Here’s an itinerary for a three-day Puglia road trip that will allow you to see the highlights of Italy’s Hidden Gem. Plan your visit soon because it won’t stay undiscovered for long. You’ve come to the right place for honest reviews from an actual Puglia road trip, based on the experience of real human travelers. In this post you’ll discover:
- How and When to Visit Puglia.
- Suggested itinerary for 3-day Puglia road trip.
- Tour the trulli in Alberobello.
- Follow James Bond to the sassi caves in Matera.
- Take a cooking class in the old center of Bari.
- Pilgrimage to Saint Nicholas Basilica.
- Seaviews and Seafood in Polignano a Mare and Monopoli.
- Historic charm in Ostuni.
But first, watch this video of my Puglia road trip and read on for details.
When to Visit Puglia
Puglia is in the heel of Italy’s boot. The region has long been a popular vacation spot with Italians. In recent years, international travelers have discovered Puglia as a less crowded alternative to Italy’s most visited coastal destinations like the Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre.
Puglia’s busy season runs from around Easter until October. Sunshine and temperatures between 28°C and 35°C (82–95°F) set the stage for outdoor summer fun, although you might prioritize air conditioning when reserving a place to stay — well in advance.
We planned our Puglia road trip in late November. It was definitely jacket weather with daytime temps approximately 12°C to 18°C (54°F–64°F) and nighttime lows around 10°C (50°F). The downside of the off-season is that some businesses close, but the tradeoff was having the main attractions almost all to ourselves. Read my post about visiting Italy in the off-season here.
We had to contend with a few weather surprises on our Puglia road trip in November, like the sudden rainstorm that cut short our visit to the UNESCO world heritage trulli district of Alberobello. I got soaked taking this photo, but it having this iconic viewpoint to ourselves was worth it.
How to Get to Puglia
It was surprisingly easy and inexpensive to fly to Puglia. Ryanair and other budget airlines serve the Bari and Brindisi airports. EasyJet offers holiday packages in Puglia along with the airline tickets.
It can take up to six hours to drive to Puglia from Venice or Rome. We flew from Trieste to Brindisi and rented a car for our Puglia road trip.
Can you see the highlights of Puglia without renting a car? Maybe, but the region is not known for efficient public transportation. You could try staying in Bari or Brindisi and booking guided day trips.
A Puglia road trip in November allowed us to enjoy the spectacular views under sunny skies in Polignano a Mare. We didn’t feel much like swimming at the Lama Monachile cove beach, but a few brave souls jumped right in.
Itinerary for 3-Day Puglia Road Trip
As two girlfriends taking a quick weekend break from our families and and work, we wanted to see as many highlights as possible on our Puglia road trip while trying the region’s typical food. Without husbands and kids in tow, we were free to move to a different accommodation each night and sample everything from humble street food to fine dining.
Day 1: Arrive at Brindisi Airport on Ryanair. Drive to Alberobello for lunch and walking tour of trulli. Drive to Matera for evening walk and dinner. Overnight in Matera.
Day 2: Tour Matera and drive to Bari for a cooking class. Overnight in Bari.
Day 3: Visit Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari. Explore the coast in Polignano a Mare for lunch. Coffee stop in Monopoli en route to Ostuni for dinner. Overnight in Ostuni.
Day 4: Return car at Brindisi Airport for outbound flight.
Without the summer crowds, we enjoyed strolling through streets that are lined with trulli. We decided not to stay overnight, but it might be fun to sleep in one of these renovated historic structures, especially if you have kids. The entire Puglia region is dotted with trulli that have been restored as tourist accommodations.
Tour the Trulli in Alberobello
Dating back to the 14th century, the whitewashed trulli stand as remarkable examples of dry stone construction without mortar. In other words, the kind of house you build when you’re so poor you have nothing but rocks. Symbols on the cone-shaped roofs were meant to ward off bad luck. Most of the structures have been converted into souvenir shops and places to stay in Alberobello.
Even in the off-season, Alberobello has a Disneyland feel. The charm is in the details, like the well tended, colorful flowers against the limestone whitewash. Or a cute stone pup in a trullo doghouse.
With many of the nicer restaurants closed, the nearly deserted town square offered mostly tourist pizza places. We found a well-stocked deli and tried one of the regional specialties. Burrata cheese was invented by farmers mixing leftover mozzarella curds with fresh cream and putting the stracciatella in an edible pouch.
