Puglia Without a Car - Please Help!
 

Greetings Fodorites,

My husband and I, in our 60's/70's, are planning a trip to Puglia and Sicily October/November of this year. We're independent travelers and while we've been to Italy numerous times, this will be our first time in Puglia and Sicily. We've made the decision not to rent a car, so we'll be relying on trains and other public transportation.

I've done a fair amount of research, but we need your expert advice! This is our thought so far...

Probably a total of six nights (could be more if needed) in Puglia with Lecce and Alberobello as our bases. Train from Rome to Lecce. Probably three nights in Lecce with a day trip to Otranto.

Train from Lecce to Martina Franca or Locorontondo, then taxi (?) to Alberobello. We want to see the towns and surrounding area including Ostuni and Cisternino. Also a day trip to Matera.Are there tour companies in that part of Italy that you'd recommend? Both for drivers and for day tours such as Matera, Ostuni, etc.? We've hired receptive tour operators in Egypt and India with much success (being driven from airports to hotels, from town to town, etc.) and I'd love to find similar companies in Puglia.

Next question is how to get from Puglia to Sicily. Should we hire a driver to drive us to Reggio Calabria for the ferry to Messina? Fly from Bari to Catania? Other ideas?

So as not to crowd this thread, I'll include questions about Sicily on another thread. Thanks in advance for your always excellent ideas and advice!
Ellen

I will answer your last question first- I'd fly from Bari to Sicily, that would be a lot easier. Also rather than take the train Rome to Lecce, fly from Rome to Bari. (this saves time as well)

We were in Puglia in 2014 and loved it but had a car and it is not hard to drive there. It is not super easy to get around to the different towns by public transport but if you search the trip reports here I remember at least one poster who was able to do it.
We drove to Matera for the day and used Nadia Garlatti as our guide, she was fantastic and gave us a great day.
Her email: [email protected]
I hope this is still current, as previously stated, it was 2014.

I've used public transport and cycled around Puglia and public transport operates at a variety of levels.

Probably the place to start is any of the Airport websites
https://www.bariairport.net/transport/buses.shtml this shows the local to town or Bari links, except in very high summer they ar pretty much on time. You will also see the "Pullman" services (means long distance) at the bottom, these are really good services, buy the ticket on line to get a reservation and they work very well.

Major city bus stations are also normally pretty good but the size and unfamiliarity can be a bit confusing but with a little patience are fine.

Then there are the two train companies. By chance, when Italy was reorganising the railways after the war they forgot the train company that goes south of Lecce and the result is a terrible service but maybe a bit of an adventure. In the rest of Puglia you have the normal service which is fine.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html but I'd probably start here https://www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/spo...bblici&r019=en

You'll notice that the map excludes the heel (Salento) "e' un casino"

Two things worth looking out for are agriturismo.it which are farm stays of various levels and can include converted Trulli with the opportunity to eat local foods prepared by locals who grew the food. The "pausa" in the summer is very long. It gets very hot and so basically by 1pm everything shuts until 3. Churches close at 12. For tourists who want to get on it is a pain but if you are in a restaurant they will still serve you but once you step out that door.. forget it. Since Italians eat their main meal at lunch this is not an issue but for you it might be.

Great info - thanks. raincitygirl, I also think that flying from Bari to Sicily would be a lot easier than making our way to the ferry, etc. And I agree that flying from Rome to Puglia would save a lot of time. Thanks for Nadia's information; she sounds like exactly what we want for a day trip.

bilboburgler, you gave me a lot to research! For me, a travel agent in my former life many years ago, doing the research is half the fun. I didn't know about the viaggiareinpuglia site, so I'll get into that.

When we thought we'd have a car I was looking at agriturismos outside of the towns, mainly because it would be easier to park there than inside the cities. But now that we know we won't have a car, I'm leaning toward staying in the center of Lecce and whatever city we choose in the northern part of Puglia. I'd love to stay in a trullo!

