Anyone been to Puglia?

[oysterpots]

Read in the guardian that it's one of the cheaper bits of Italy. Thinking of a bargain holiday let for a week or two early summer with DS who will then be 22mo.

Any tips?

Check when the tourist season is - we went beginning of May last year and the tourist season had not started so the pool was not open and for good reason, it was not quite warm enough at that time of year for much hanging by the pool.
Fantastic food, mainly fish based so its great if you like fish. Bring a phrase book, english not that widely spoken.

It sounds really ugly doesn't it?!

yep and we stayed in a trullo

Was not as warm in May as we went for honeymoon and got married at beginning of May

Food is fab!

MamaG - yes it does but if you pronounce it Pullyeeahh it sounds better!!

We went in 1999 as part of our honeymoon. It's beautiful and was certainly cheaper than the rest of Italy then.

We stayed in Ostuni which was pretty, with a good atmosphere. I would say though that we didn't find any good beaches in the area.

We went to Puglia last August, and had a fab holiday. We were staying near Cisternino, lovely area, and we found lots of good beaches. Pilone 2 was our favourite! The beaches are busy during August though, as that's when the Italians are all on holiday, and many North Italians go to Puglia for their holidays.

Food was great, and not very expensive. Lots of fish/seafood, pasta, pizzas (but mostly you can only get pizza in the evenings, as that's when they fire up their ovens). But Cisternino was also god for meat.

I would say accommodation is generally cheaper there than say the Amalfi coast, but unlikely to be a real bargain if you are going in the school holidays. Probably similar to what you would pay in France.

The weather in August last year was sunny every day, and temperatures between about 27 and 33 degrees max each day. The owners of the place we stayed at said that was pretty typical for the time of year. Not sure what the weather would be like earlier in the summer though.

Hello!

I've lived here in Puglia for the past 15 yrs.....(almost)

I'm north of Bari, so not in an especially touristy bit. (been here 15 yrs and the locals still come out and stare at me when I pass by)(mad furrin woman syndrome) I'd recommend the Gargano (would like to move there myself) for a holiday...Vieste, Peschici, all towns quite geared up for tourists in the summer months...Prices are cheaper than say, the touristy hotspots of Florence, Rome, Venice, Sorrento etc, but the days of it being "cheap" here are loooong gone....especially with crappy exchange rate on sterling...

My fave months are May and September as between those months the humidity and heat just kill me (personally) Remember schools finish here 10th June so anything after that, but especially August will be more expensive...

And bring your nappies as they cost a feckin fortune here...

Any other info, just shout...(I can be found on Mumsnet Little Italy usually)

I can't beat Bucharest's info, but I stayed in Taranto for 6 weeks when I was doing summer au pair work - it's a bit of an industrial area. I flew into Brindisi airport, not Bari. I wouldn't recommend Taranto particularly for holidaying, althought the Citta Vecchia is nice, the new city lacks interest. Not that great for beaches either.

Didn't find the humidity too bad (coastal breezes) but there were a couple of minor earth tremors while I was there!

It wasn't that cheap 10 years ago, either.

Also, with low cost flights hitting in a big way- lots of guest houses and b and b type places are springing up, (even in my town!) which might be worth looking into...

Brilliant tips everyone, thanks! I think I'll look into it a bit more then, sounds like it could be a good option.

We would like a nice beach so I guess we'll have to pinpoint somewhere quite specific, maybe Cisternino as SoMuch suggests

End May/beginning of June sounds perfect.

Thanks