Itinerary support for two weeks in Puglia in May 2025

[rugbyexpat]

After input from a few folks I have come up with a plan for my trip. As it is my first visit to Puglia I want to see as many interesting sights as possible.
One of my lists would have added a couple more weeks to my visit. Whoops!
Anyway here goes:
May 7th - arrive in Bari from USA via Barcelona
7th to 11th in Trani, base 1 (thanks Tina)
-working on what to see in that area using public transport, would like to visit Vieste but too difficult by train.
11th Pick up car in Bari from AutoEurope and drive to Castro di Lecce
11th to 15th in Castro, base 2, and make lists for visits to sights in that area using the car or train.
15th drive to Putignano, base 3 and again make lists of best sights to visit in this area, again car and/or train. Leave on May 19th.
19th drive to Bari, drop off car and stay 2 nights to look around Bari. Not sure if I will stay one more day depends on what I should see.
21st/22nd take train to Rome and maybe stay 1 or 2 nights in an area I like - Trastevere.
Then flight back to US.
I would really appreciate some help to review my Itinerary to see if I am trying to put too much into my trip (not really Slow Travel) and if I should go to no more than one interesting town each day, plus take some time off for the town I am staying.
While in Trani, I hope to use the train to Barletta, Molfetta and ??? where else?
I am assuming after Trani a car will be better to see most places south of Trani.
Finally, I have booked very reasonably priced accommodation which is why I am staying in mostly off the beaten track in a couple of stays. All hotels can be cancelled if you all think I should stay somewhere else.
Any and all feedback will really be appreciated, I used to rely on my wife for sensibility, but now I just think, "what would she think about this". So looking to you now for your help.
Many thanks

 

[Pauline]

Trani 4 nights, north of Bari on the coast
Castro 4 nights, south of Lecce, near Oltranto
Putignano 4 nights, north of Alberobello and Truli towns

How have you picked your destinations? The only one I have heard of is Trani (and I’m probably thinking of Atrani on the Amalfi Coast).

We were in Puglia a few years ago and spent a week in Ostuni and 2 nights in Matera. We had a car and explored from Ostuni. We flew in and out of Bari. I did not love the area south of Oltranto but we just visited on a day trip. A bit flat and away from the interesting things I thought. I liked Ostuni, Oltranto for the church mosaics and the Truli towns. Loved Matera and I think it is best to spend a couple of nights there instead of doing a day trip.

The one place I wish we had stayed or at least visited was Lecce.

You’ve probably read these but I will list them here for anyone searching on this topic - trip reports and travel articles.

Puglia Fall 2023 Trip report

Puglia has become an increasingly popular travel destination over the last couple of decades, with Italians as a summer sea and fun destination while foreigners mainly visit Lecce for the extreme Baroque architecture, Alberobello and the valle d’Itria for the ‘trulli’ and landscapes, and...

www.sloweurope.com

Puglia Trip 2018

Folks in this forum were so helpful to me in my planning if our trip that I wanted to post a report of it as we go. Part 1. Trani. Love it, love it, love it. Stayed in a very sweet B&B called Ill Moretto. Nice owner but I probably would not recommend it based on street noise. Not a busy street...

www.sloweurope.com

Puglia and Basilicata

We have arrived in Ostuni! The flight went well. Driving out of Bari airport was kind of insane. We saw an Ape on the road (that's when I know I am in Italy), a hooker and lots of olive trees. Found our way into Ostuni but could not follow the owner's complicated directions. Luckily @jonathan...

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Puglia - Mostly Puglia..thoughts, comments, etc

Quick thoughts on my first trip to Puglia…pros, cons, errors, etc We took trains to our destinations.A car would have been a better option. Bari..the old city is fascinating..worth a day…we had three nights in Bari..two too many by my book. We spent one day in Monopoli..pretty seaside...

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Puglia - Sassi of Matera

The Sassi of Matera (Sassi di Matera) is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, dating from the Palaeolithic era. It is the best example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region. The houses are carved into the rock of a hillside in a river valley. There are...