In Lecce consider staying in a B&B in the old town with a roof terrace. Not very international or Anglo-saxon but very Italian. BTW something will go wrong in Puglia it is that sort of place so just chill

https://www.yltourdmc.com/ Ylania arranged a holiday for in Puglia for 4 days and organised lots of visits, she knows everyone and though her website looks a bit posh she works hard and will hit your price target.

One thing worth understanding is most Puglian towns look pretty bad from the outside, lots of adverts, horrible blocks of flats and graffiti. But just about every one has a pearl in the centre inside this shell. So don't be disappointed by the bus station or the bus station, just walk a few blocks (in Puglia often only a100 yards) in the right direction and you will find real beauty.

These old centres are often narrow and one way systems so having a car becomes a real pain. You will see great grooves worn in buildings where multiple vehicles have tried to make the turn. Going Ped is the best solution. Often B&B owners will come and pick you up or send a taxi for you (you pay of course but not a lot). Don't expect lots of English being spoken but slow down and relax and people will help. B&B often don't give you breakfast but send you to a local bar with a ticket. A great way to get to know the locals.

Ellen, we are "without car" enthusiasts, but for many years, we had the advantage of having Backroads or other cycling company trips mid itinerary. That meant we could use their shuttles or our cycles.

Nevertheless, you might find my Puglia trip report helpful because of how we used Bari as our "command central" for public transport.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ntures-953404/

In the years since I tossed my cycling shorts (my female parts celebrated) , we still only do public transport everywhere, and there is always a way. I can't tell you how many times we've been told, "You can't do this without a car," and somehow, we not only get the job done but have great adventures along the way.
AZ

I would a million times rather take the train from Rome to Bari than fly (and even more take a train to Lecce than take a flight from Rome to Bari then train onwards to Lecce). It might take a little longer but not as much as you might think from looking only at the flight time. I get to see something along the way and have a much easier journey. And I can polish my environmental halo.

Six nights for Puglia does not sound very long (especially if you also wish to visit Matera) so if time permits I would extend your holiday.

Good point the train (depending on route) climbs through the mountains with loads of little tunnels etc very pretty and the Taranto section follows the coast, you could even stop for a night say in Potenza. Or you could change in Potenza (you need to change station) and take the narrow gauge to Gravina through empty fields. Gravina has ancient cave churches down in the gorge and is a worthy 24 hour visit in itself.

If you take the Taranto bound Intercity mentioned by Bilboburger, you may leave it at Ferrandina in order to change to a Matera bound bus and spend your first night at Matera.

On the same train you could visit Metaponto. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapontum

dreamon, I'm interested as to why you'd rather take the train from Rome (other than helping the environment which I do agree with). I agree that it affords views of the countryside that we wouldn't see from a plane (and we do love Italian trains), but to your point about us not having a lot of time in Puglia, flying would give us another half day. I found flights from Rome to Brindisi with a shuttle service to Lecce. I'd love for you to expound on your thoughts!

AZ, I'm in the process of reading your trip report - thank you for steering me to it!

Ciao.

Ellen, I was thinking of the journey but not thinking about whether it shortens your time in Puglia. However, when you compare journey times, there are direct trains Rome to Lecce from 5:30hrs (I'd take a picnic). If you fly, you need to get to the airport, wait to board your flight (assuming you've already checked in), fly, disembark and find the shuttle, shuttle to Lecce. At a guess, that's roughly 4hrs if all goes well. So the difference is not huge. The prospect of stopping for a night or two in Matera enroute (which you've mentioned you'd like to visit) would be also very attractive if you have the time. But in the end, it comes down to the fact that I like travelling by train and I don't particularly like travelling by plane. The train trip is part of the journey and adds to the experience; the flight is just a means to an end. I don't know what the train timetables will look like when you travel (direct trains are currently somewhat limited) - or even whether safe travel will be possible - but I hope you have a great holiday.

