Julies,
This is a very interesting thread, one that'll likely inform a great many travelers.
IMHO, Puglia or Croatia comes down to your gut instinct after sifting through all these above posts. One could also consult the forums for RS and LP, plus check out the Reddits for each locale.
Happy travels wherever you choose.
I am done. The choice

I know north part of coast, Istria. what u want to know

I’m sorry, what, bilboburglar- Alberobello, “a bit dull”?? Wow, has everyone here lost their collective minds? You really cannot compare one country or region of one country to another. They’re both beautiful. Personally, I loved Puglia, and hope to return soon and do some genealogical studies of my family from Bari and surrounds. It’s not why I love Puglia. It’s the same reason I love Sicily and all the regions of Italy. Its beauty , its people, food, architecture. If people think pugliese architecture is dull, perhaps staying home would be better.

I read your comments about visiting Dubrovnik long ago, and it brought back such great memories.


I was also there long ago, and remember those ladies with the signs--not only in Dubrovnik (we had a contact there--he was an orthopedist who had set my dad's hand when he broke it on a visit a few years prior, a to-do in a taxi.)

We stayed with.Dr. Rapayaviches (??) family in Dubrovnik.

But then ferrying to the islands in the Adriatic like Hvar.

I'm not even sure there were hotels--just the ladies in black with the "zimmer Frei" signs!! (Another reason I remember Hvar was because its as the first time I visited a "naturist' beach!!)

After the coast,, we went to Belgrade to get on the Orient Express, second class, for the trip to Istanbul. Quite a blast packed into second class with all the Turkish "gast arbeiters" going home.... The conductor finally gave us refuge in his compartment during the day.....

Thanks for the memories!!! I'd never return to Dubrovnik.


In Puglia, not only the Valle d'Itria but also the more northern UNESCO-listed Murge (Altiplano di Murgia National Park) with green rolling hills and some of the best food in the region, might be great cycling terrain.