Hi- we will be in Puglia in September and are deciding on two bases to explore. We are looking at Ostuni as one base and need a second. We want time near the sea and love a great village or town with charming cafes and restaurants too. Would greatly appreciate any help- so hard to choose! We will have a car as well. Grazie Mille!

You might consider Lecce or Trani.

here’s my notes for our Puglia trip from 2019.

We fly from Paris to Bari on Saturday, May 24, get a rental car and then head to Matera for 2 days. Reserved at Locando San Martino which I think gets some love on these boards. Monday, we drive to Masseria Iazzo Scagno near Martina Franca for 3 nights. Our son and his girlfriend will be joining us on Tuesday and rates looked really good for their more frugal pocketbooks. It has great ratings on TA andBooking.com. Our last 2 nights is a splurge on us at La Sommita in Ostuni. It's a lot of moving around but we wanted to stay in villages as well as countryside.

Hi JW,
Below is our eight year-old TR. Although it does not yet have photos, there is still enough in it to probably have something useful for those who are Puglia-bound.
Btw, dunno whether you've ever heard of the rock band Rush (the pride of Toronto), but their two surviving members apparently spent time in Ostuni this past summer at some health-oriented agritourism retreat.
I am done. The coastal
Bella Puglia (also Basilicata and Rome)

I'm among the fans of the Locando di San Martino, but would note that Matera is not actually in Puglia ... though it is close enough that many people, quite understandably (IMO) include it in their plans for that part of Italy.

Since you will have a car, Marina dii Ostuni (the beach) is just a few minutes' drive from Ostuni town.

If you want a second base on or near the sea, you have many options:

The town of Nardo is a picture-perfect Salento town with a central piazza and lots of small shops and restaurants, and several excellent hotels and apartments to rent.
A ten minute drive from there is one of the prettiest little sandy coves in Puglia--Santa Maria al Bagno, which is part of Nardo city. So you could spend the day at a beach club there, and return to your hotel in Nardo for dinner and to sleep.

There are not a lot of good hotels ON the beach in Puglia. Many of the ones that exist are of the "villaggio" type, a sort off Italian AI popular with domestic families with children.

But you might find some beachfront, small hotels in Castro Marina. I'd look there. also look close to Gallipoli; the sandy beaches re mostly on the western coast of Puglia.

Some of the best beaches are in the Gargano; the town of Vieste is gorgeous--all gleaming white marble. And below the town, sandy beaches stretch inn both directions, and the ones north of town are lined with many hotels that include beach club admission with your room rate.


If a visit to Gargano is possible, I can give you a few recommendations for hotels and restaurants.

Here is some information about our stay in Nardo, a few months ago (September, 2025). The section about Nardo begins with post #36. This is a paragraph Ii wrote about staying in Nardo; you can read the entire thread in the link, below:

<<<Now in NARDO and this is one gorgeous town; locals says it is the mini Lecce and, once you walk around the historic center, and the gorgeous square==filled with exquisite Baroque buildings (many churches) you will understand that this is true. And there are NO groups of tourists wandering around; we've not seen any tourists so far except at this ten-room hotel, PALAZZO TAFURI, in the historic center. The hotel was a tip from RainyCityGirl and much appreciated by both of us. One attraction that must draw visitors in summer is the proximity to the beautiful beaches of the Ionian Sea; these are sandy rather than the mostly rocky ones of the Adriatic side.>>>>


The MEZZOGIORNO!!! Four Destinations in PUGLIA including two new to us

If you do go to Matera, and I hope that you do, there is a hotel I that city that ranks among the most unique and wonderful I've ever stayed at anywhere in Europe.
The name is SEXTANTIO LE GROTTE DELLA CIVITA; it books up well in advance. They offer both "cave" rooms and regular rooms. I can't speak more highly about any hotel.
We were there about two years ago and plan to return in May.

LOCANDA DI SAN MARTINO is also a nice property; be aware that you may have to navigate many steps if you stay there.