Thanks, Ellen for reading that trip report--and giving me an excuse to re-read and relive it. We have been so housebound (and OLD) that I am startled by how frisky we were. I was just months away from a hip replacement on that trip. I now feel like that famous epitaph: "I Told You I Was Ill"

Anyway, I was thinking, "Why did we fly instead of 'train'?" After all, we've done a lot of train journeys, especially with regional rail passes, before and since. I suspect the timing of flight/bus and/or shuttles did work out better, and flying may have been cheaper.

I am also convinced you will be able to find oodles of drivers and/or local tour within about two months. The obvious local entrepreneur of our trip years ago was "Mimmo" and I'd certainly start with his website which seems to have expanded services: https://www.trulliepuglia.com/en. Nevertheless, COVID has hit Italy hard, and I can see major booking agencies are straying away from firm tour dates.

I also suggest you do a search for "Puglia cooking class" websites for some direction. OMG--If you guys could learn to make taralli, that would be a lifetime achievement. Forget making orecchiette,taralli are life changing.

I'm going to look up what "Mr Blue Eyes" at the cafe parking lot has done. I suspect he and Mimmo are cousins.

Another thought I had came from that old trip report--the fact that a lot of Puglia resort crew and locals just go on to Sicily for the winter. I'm sure you can tap into some local Puglia chat rooms/threads for good info about best transport, etc.

I have trip envy!!!
AZ

AZ, I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report - what an accomplishment and such beautiful scenery to boot! We're all housebound, aren't we? But I'm in my "happy place" planning a trip once again, finally. Yes, Italy has been hit so hard, but my guess and hope is that Europe will open as soon as it can, and I'm hoping that will mean October/November is safe for planning.

I had a brainstorm (well, a thought, anyway) today. Three of us (my husband, our adult daughter and I) will meet in Italy for this portion of the trip. They'll come from different cities in the US and I'll already be in Europe. Instead of meeting in Rome, we'll meet in Naples which we love. We'll spend a few days there and take the train from there to Lecce. The more I research Puglia - and thanks to Fodorites who have given me info and good sites - I think it won't be hard to travel within Puglia by train or private transfer. I'm thinking of using Martina Franca as our base in the northern part of Puglia, although Alberobello is also very interesting and I love the trulli. I'm thinking Martina Franca as it's a little larger and has a good passeggiata which we love.

And finally, I'm thinking that we'll fly from either Brindisi or Bari to Catania for the Sicily portion of the trip. At least I have lots of time to plan!

Oh AZ, I forgot to mention taralli. I had never heard of them before your post and now I can't wait to taste them! Question...since our trip is still 8+ months in the future, should I order some on Amazon or wait to taste them in Italy?

None of my mail-order taralli tasted right, Ellen. And that's logical. Freshness is a factor. The cooking process is similar to that of a pretzel AND a bagel. Yeah, we'll accept packed pretzels, but since when would a mail-order bagel taste great? The product doesn't taste like a pretzel or a bagel. It tastes like great pie crust edges (I baked very good pies for eons) with fennel or ground pepper. Good pie crust goes stale FAST.

Heck, I might be overselling it. But since my husband and I don't eat junk food and we found ourselves inhaling these, it IS something different one should experience.

My husband's 76th birthday is coming up in February. I'm thinking I'll made some odd things for him that he's loved on our travels. Taralli would be perfect with pre-meal collection. Would end with a Coeur à la Crème, I think.
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"Happy Place". My sister and I were raised to "hit the road." Mom and Dad, earning barely above minimum wage, would plan months ahead, sending away to tourists boards, visiting AAA, etc. Overlapping maps would cover one wall of a room. The planning was so fulfilling to them. I so love Vivian Swift's quote: "Anticipation. In love and travel, getting there is half the fun. The lustful impatience, the passionate daydreams, the nerve-wracking waiting...lovers and travelers are all alike when they find themselves on the brink of a new adventure."
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Love your brainstorm.

AZ

Alessandra, I just read your trip report from your cycling trip in Puglia and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it - thanks for writing! I would love to think that I could do something similar but cycling more than about 20km is a challenge and when faced with a hill as often as not I get off and walk up. Cycling is a wonderful way of seeing a place so I really need to get off my backside and try to get a bit fitter (before I get too old) so I too can perhaps do these sorts of holidays.

