I don’t want to hijack the other Italy thread.
I’ve got plane tickets booked for a trip in May. I’ve got the Sicily portion booked but I’ve done nothing for Puglia. We have 15 nights and will rent a car. Would love suggestions for places you liked.
Thanks
1 Like
Where are you going/staying in Sicily? I love Italy, and Sicily is on my bucket list! (I am sorry ai have zero knowledge of Puglia)
The main focus of the trip is Puglia but my husband wanted to also go to Sicily. We have 8 nights in Sicily but the first day is lost as we don’t arrive from the west coast of US till late.
We fly into Catania on the east coast of Sicily. I’ve booked 5 nights as a base in Ortigia. I’ve booked a market and cooking class, a day trip to Noto,Ragusa and Modica. Three nights in Taormina. Haven’t booked it yet but will do a day trip to Mt Etna.
2 Likes
Lecce is delightful. If you go south from there, Otranto is nice. The area around Bari has quite a bit.
Definitely rent a car. If you are interested renting a house in the southern part, lmk and I can DM you a very affordable option.
I’m not sure what it’s like these days since I went over 10 years ago, but we stayed all over the place. Most of the places were amazing, but I’d honestly skip Alberobello-- too touristy. Otranto, Ostuni, Monopoli and Lecce were great. Bari was worth a visit as well. My favorite parts were in the Salento (tooling around Otranto and South) --the beaches, the surprising churches (full of bones - see the Skull Cathedral), the festivals and lots of little hole in the wall places. At the time there were few Americans or really tourists at all in some places further South, but I don’t know if that’s still the case. Renting a car and driving around was fun. Watch out - some streets are very narrow and one-way- our car got stuck in Monopoli and the hotel had to take over to get us out. Make sure you time your visits carefully, know when things are open–people really do observe traditions with quiet afternoons, long lunch hours, and evening passeggiata. I think May is a great time to go. Have fun!
1 Like
Puglia is a delight. We stayed just outside of Ostuni at a masseria (Masseria Salinola). There are many masserias that have become charming hotels to choose from; we loved this one. With a car, it was a fantastic base for sightseeing. We also stayed in Lecce and Matera (which is in Basilicata, not Puglia, but a reasonable drive). Matera is one of the most compelling places we’ve been, with a rich and poignant history and profound atmosphere. Enjoy planning your trip.
1 Like
We were there in Fall 2023 and really enjoyed it, a place less visited by American tourists. We found the book “Lonely Planet Puglia & Basilicata” useful in describing Puglia and for planning our visit. It’s about 15 years old but the towns haven’t changed that much (the train times in the book are mostly wrong though). We also looked for blogs with stories from travel in Puglia.
Puglia is about 120 miles long from the Gargano Peninsula to the tip so you’re not going to see it all with the 7 days it sounds like you have available. My advice is to read thru the guidebook above or blogs and then pick an area or two. These days there are walking tours people have filmed for just about every town so you can find these on YouTube and that may help you decide between places you are considering (takes a lot of hours to watch them though!)
Lastly the Puglia region is rural Italy so in our experience shops/museums/churches close at 1pm and don’t reopen until 4-5pm. Restaurants are open for lunch until about 2pm. So when planning your time it’s good to get an early start, do your sightseeing, then relax in the afternoon.
We have 15 nights to spend in Puglia.
Thanks for all suggestions.
We loved our stay in the countryside of Tuscany on a previous trip. We like low key areas but also don’t mind a few stays in small cities. We love water.
1 Like
So far I’m thinking two nights in Matera, two in Bari at end as er fly home from there. I’m contemplating three different Masseria in different areas. My concern is am I missing something by not booking in a city like Lecce for at least a few nights.
Lecce is delightful. A good base for southern Puglia unless you’ve found a small southern town in which to plant yourself.
We loved Puglia! We stayed at Masseria il Frantoio in Ostuni and it was lovely. We did some side trips from there to Alberobello to see the Trulli houses, went to the beach and into nearby villages. We were there a number of years ago, but from what I can remember, I’m not sure I would prioritize Bari as a place to stay. I don’t recall thinking it was anything special. We went to Matera for the day on our way from Puglia to Sorrento and thought it was worthwhile. We didn’t stay there overnight but I think that could be a nice place to spend an night or two. Here’s a link to the Masseria: Masseria Il Frantoio Official Website | Book at the best price
Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking two nights in Bari since we have an early morning flight home from there. Maybe one night is enough.
1 Like
Look at Giovinazzo, especially the waterfront area.
I was there in April a couple of years ago, and it was delightful.
1 Like
Would love recommendations for lodging in Matera and Lecce. The masseria you stayed at looks great. I’m also looking at the one @cuppasbux recommends. A lot of places are already booked up so I’m having to rethink my route.
I’ve always been a good trip planner from my first trip to Europe at age 21 and using Europe on $10 a day. I do struggle more now as with the internet the wealth of information is so much larger and I find I get a bit of stuck on making final decisions.
I appreciate all the feedback.
Yes- the info can be overwhelming; the good news is there are many terrific options.
We stayed at Palazzo Gattini near the Duomo in Matera and enjoyed it. That was almost 10 years ago, so check current reviews. There are many interesting hotels in Matera, some built into the rock. Bring sturdy, extra comfortable walking shoes for the hilly, rustic pedestrian only streets. Lecce hotel was nice, but not very remarkable. Can’t find our records for it at the moment. All the best!
I booked a cave hotel today and a hotel in Lecce.
2 Likes
We were in southern Italy almost two years ago.
We stayed one night in Alberobello, and we thought that was nice because we were able to see it in the late afternoon/evening/early morning before all of the day trippers came in. I strongly suspect that being there with all the day trippers would have been a significantly less enjoyable time.
We also spent some time in Locorotondo which was just another lovely town…I really, really liked it. There’s nothing very particular about it, but if I were to move to Italy, it would be a strong contender for me just for the general feel of the town.
We spent two nights in Matera, and it’s unlike most places I’ve seen in Europe. We stayed two nights at Aque Cave which was definitely one of our most memorable lodgings from our many family trips and it had good breakfasts.
Hope you have a wonderful time in Italy!
1 Like
Just bringing this back up to let you know we have just returned from our trip. Our last stop before a night in Bari was at Masseria Salinola. We stayed 4 nights and it was a lovely ending to our three week trip. We enjoyed all the places we stayed but Masseria Salinola was our favorite.
6 Likes
@mom60- you made my day with this update. So glad that you enjoyed Daniel’s hospitality. The masseria is one of our favorite places. We loved the atmosphere there and to our surprise, chose to enjoy multiple dinners in house; we love exploring restaurants and only rarely repeat on a trip. Did you go to Matera as well? Another place we were glad to experience.
Daniel and his father were wonderful hosts. Daniel’s 5 year old son is already starting to “help”. We enjoyed our conversations with Daniel. We usually explore restaurants but we ended up having dinner there all four nights. We also enjoyed late afternoons relaxing at the pool. They easily accommodated our tastes if a menu item wasn’t our favorite. We also bought olive oil from them and I can’t wait to open it.
We spent two nights in Matera in a cave hotel. Matera is a not to miss spot in my opinion and I’m so glad we stayed overnight.
We went all the way down to Santa Maria di Leuca and explored a wide area of Puglia. We were early for the far south end and most things were still boarded shut. We had a nice stay at a Masseria in Castrignano del Capo where for the majority of our stay we were the only guests.
4 Likes