Follow James Bond 007 to Matera
About an hour’s drive from Alberobello, we reached Matera. You might have seen actor Daniel Craig as James Bond 007 zooming through Matera on a motorcycle in the film “No Time to Die.” Matera is a must-see on your Puglia road trip, even though it’s just across the border of the neighboring region, Basilicata.
The UNESCO world heritage cave district is surrounded by a thriving, more modern Italian city where the traffic-clogged narrow streets make for a challenging drive. You’ll want to leave your car in secure parking and explore on foot.
Where to Stay and Eat in Matera
Il Belvedere was the perfect hotel choice for the first night of our Puglia road trip. Located at the edge of the sassi historic district, it was possible to drop off our bags and drive to the recommended secure parking garage nearby. Rooms are carved out of ancient caves with but with all the modern conveniences — and a million dollar view from the terrace for your breakfast or evening aperitivo.
Arriving in the early evening allowed us to stroll the main shopping street before dinner at Ristorante Soul Kitchen, recommended by our hotel. Its elevated versions of the most famous local dishes paired perfectly with generous pours of Apulian primitivo wine. Be sure to try the tomato and bread salad, cialledda fredda. At the very Italian dinner hour of 8 pm or later, of course.
Day 2: Exploring Matera
After breakfast on Day 2 of our Puglia road trip, we set out to explore the sassi historic district. A relatively flat and easy walk brought us to the rather plain facade of the Duomo, which didn’t prepare us for the splendid art-filled interior. In a testament to the faith that sustained the desperately poor people in the sassi, a Nativity scene depicts the birth of Jesus in a cave.
We spent several hours exploring the stony paths and stairs, which can be challenging for anyone with mobility concerns. Even our GPS was confused, but we didn’t mind as we discovered stunning views around every turn in the maze of walkways.
Feeling like mountain goats, we climbed toward Santa Maria of Idris, a church dating back to the 11th century that is concealed in a massive rock with byzantine frescoes on the stone passages inside. Renovations have connected it to a chapel honoring a local saint, San Giovanni in Monterrone. Another plus of our off-season Puglia road trip was not having to wait in line to buy tickets or go inside.
Matera’s Sassi Caves: The Shame of Italy
Matera is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world. By the mid 20th century, the desperately poor conditions in the sassi became known as the shame of Italy, thanks in part to a book that suggested even God had forsaken the people living in the caves. Beginning in the 1950s, the government relocated the residents to modern apartments in the town. Some of the abandoned caves were converted into the posh accommodations and even spas you will find in the UNESCO world heritage district today.
The Sasso Caveoso cave-dwelling museum is an eye-opening look at how people carved out a life in the sassi without plumbing and with very little ventilation. Infant mortality was over 50 percent among large families sharing their space with horses, cows and chickens. Imagine that your only toilet is a chamber pot beside the bed — with the animals’ manure trekked out of the caves only once a week. Expect to wait in line to go inside with a small group.
Cooking Class in Bari
We hit the road again for a one-hour afternoon drive to Bari and checked into the friendly Al Pescatore Bed and Breakfast. It was perfectly located within walking distance of everything we came to see in the charming old center of this busy port city.
Vecchia Bari (old Barri) feels very lived in. Residents hang their laundry to dry on the balconies while separating tourists from their money in the streets below. Even in November, we saw a few of the controversial pasta grannies making the region’s ear-shaped orecchiette pasta at outdoor tables. Some nonnas even sell t-shirts to their fans.
We signed up for a cooking class to make focaccia bread and orecchiette for ourselves. It was an entertaining two-hour session with a local woman and a translator. Unfortunately, the group’s efforts at playing with the dough ended up in the trash bin, probably for hygienic reasons. But after being served burned focaccia and previously-made orecchiette in a thin tomato sauce, we walked away hungry and disappointed. For the same price we could have had a three-course lunch at an upscale restaurant.
Fortunately, a lively bar called Voglia Pane e Vino was serving a delicious aperitivo only steps away. Trying tette della monache (nun’s tits) for dessert from a nearby bakery also lifted our spirits with its rich, sweet cream filling.