​​​​​​Puglia is pretty flattish. To the north you have a plateau called the Murge and towards to coast and south you have a flat coastal area. The trick is to stay on one or the other.

Hi Ellen:

I did Puglia by public transportation in Spring of 2019. Here is my trip report:

Trip Report Ger’s Puglia Trip Report: 19 days in May 2019 - Page 4 - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

It is definitely 'doable', but you need a sense of humour and adventure, massive flexibility and a few decades of the rosary :).

I think I have covered off most of the peculiarities of the Puglia transportation system. PLEASE: DO NOT THINK YOU CAN RELY ON TAXIS - it is very hit and miss - mostly miss! I think you will find that many trips will be by bus, not train. Depending where you are going, the train station is often not near the town, while the bus goes into the centre.

Re Matera: I would strongly recommend staying at least one night (I would have preferred two).

Lecce is simply gorgeous and Martino Franca well worth the trip.

Regards Ger

Whether or not you can manage with public transit always ends up being a question of where and when. It's one thing if you're going to Bari or one of the larger towns. If you want to hit the tiny little hamlet at your own pace think carefully.

Also November is very much post beach season. Everything will be geared to the locals going to work or school.

Final point. At the current pace November of this year I seriously doubt Italy will be fully vaccinated. Best case that means social distancing on trains and buses. But I would not want to take a six hour train ride.

I personally wouldn't find a holiday enjoyable if I had to take precautions such as wear a mask, keep my distance from others, and worry about passing on the virus to others because they haven't yet been vaccinated. If that were the case - and it seems quite likely that it will - then I would defer. Whether it's train or plane is a separate question. I wouldn't feel safe in either until the virus is under control. I just hope it doesn't take too long before we can all travel safely again.

Thanks for posting your questions. Travel by car may soon be out of the question for us and there are still a few places we would like to visit, if possible, Puglia being one.

Ger, omg, thank you for steering me to your TR - don't know how I missed it when I was scouring Fodors for them. I just read the whole thing and I need time to digest the information, but it's really making me start to rethink our transportation in the region. Mainly because my husband who's in his late 70's has some mobility issues following spinal surgery a few years ago. He can walk, but it's slow and I just don't see us walking long distances uphill, etc. especially with luggage!

So...renting a car isn't out of the question. In most towns, we'd have to use parking outside of the ZTL and walk in, but I think that's doable. Or hire transportation/tour companies to drive us from place to place? I need to do some more research, obviously.

You may have seen that my thought at this moment is to split our stay between Lecce and the northern part of Puglia. At the moment I'm thinking a few nights with Martina Franca as our base in the north. Thoughts, Ger or anyone? We love the Passeggiata which seems to be pretty strong there and it's a little larger than some of the other surrounding towns. I was also interested in your thoughts about Monopoli...

Anyway, lots to consider, but there's time. Thanks again for putting your TR on my radar!

Ellen

Traveler Nick, interesting to read that you question whether Italy will be "open" next fall. Ugh! I agree with dreamon that if we have to wear masks and socially distance, we'll defer the trip. My optimistic view, although maybe naive, is that Europe will do everything within its power to open up for the tourist Euros. I guess time will tell, but at least the research I'm doing now will serve us well even if we have to postpone.

Ellen, I've been planning away for a fall UK trip, COVID or not. Whether I'm allowed in or not (my husband and I just got our first COVID shot). Otherwise, I'd just go nuts. The money we're not spending on travel is going into things like a yard fence and a new HVAC unit. My neighbor says, "Isn't is wonderful that you'll get this money back when you sell this house?" And my thoughts are, "Oh great, I'll be leaving this house with a toe tag, but I should be thrilled about the return on our fence." The idea of spending one more year inside doing more home upgrades just isn't doing it for me.