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Puglia - Puglia and Matera in 10 Days

This travel note was written in 2005. We have updated it and checked all hotels and restaurants (February 2018). Puglia is a region in southern Italy, at the "heel" of the boot. Puglia is sometimes called "Apulia". We visited Puglia in the last half of January 2005. The region is very large and...

www.sloweurope.com

 

[rugbyexpat]

Thanks Pauline,
I picked my bases by looking at towns I would like to stay in then expanding my view to less expensive towns with an opportunity to park, with reasonable restaurants, old churches/towns.
Castro di Lecce is 30 mins south of Otranto so can cover that area including Lecce. Are you suggesting not looking here as there are no interesting places? I am open to changing my itinerary to ensure I do not waste time in some areas as there must be so many other places to visit..
Also, Putignano is inland from Monopoli, again same philosophy on choosing that town.
Seems like a large catchment area for interesting places, which ones should be high on my list? Ideas/thoughts?
Trani is an interesting one, after reading a trip report by one of the members, but on another Forum, it seemed too good to miss, since then a number of reports/feedback at other sites suggest visiting Trani. Incidentally, it is north of Bari, in between the towns of Molfetta and Barletta.
Thanks for showing me the list of articles, I believe I have read one or two but will definitely review all of them.
Once again many thanks

 

[Ian Sutton]

First up, I think Trani makes huge sense, as it gets you to your destination very fast after arrival at the airport. It's charming and picturesque with its Venetian architecture.

Delaying getting a car? On one hand this is very sensible, avoiding driving when tired / jet-lagged, whilst allowing you to become accustomed to the traffic as a pedestrian, and in a base that's not a 'bright lights' city that can delay recovery from jet-lag. On the other, Bari is one of the easiest airports we've encountered for driving from, as there are very quiet service roads around it, and easy access to the autostrada, plus Trani is a short distance away. It also avoids a functional journey to Bari to pick up the car! If there's nowhere near Trani where you want to go, but would need a car, then I reckon you've made the right decision. If there is, then hiring a car from the off will be easier than most other airports in Italy.

Putignano. I think we drove through it, but never stopped. It's certainly convenient for Alberobello, Locorotondo etc. Of those Trulli area towns, we liked Martina Franca and Locorotondo the best, but each has it's differences & own charm.

Definitely value to be had in Puglia for accommodation, and off the beaten track can be a better experience than tourist-friendly (I'm thinking of alberobello as an example of tourist friendly).

Overall we found the driving 90% relaxing on open, wide and quiet roads, punctuated by 10% stressful wiggling through busier and narrow roads in the towns, where one-way systems also add to the confusion / stress (plus the autostrada being a bit busy on the 3 junctions nearest to Bari). As an antidote to this, have the navigator plan the route through each in advance on phone / sat nav / paper / map, plus to have a preferred and back-up parking location for each town you visit, with route to them prepared. That should help manage stress levels, and apart from that the driving can be genuinely enjoyable.

 

[Alpinista]

I would find a way to include Matera in your plans. We based in Lecce and enjoyed it, but can only see so many carved cherubs in Baroque churches to hit overload. One town that stood out to us was Locorotondo with its narrow streets and whitewashed buildings (and local wine) which reminded us a lot of being in Greece.

 

[rugbyexpat]

Many thanks Ian, I am "on the fence" re a car for Trani, thought a leisurely visit for a couple of days would charge the batteries in this old engine of mine.
Trani seems interesting to walk around and stop for a drink or two, plus include the train to Molfetta or Barletta one day. Although, if I had a car I could visit Vieste, which looks really nice.
I have a long list of places to possibly visit, so will list them here to attract thoughts on the best towns/area to spend time in. BTW, I have taken note of your thoughts on Martina Franca and Locorotondo.
Martina Franca, Locorotondo, Alberobello, Matera, Monopoli, Polignano a Mare, Brindisi, Galatina, Ostuni, Gravina in Puglia, Barletta or Molfetta, Lecce, Gallipoli, Vieste (if I hire a car for Trani)
Obviously a wish list, but getting down to the best manageable places to visit is the aim.
Once again, many thanks and as one of my favorite travel writers say - "Keep on Traveling"

 

[rugbyexpat]

Many thanks Alpinista, I have taken note of Matera, Locorotondo and Lecce for my "must see" list of towns to visit.
I have also listed quite a number in a reply to Ian, so your thoughts on the best of these that should be included in my 14 day Itinerary would be appreciated.
Take care

 

[Tina]