Saint Nicholas Basilica in Bari
The most inspiring moment of our Puglia road trip was a visit to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, known around the world as Santa Claus. He is revered by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox believers as a patron saint of children and animals. The crypt with the saint’s relics was crowded with tour groups in the late afternoon. We returned the next morning for a more peaceful and prayerful experience before leaving Bari to head south along the coast.
Day 3: Polignano a Mare and Monopoli
Next stop on our Puglia road trip was Polignano a Mare. We didn’t feel much like swimming in the November chill at Lama Monachile, the famous rocky beach surrounded by cliffs. A few brave souls jumped right in!
Polignano al Mare draws visitors to its old town, even in the off season, to admire the coastal views of the Adriatic Sea.
Above the beach, the old town streets filled up with visitors lingering over drinks and posing for selfies with the sea views. Keep your eyes open for poetry inscriptions on the buildings, quoting everyone from the Russian author Dostoevsky to rock poet Jim Morrison of the Doors.
Staying in Polignano a Mare for a few days by the sea would be delightful in the warmer months. You could spend a few weeks exploring Puglia’s Adriatic coastline, the longest in Italy. A sunny weekend in November was perfect for trying one of the local seafood specialties — fresh octopus.
Historic Charm in Ostuni
A pleasant drive through the olive groves brought us to the White City of Ostuni.
Ostuni was painted white in the mid 17th century to ward off the plague. People believed the limestone paint was a disinfectant.
We spent the final night of our Puglia road trip in a traditional house that has been lovingly restored as a vacation rental, L’Angolo di Ostuni on Airbnb. We loved the adventure of staying here. The low-ceiling bedroom that once housed the family’s kids and livestock. A cave-like modern shower big enough to throw a disco party in, and quirky stairs leading to the upper floors. We bought fresh bread, meat, olives and cheese from the places our host Massimo recommended. Then we enjoyed a splendid aperitivo on the roof patio with a nice bottle of primitivo.
The streets of the hilltop town offer a variety of places to stay in Ostuni. We treated ourselves to fine dining at Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale, where the creative cooking by a husband-wife team well deserves its listing in the Michelin guide.
Ostuni was yet another corner of Puglia that made us wish we could stay longer to just relax. My friend Lyuba put on her running shoes for a quick workout in the streets of the white city. We didn’t miss the opportunity to shop for beautiful ceramics and other local crafts. But our 3-day Puglia road trip was over and it was time to catch our flight home via Trieste.
Read about the often overlooked Italian city of Trieste here.
Terry’s Travel Tips
Driving in Puglia: Driving in Italy means sharing the road with, uh, Italians. You’re either stuck behind a farm truck or trying to dodge a speeding sports car without breaking the speed limit yourself. Once you pull off the well-marked main roads, you must navigate tiny streets in the smaller towns and historic areas, where cars may not be allowed at all. We preferred to find secure parking lots on the outskirts of town and walk to our accommodation.
Stranger Danger: In a few places we noticed random guys just hanging around the tourist parking area. We couldn’t be sure if they were there to provide security or looking to steal something. Take the obvious precautions like locking the doors and concealing your valuables.
Car Rental Caution: We couldn’t believe how cheap it was to rent a car at the Brindisi airport — until we were informed that full insurance coverage for any damage would cost more than the entire rental. We accepted a less expensive, limited coverage. Then we stressed out as the parking lot attendant pointed to some tiny scratches in one of the wheel rims. He warned us that any new marks would cost us thousands of euros. The guy remembered us when we returned the car in pristine condition and sent us on our way with a big smile. Next time, we’ll shop around for a better deal, get the full insurance and relax a little more while driving.
Off-Season Pros and Cons in Puglia
Many places to stay or eat were closed for a few weeks during the slow time between the peak summer season and the opening of the Christmas markets in December. That limited our choice of restaurants and made it more difficult to find accommodation that met our needs on a November weekend. We wanted to stay at one of the masseria — the famous country inns of Puglia. They are popular wedding venues all year long. The ones that weren’t closed were fully booked. Same problem for large seaside hotels.
Hat Tip to Gay Puglia: You’ll see lots of pride flags in Puglia. The open, welcoming atmosphere makes the region family-friendly at the same time. We got some great travel tips from The Puglia Guys, excellent bloggers who live here year round. They provide detailed itineraries for all the must-see attractions that can be useful for any visitor. Grazie!
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