There is ALWAYS a driver to be found. ALWAYS. Last spring's trip I had to cancel (sniff) involved four different days of private hire in areas where I was told no such transport existed. Desk clerks at hotels, tourist boards and so on our gold mines of info that can tell you otherwise.

Yes, I've rebooked our trip for next September.

So plan on, my friend!
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dreamon--My sister, one year younger than I, did not start taking cycling trips until she turned 63, by which time my husband and I had taken well over 20 trips. She and her husband like to travel with friends (my idea of hell), and for some reason, the friend group decided a cycling trip was their next adventure. She had always thought we were crazy to do that type of travel. She really liked this group of friends, and because she has such an intense case of FOMO, she decided to give it a go. And she finally heard me when I told her, "If you don't feel like hitting the road, just take the day off! Get a taxi from your hotel and hit a shopping area." This particular trip offered e-bikes. She and her husband came back and said, "We totally get it why you enjoyed this."

I think the current schedule if all goes well I'll get my first short in October. Of course things aren't going well.

November is also the start of cold/flu season. If you think about this year they started locking down in November.

TAXIS IN APULIA
Every hotel or restaurant keeper can call a taxi for you. I got never problems with this solution.

bilboburgler and alessandra, thanks for the words of encouragement about cycling. The last year has really impacted my mood but I need to get up and get fitter.

My husband says that I am obsessed about travel (and he's right) so the inability to get out and see the world is hugely frustrating. However, knowing that the vaccine is not proven to prevent those who've had the vaccine from passing the virus on to others makes me extremely cautious. It means that people in my chosen destination have to have had an opportunity to fully vaccinate too, before I'd be prepared to visit (and as an Australian, our rate of infection is extremely low - and not by accident). My travel plans for 2020 and 2021 (and possibly beyond) have been shelved but I still continue to dream.

HI Ellen, I think if your husband has mobility issues you'd be better off renting a car, as long as one of you is comfortable driving in a different place. We had a car for our trip in 2014 and driving there was really pretty easy. We flew from Canada to Rome, went directly to the domestic terminal and got a flight to Brindisi which is a tad closer to Lecce. It is a small airport and it was easy collecting the car and accessing the highway for Lecce. We stayed at a BandB just on the outskirts of Lecce, with free parking, and it was a 1 km flat easy walk into the centre. Had 5 nights there (hotel was called Five Rooms BandB and was excellent, but not sure if it still exists) and used most of the days to drive to and explore towns to the south on the Salento peninsula and then walked into Lecce to explore and eat every night. The passegiata there is great and they are known for yummy ice cream shops which also sell chocolates and candy. You may be able to find a place closer to the centre which has parking or would give you instructions for a parking garage nearby.

I found this interesting blog with lots of good info on Puglia: neverendingvoyage.com

We then spent 5 nights in the Valle d'stria (where Martina Franca and Alberobello are, amongst other great little towns). We stayed at the Masseria Cervarolo not far from Ostuni and loved it. We did day trips from here and explored all the towns plus a day in Matera. I really wish we'd had more time so we could have spent a couple of days at this place just relaxing.

You could, of course use a shuttle from Brindisi to Lecce and if you just wanted to stay in Lecce maybe don't need a car, but to explore other towns and especially if you want to stay in Martina Franca I think a car would be a good bet. A couple of the towns, Locorondo and Martina Franca spring to mind are kind of on the top of hills (the old centres) and I will ask my husband to be sure but am pretty sure we drove in and parked without issues with ZTL.

Well, you've all given us a lot to consider! dreamon, yes I think my husband would be fine driving in Puglia. He's driven in Europe before without any issues. I had also considered the Brindisi airport which looks very manageable. We're actually going to spend a few days in Naples before we go to Puglia, so we have the option of driving, training or flying to Puglia from there. And we'll probably fly out of Brindisi to Catania. I looked at the Five Rooms B&B and it looks absolutely beautiful! Every site I found said to contact it for information, so I'll do that soon.

It's interesting how different this part of Italy is from the north.

Neckervd, good to know that if we did need a taxi, one could be called. Also, some of you have given me names of tour/transportation companies which could also provide solutions. So much to research, but fortunately, I love doing it!

