barry3040

We are visiting Puglia in September for 10-12 days, and this time will only do Bari and southwards. We will spend 2 nights in Bari and Lecce respectively, where we won't need a car.
We will pick up a car in Brindisi and will drop it off there or Lecce. We want to visit Polignano a mare, Monopoli. Alberonbello, Locorotondo, Ostuni, Ortranto, Gallipoli, Matera.
Where would the 2 best bases, for 3 nights each be to accomplish this? We would like at least one of these, or both, to be on the seaside.
Thanks

raincitygirl

We are going to Puglia in June, love it there. For seaside I would pick Gallipoli, there's a nice beach right in the town or many beaches nearby and you can book into a bagno at some of those. For seeing the towns of the Itria valley you could pick Ostuni or Alberolbello ( a bit more congested with tourists) or Locorotondo, all are nice towns, Ostuni is the biggest one. Just be aware of the issue of entering towns in your car with the ZTL restrictions. We are spending 4 nights in Ostuni this trip and chose a hotel just on the outskirts, down the hill from the city centre because of that. If you choose something right in the centre you will have to park in one of the lots on the outskirts and get a taxi or ape shuttle to your lodgings.

Matera is not in Puglia, it's in Basilicata but a day trip from the Itria valley is possible (we did it), however, you don't have very much time, 3 nights is really only 2 days, so you may want to save it for next time.

neckervd

Matera can easily be visited by train from Bari. A car isn't of any utility there anyway. Train connections to Alberobello are excellent too.
For the rest: Ostuni (historic city or seaside settlement) and Otranto (or a agriturismo nearby) or Gallipoli, resp the coast south of it (Torre San Giovanni).

barry3040

What about Monopoli (instead of Ostuni) and Otranto as a base>

progol

We were in Puglia for a week this past fall and stayed 4 nights in Polignano a Mare before going to Lecce for 3 nights. We then stayed in Matera for 2 nights, which I’m so glad we did. It has a wonderful ambience at night and lovely to wander in the morning.

We opted to go to Polignano because I found a wonderful Airbnb; otherwise, we probably would’ve stayed in Monopoli. It’s got a nice mix of “real life” with an active port, and good restaurants and nice location on the water. Then again, we really enjoyed our stay in Polignano, which is a short drive from Monopoli. Either place would make a good base for touring that part of Puglia.

Have you been to Lecce before? We loved it and found it also a good place to base ourselves. There is a large parking lot just outside the walls of the old town, which was inexpensive and having the car there was not a problem. I’d consider it as a base for that area.

From Lecce, we drove to Matera for 2 nights, which was kept in a garage outside of the historical center. The hotel had an arrangement with the garage so the rate was reasonable per night and we were shuttled there and back. I’d encourage you to stay there if you can. Matera is unlike any other place and worth spending a couple of nights.

If interested, I’m posting the link to my trip report, covering the Italian portion of our fall trip. There are a lot of photos so it might give you a sense of the area. We didn’t go to all the places you mention wanting to visit, but we did go to some. I hope this helps. Enjoy - it’s such a great region to explore!

From the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian: Part 2 - ITALY!

whitehall

Here is a link to our trip report on Puglia: 7 days/6 nights in Puglia. We based in Cisternino and Lecce.We don't recommend Cisternino per se, but stayed in a country house there so that we could experience a trullo home. Absolutely loved Lecce. Would have considered Monopoli or Ostuni as the second base if it were not for the trullo. After we stayed in our trullo airbnb, we noticed an international story about the most popular rental in the world, and it turned out to be our trullo, which was quite inexpensive at the time.

And, although not a a part of our report, since it is not in Puglia, we did spend two nights in Matera, and it was one of the most incredible places we have stayed in Italy.

neckervd

Otranto and surroundings is OK.
Monopoli is a city with some 50.00 inhabitants and almost no beaches deserving this name. But with a car, you can of course do day trips to better places.
IMO the historic center of Ostuni is nicer.

Farina

If you could only visit Ostuni or Locorotondo which one would you recommend??

HappyTrvlr

I second Progol’s recommendation of Polignano a Mare. We spent 9-10 days there and loved using this town as a base for Puglia. I agree Monopoli would be another good, similar place to stay.
We had a sea view room and never tired of our view.
For a second base perhaps go inland a little to a hill town. We traveled as far south as Lecce, north to Trani which was very interesting.
We spent a day over in Matera, kind of interesting but also a sad history. We were glad we weren’t staying there rather back in lovely Polignano a Mare.

isabel

I also stayed in Polignano a Mare and loved it. Used it as a base to visit Monopoli, Alberonbello, Locorotondo, Ostuni, etc. Then we moved down to Lecce and used it as a base to visit Ortranto, Gallipoli, etc. We visited Matera on our way to Puglia (spent 2 nights, one full day). We had a car for all of it. Here's my trip report - July in The Mezzogiorno – 3 weeks in Southern Italy: Amalfi Coast & Puglia. The photos are now here: https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f274018858

mila0229

Hi whitehall,

We are going to Puglia at the beginning of September. We booked trullo house. It does not have A/C. The owner says it is naturally cool there. I have my concerns. Di you have A/C in your truillo house? Please let me know.
Thank you.

whitehall

It did not have air-conditioning, but we were there early October, and the weather was fine then without it. The first week of September might be different. I have read that Trulli houses are naturally "cooler" than many traditional homes, because of the thick walls and smaller expanse of windows. If you get August-like weather, this may present a problem.

HappyTrvlr

We loved every minute of our ten days in Polignano a Mare!

mila0229

Thank you!

bilboburgler

Trulli, base is often below ground and with small windows facing north and shuttered. Certainly as cool as it gets pre-aircon.

But, if you leave the doors open and the windows un shuttered at the wrong time it can be a problem. So follow the advice of the owner.

neckervd

The OP didn't come back since March 8th

mila0229

Thank you!

TravelerKaren

barry3040: We are going to this area in September for 2 weeks after a week in Sorrento & Amalfi. Our itinerary is very similar to Isabel's. We are spending a night in Paestum, 2 nights in Matera, 4 nights in Lecce, 3 nights in a masseria in the Ostuni countryside and 3 nights in Polignano a Mare. We plan to visit all the towns mentioned here. You might want to experience a Masseria in the Ostuni countryside for something different. There are lots of them with easy access to these towns.

Isabel: Thank you for your detailed itinerary. It's very helpful and will incorporate your suggestions and restaurant recommendations into our planning.