Hi and welcome to SlowEurope, I thought it was you and then when I saw "keep on travelling " I was sure!
I probably wouldn't bother with a car in Trani, just to relax more for the first few days. Barletta, Molfetta and Giovinazzo are all worth half a day at least. There's the most to see in Barletta, but Giovinazzo is beautiful for just wandering and sitting around.
Vieste is beautiful but there are no trains, you'd need a very strong stomach to get there by bus. The road from the south towards Vieste is panoramic but narrow and with continuous bends. I'd give it a miss on a first trip to Puglia.
Your criteria for choosing where to stay sounds good.
I haven't been to Castro yet, hope to this autumn. I think it's a good base. Otranto and Lecce and Galatina would be my three choices for that area. But you're not far from Specchia. I haven't been yet but it's both Touring Club Bandiera Arancione and one of the Borghi più belli d'Italia. Lecce is a must for the over the top Barocco. I prefer the Romanico Pugliese of Trani cathedral and those jn Bari, but you have to see Lecce ....
Putignano could be a good base but Martina franca would be more central. From one or the other I'd see Alberobello Locorotondo Ostuni Martina Franca Monopoli Polignano. They are all small and involve strolling around getting a feel of the place so one in the morning followed by lunch and a rest and one in the afternoon/evening wouldn't be too much. Ostuni will be the most tiring.
I can understand you can't add two extra weeks but I'd be inclined to add two extra nights for Matera, or, if you can't, take one from Trani. Matera is incredibly beautiful and fascinating (and really tiring too, up and down all those steps...)
As to doing too much, yes, probably, but it's difficult to be close to a lot of beautiful places and not to go to see them! I'd make Trani the slowest part of the trip, it's just such a nice base. Base 3 will be the busiest...
You may want to post on the Puglia section of tripAdvisor as well. There are a couple of regulars - dusibello and michelergo who know the area very well and give excellent advice.

 

[Pauline]

Putignano could be a good base but Martina franca would be more central.

I agree. As someone mentioned above, this is a charming town.

 

[Ian Sutton]

We liked Gravina, as it's rather quirky. An otherwise humdrum town, split in the middle by a huge ravine. Locals seemed friendly, including a gentleman who walked out of his way to give us directions. Might be worth timing for the weekly street market.

 

[rugbyexpat]

Apologies to all for my late reply, my back and front gardens needed mowing and my roses needed deadheading.
So, many thanks Tina for your very helpful input and have now decided to add two more days to stay in Matera. I then needed to change dates for Bari, my final town.
I didn't change my Putignano stop to Martina Franca after reviewing availability, as I currently have a place with a cost that's very reasonable with parking at the property.
It seems apart from booking the car and my train trip to Rome and deciding on number of days in Trastevere, I am pretty well done.
Of course, I still need to plan my trips to various towns from my bases, so still have some fun bits to do, then research each place.
Ian , I can plan my visit to Gravina for the Wednesday market, any other ideas on good weekly markets in other towns/villages. I enjoy markets, the closest I have been to one was earlier this year while on a visit to Cinque Terre I stayed in La Spezia - the market was outside my front door, great fun.
So once again many thanks to all.
And
Keep "Slow Europe" Traveling.

 

[Ian Sutton]

I tend to look on either the local tourist info site, or occasionally the local commune site, and if that's still drawing a blank, a google search for mercato settimanale and the region / location (weekly market).

IIRC the Gravina one was morning only, as they have to close some roads for it.

 

[Tina]

For all the markets of Puglia, look here
You can put the province or ' comune', that is municipality, at the top

 

[Pauline]

Here is an article about traveling in Puglia by @Valerie.

How to Spend 7 Days in Puglia, Italy — InternationalLiving.com

Discover Puglia, Italy's stunning coastal region. Explore whitewashed towns, savor local cuisine, and enjoy scenic beaches from Polignano a Mare to Lecce.

internationalliving.com

 

[rugbyexpat]

Thanks Pauline, really nice article.

 

[berliej]

You have to include Matera, and not just for a couple of hours. Very special and fascinating place. I would stay 3 nights. First go to the museum where there is a good movie explaining the history of Matera.

 

[rugbyexpat]

Thanks Berliej, like I say in a previous mail, I have now added two additional nights to my trip to include the the two in Matera.