sure, there are trains and local buses, but using them exclusively to cross this varied region is going to take more time than most travellers have. It also means you’ll likely miss many of the small coves and cute little towns and villages that make Puglia so wonderful.”

Public transportation is not as plentiful as in other parts of Italy, so if you like to move about, careful planning is essential. So, don’t stay away if you do not want to drive BUT you will have more time and flexibility, as well as more places to explore, if you DO have a car. We would have missed many memorable stops, as well as our dream countryside trullo home if we didn’t have a car.

Well said Whitehall!

I did my trip by public transportation, as I stopped driving when I moved to London and no longer have a licence. It is doable, but challenging