On a positive note, we've both received our first dose of vaccine this weekend. We feel very fortunate knowing that it's so hard to come by. Still keeping my fingers crossed that by fall Europe will be able to welcome visitors.

There are direct intercity buses between Naples and Bari. They run about 4times daily and the journey takes less than 4 hrs. OW fare around 30 EUR/pax.
https://www.marinobus.it/

Neckervd, I looked at the bus and it looks like a viable option. It or the train would be much less hassle than flying, especially with checked luggage which both my husband and I will have. I think the bus goes to Brindisi, too, which is a little closer to Lecce. Thanks for the info; I've bookmarked it.

I'm of the age where walking about and going to the loo on the train superseeds the joys of a four hour bus journey. Just a wee thought. :-) plus the views are better on the train.

Haha, bilboburgler, I hear you! We discussed the options yesterday and at this moment, we're leaning toward the train. We do love Italian (and most all European) trains. Now I just have to figure out whether we start out in Lecce or in the Itria Valley and then decide which town to stay in in addition to Lecce. So many decisions left, but so fun to plan!

Depending on what you are doing while in Lecce, it might make sense to get the car before or after Lecce. Driving into and out of Lecce was the only remotely difficult driving we did in Puglia, but it was a necessity for us. There are parking garages outside the ztl, plus of course ask your accommodations.
One point in favor of just bring the car from Naples (not from within the city) is that you can stop at Matera. If that is in your plans, I would consider just driving.

Naples - Lecce by train takes 5 1/2 hrs; change at Caserta.

We flew on Volotea from Bari to Palermo, 50 minutes. Airline reminded us of Southwest. They also flew to Catania. On time, inexpensive, friendly staff.

Thank you, HappyTrvlr, for introducing me to Volotea; I had never heard of it and it doesn't come up on Kayak. This is one of the many reasons that Fodor is so valuable!

I reserved a B&B in Martina Franca yesterday; La Neviera dell'Arco. https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/la-...l-39-arco.html. I wasn't seeing anything that checked all the boxes - including being in the center of town - until this, so I grabbed it. Got a nice message from its owner. I have to start working on Sicily soon...

raincitygirl, FiveRoomsB&B in Lecce looks beautiful also. I'll reach out to them if they're still open.

I hope they are open, it was really a lovely place to stay. Very helpful people, good breakfast included, free parking, nice outdoor space to sit outside the room, plus indoor common space was nice. It wasn't really hard to find from the airport in Brindisi since it's in the newer part of Lecce on the outskirts, and as I said, a flat easy walk into the centre.

Ok, this is TOTALLY off the wall, Ellen, but I always find pre-reading to be the most important part of the anticipation of travel. COVID mutants are driving me to distraction as I am sure they are doing to you. I hope my short reading list helps you get a feel of Puglia/Southern Italy.

Here is what I read other than tour books before our Puglia trip:

"Christ Stopped at Eboli" by Carlo Levy
“Seasons in Basilicata” by David Yeardon
"Casa Rosa" by Francesca Marciano

I think there was another I was reading at the time from an American married to a woman from Puglia—it discussed their culture clash—but I can’t find a record of it.

My other BIG recommendation because you are going on to Sicily is the “Gone With the Wind” of Italy: “The Leopard”, set in the Garibaldi era. I can’t believe I did not read it a few days ago (I was an English major!). I had been watching Scorsese’s Fran Liebowitz interview series, “Pretend It’s a City”, and she mentions seeing the film “The Leopard” recently where the entire audience is made up of film directors.

I had never heard of it. I Googled it and read the fascinating story of a great novel I had never read and a great movie that had been chopped to bits by American studio editors. Now that the movie has been restored to 3/4s of its full length and there are no longer any English subtitles, we can appreciate the sumptuous filming, soundtrack and performances, particularly by Burt Lancaster.

It took me two sittings to watch the complete film because I’d say it’s tedious in places. However, now I have picked up the book. Worth it!