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Suggestions for travel in Puglia April 9-15, 2022

Karen P

New Member
I will be in Puglia in April 2022 April 1-8 is booked, departing from Bari on April 16th.

I would like to set up an itinerary from April 9th to April 14th. So, departing Monopoli on Saturday April 9th and arriving in Bari on April 14th. My concern is how to get from one place to the other during the week. I can rent a car if necessary, but is it necessary?

Long distance walking is not possible and a hotel or resort with a heated pool would be great.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

Karen
 
We based a 6 day visit in Lecce, which centered our trips more southerly than your two points above, but will share our itinerary. My retrospective on the trip was that we would have been better splitting the trip centers between Lecce and something further west. Our hotel in Lecce was enjoyable, but no pool ;-( The city of Lecce was a treat, but can be overwhelmed by the numbers of cherubs in the Baroque churches.

We went all the way to Santa Maria di Leuca just to say we had been to the end of the heel of the boot and truly enjoyed the wild coastal scenery and the Grotta Zinzalusa on the way, but that is truly an outlier for most sane people.

For the other stops: Visited Caserta on an overnight stop on our drive from Lucca. Then, Trani, Otranto, Gallipoli, Taranto, the Trulli circuit (Metaponto, Alberello, Locorotondo, etc.), Ostuni, Matera. We skipped past Bari and visited Brindisi on our drive back up the coast towards home.

Matera, of course, stands out as the most interesting stop, but each of the above locations offers something unique and rewarding. My personal favorite was Locorotondo since it just appeared as a white vision on a hill as we approached and the narrow streets and cafes had a special character to them. Each coastal town is a photographer's paradise.

We were there in June, so your weather will be a little different. Hope you have a great trip!!
 
We based a 6 day visit in Lecce, which centered our trips more southerly than your two points above, but will share our itinerary. My retrospective on the trip was that we would have been better splitting the trip centers between Lecce and something further west. Our hotel in Lecce was enjoyable, but no pool ;-( The city of Lecce was a treat, but can be overwhelmed by the numbers of cherubs in the Baroque churches.

We went all the way to Santa Maria di Leuca just to say we had been to the end of the heel of the boot and truly enjoyed the wild coastal scenery and the Grotta Zinzalusa on the way, but that is truly an outlier for most sane people.

For the other stops: Visited Caserta on an overnight stop on our drive from Lucca. Then, Trani, Otranto, Gallipoli, Taranto, the Trulli circuit (Metaponto, Alberello, Locorotondo, etc.), Ostuni, Matera. We skipped past Bari and visited Brindisi on our drive back up the coast towards home.

Matera, of course, stands out as the most interesting stop, but each of the above locations offers something unique and rewarding. My personal favorite was Locorotondo since it just appeared as a white vision on a hill as we approached and the narrow streets and cafes had a special character to them. Each coastal town is a photographer's paradise.

We were there in June, so your weather will be a little different. Hope you have a great trip!!
Thanks. I assume you had a rental car. Where did you pick it up and drop it off? Was there public parking in all of these towns?
 
My wife has her family home near Lucca that, so far, she's let me visit with her for the past 34 years -- I try to keep the streak intact as best I can ;-) -- we drove to Puglia from Lucca and returned up the east coast and eventually back to Lucca. We transit through FCO, so car pick-up/return there.

The only place we had trouble with parking was at our hotel in Lecce -- had to use a valet service for off site parking there. All the towns had convenient parking. I'm trying to remember any spots that had a longer distance walk into the historic district or hilly walking -- the parking in Locorotondo was below the hilltop and had to walk up to the town. Matera was a fair amount of up and down walking. The seaside towns were all easy walking, as I remember (this trip was 2014, so will defer to folks with better info).

Let me add to my comment above about having two bases. We visited Matera as a day trip. If doing again, this would be a place that would be great to stay at least overnight (if mobility issue allows) and expand the experience there and use as a base for other day trips.
 
Hi Karen
Some locations positively demand a car, but merely travelling between towns in the area could be done by bus/train.

In terms of driving, Bari airport is a wonderful place to pick up a car, as the roads around it are lovely and quiet, allowing you the chance to get familiar with the controls, signage, etc. before getting onto the autostrada (the latter got busy for the 3-4 junctions around Bari, but was pleasant apart from that).

I'd describe the driving in the region as
- very easy going in-between the towns, some of the easiest driving in Italy
- Going into or through the towns can be stressful, as few have 'bypasses', so you're driving through a historic town, which can be a little higgledy-piggledy, with building walls forming the edge of the road. Such stressful moments don't last long, but having an attentive passenger with a sat nav would help ease much of that stress. Otherwise you're soon through it and back out onto the open and relaxing roads.

Parking can be a challenge, and whilst we got very lucky on our two visits to Martina Franca, I'm told (and can very much believe) it can be difficult to find a parking space. At Locorotondo we found a nice quiet parking area a short walk away, so that was good for us. Maybe worth planning the route into the towns, taking note of the parking areas.

With a car, it's well worth scouting out local agriturismi (farmstays) as in addition to accommodation, many do satisfying meals, often in the form of a banquet-like progression of traditional dishes emerging from the kitchen. They're convivial affairs and the one we stayed at in Speziale was indeed good, though traditional included tripe for one dish, which neither of us can stomach (;))

Also in range with a car is Matera, plus some Roman excavations between Speziale and Monopoli and I'll also add a good word in for the somewhat humdrum town of Gravina. It has a large street market (I don't recall which days), some good functional shops and a rather bizarre layout, being split in two by a huge ravine, spanned by (IIRC) two bridges. It felt friendly in the manner of places that don't see many tourists.

Finally, Trani is a gem of a place, built up by the Venetians, so there is interesting architecture. It's got a relaxed enough feel and makes a wonderful place to kill time before dropping the car back at the airport, or indeed a place to get fresh air and a bite to eat if needing to kill time on arrival.
 
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