Tell me about Puglia

[MangosteenSoda]

I’m tempted to book a week in Puglia at Easter. I don’t know much about the region other than that it looks really pretty. Any suggestions or recommendations?

I’m currently looking at flights to Brindisi and accommodation in Gallipoli but am open to alternative suggestions from people who know the area.

It is beautiful. Go and visit Matera and Lecce. Take a boat trip. Lots to see and do. Walking tours are worth doing.

Alberobello with the Trulli is amazing too. It's a poorer part of Italy than, say, Tuscany and that does show, but there are lots of fascinating places to visit. It's also very good value.

The food is great too.

Your replies are definitely ticking boxes! It’s an area I’d never considered before and I just looked at it on a bit of a whim. Now I’m wondering if I should save it for a future summer holiday rather than an Easter break (can only do one week at Easter).

Easter is good. Puglia is very hot in summer.

Easter means the churches in Lecce will be beautifully decorated with flowers.

It's lovely. You will need to hire a car though, as there's very little public transport (and lots of nice places to explore).

We went to Puglia with children a couple of years ago and it was beautiful. We flew into Bari and hired a car which I feel was definitely needed to explore the area properly. Food was very good, local wines delicious and I thought eating out was very reasonable compared to a lot of Italy. Very child friendly. It was hot in July/August but most of Europe is. I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

I've booked an apartment in Monopoli for 10 days in late May, so following with interest. We plan to use it as a base to visit Lecce, Alberobello, Locorotondo and Matera with also plenty of time to chill whilst looking at the sea. Not planning to hire a car, so i fear some places will be beyond reach by bus or train.

Will definitely hire a car. I’ve noticed that most of the recommendations are for the area between Bari and Brindisi which looks quite far away from where I had been looking for accommodation (coastal Salento) so I’m going to have a look around Monopoli. Thanks for the tips!

My DD went Autumn 23 also went to Polignano a Mer, Locorotondo, Cisternino and Ostuni as well as the above suggestions. She and her friends found great restaurants and had a car. It looked amazing in the photos. I definitely want to go.

Gallipoli is small - I would pick somewhere bigger for your base, and do Gallipoli for a day at the beach if you like. We stayed in Lecce and adored it. Another time I might stay further north, like Ostuni, in order to visit Locorotondo etc.

Great olive oil - you can visit orchards

I'll put the kettle on if any of you visit Trani. 😏

Monopoli and Gallipoli are the trendy up and coming areas, our teenagers get their first holidays without their parents there.

Alberobello is lovely, but has become a bit of a tourist trap, as has Matera. (tbh, I don't like Matera very much, there's a definite hinterland feel to it and while there are now more tourists and more things for tourists, it's still not as developed as other bits)

My favourite bit is the Gargano to the north of us. Vieste, Peschici, all lovely ex fishing villages.

Easter is early this year, and even when it's not, there have been very few warm Easters since I've been here. It's almost a thing that we laugh about. My parents came on the 16th April one year and we stood knee deep in snow.

The summers are indescribably hot. I decamp to the UK for July and much of August. During the 2 COVID summers I just stayed in and foraged for food after dark. Very very humid.

You can't get a train to Alberobello but there are regular buses from big towns like Bari.

I think you can find highly rated restaurants and still enjoy visiting beautiful churches in areas that attract tourists. It doesn’t make the buildings or countryside not worth seeing. If you have a car, lovely out of the way places are available too. I think you still have to see the very special places the area has to offer.

I would love to visit. Can anyone recommend a hotel around Lecce?

Surely the attraction of Matera is its history and the reasons why it isn't as developed as much as the rest of the region. The caves are amazing and the bit where the Bond scene was filmed is worth seeing. We did a walking tour and really enjoyed it.

Also people who live in the region will have a different view to the tourist who might only be there once. The caves, cathedral and historic areas of Matera are wonderful. Going early or late season helps with numbers. I wouldn’t be able to leave the area without seeing it.

We stayed in a B&B in lecce last Easter, but we visited Gallipoli and wished we had stayed there.

We visited the year before Matera was the European city of culture so it probably wasn't quite as touristy as it is now. We stayed just outside Alberobello and had hired a car for the week so travelled around lots of inland towns/villages as well as the coast at Monopoli and Polignano a Mare. We didn't get down as far as Lecce but we're planning on going back to do that hopefully in September. We loved the area.

What’s the climate and vibe generally like the last two weeks of october please?

I went to Puglia Easter 2022 and loved the area. The weather was beautiful and one day was hot for me 26C and my scalp got sunburned despite having very thick hair.

I went with the Travel Department so didn't have to worry about getting around. Flew into Bari and stayed in Ostuni and did day trips to Lecce, Bari, Trani, Matera, Alberobello, olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting iirc in Martina Franca, wine tasting near Locorotondo.

I love Italy and have booked a trip to Lake Garda this coming Easter and plan to go back to Puglia again sometime in the future.

I'd say it can still be fairly warm tbh. Probably 20-25, but possible rainy days too. Obviously the vibe is much quieter in the coastal towns as all the seaside beaches etc will have closed for the season

But @TizerorFizz 's daughter once went for a fortnight while I've lived here since 1994, so, as ever, she's the expert. 🙄 We do have a different view. That's why, despite you being the world expert on, well, pretty much everything, including regions you've never been to and universities your kids have never attended, the rest of us, trying to be helpful, are allowed a say.

PS the reason many of us who live here aren't keen on Matera is it's criminality and attitude towards foreign tourists which is often less than pleasant. The locals have famously jumped on the caves thing and sit there relentlessly trying to get your money to show you a hole in the rock that 9 times out of 10 isn't one of the old sassi and was never inhabited.