The Puglia Guys Puglia Guide
A Puglia Guide made in Puglia.
Puglia offers endless choices: where to go, when to visit, how to get here, and what to do. Our goal isn’t to dictate your journey but to inspire your own path based on your unique circumstances. To be a smart tourist.
Use our guides to help you find the best base for your vacation in Puglia, to plan the perfect Puglia itinerary, eat like a local in some of Puglia’s best and most authentic restaurants or just to find the best beaches in Puglia to relax on.
Our guides are just one of many ways to explore Puglia. But ours are written from local experience and insights. We live in Puglia all year round and can provide practical tips on getting around, cultural insights and unique local experiences from pizzica dancing to wine tastings, cooking classes to road trips.
Destinations can become “entrenched”. Social media can perpetuate a self-reinforcing cycle where the places that are most well known are the most visited. While no trip to Puglia is complete without stopping by some well-known destinations we aim to offer honest opinions, and thoughtful suggestions that will sometimes send you in the opposite direction.
We don’t accept any payment or freebies for coverage or in return for recommendations. Our reviews are anonymous to ensure we get the same experience as any visitor.
Key take-away points
Getting here and getting around:
- Puglia has two main airports, Bari International Airport-Karol Wojtyla and Salento Airport in Brindisi. They are an hour apart, and generally it takes the same time to drive to Alberobello from either airport. Bari is more convenient for Gargano and destinations north of Alberobello (including Matera) and Brindisi for Salento and destinations south of Alberobello.
- There are good train connections along the main Adriatic line between Foggia – Bari – Brindisi – Lecce, but not otherwise. Certain train stations are located some distance outside the towns they serve.
- Bus services connect some neighbouring towns and cities, but journeys can be cumbersome and services slow. Buses will not take you around the countryside or to the majority of beaches.
- Having a car will allow you to explore the most beautiful parts of Puglia – the countryside and the coast. Our favourite Puglia road trips are through the Valle d’Itria: from Ostuni – Cisternino – Locorotondo – Alberobello and from Ceglie Messapica – Martina Franca – Ostuni, and two stunning coastal drives – the SP358 route between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca, and route between Margherita di Savoia – Mattinata – Vieste and Peschici.
From north to south, Puglia runs over 400km:
- For travel planning, think of our region in three parts:
- the Gargano Peninsula to the north (Vieste, Peschici) with a vast forest and great beaches, for hiking, mountain biking and water sports.
- central Puglia made up of Terra di Bari (Trani, Bari, Andria for the UNESCO Castel del Monte, Polignano a Mare, Monopoli and Bari itself) and the Valle d’Itria (Alberobello, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, and Ostuni), the most visited part of Puglia.
- the Salento Peninsula to the south (Lecce, Gallipoli, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca) for sun, sea and some of Puglia’s best beaches typically rocky along the Adriatic coast and golden and white sand along the Ionian.
- Puglia has two coasts.
- The Adriatic Sea lies on the east coast, from Gargano in the north to the tip of the heel of Italy’s boot at Santa Maria di Leuca. The best beaches along the Adriatic are in Gargano, from Torre Canne to Torre Guaceto (nearby and around Ostuni) and around Otranto.
- The Ionian Sea runs along the other side of the coast from Leuca to Taranto, including some of Puglia’s best known and most popular beaches, at Pescoluse, Punta della Suina, around Gallipoli and Porto Cesareo.
- Plan to stay in Puglia for at least a week. Between five to seven days we suggest you concentrate on Bari and the Valle d’Itria (stay in Bari Vecchia and in or around Ostuni). Between seven and 10 days, you can include Salento (consider an additional base in or around Lecce, Gallipoli or Otranto) or Gargano. Any longer and you can be more adventurous with road trip planning, stay in Taranto’s old town and visit smaller towns around the countryside.
- Choose a central base in the areas you want to explore. Bari Vecchia is great for travelling around Terra di Bari and for a hop over to Matera. In or around Ostuni is perfect for exploring the countryside around the Valle d’Itria, plus Monopoli, Polignano a Mare, and for getting to the Valle d’Itria’s best beaches. For exploring Salento, in or around Lecce, or seaside towns like Gallipoli or Otranto are recommended.
Our guide to finding the best base for your vacation in Puglia will help you find the bases that most suit your holiday plans for Puglia. Check out our Puglia itinerary, road trips and day trip planning guide to make the best use of your time in Puglia.
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The Puglia Guys Puglia Guide. A Puglia Guide made in Puglia.
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Why Visit Puglia?
Italians love Puglia. While Italophiles, especially Americans, still boast of the art and architecture of places such as Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan and Naples, with more adventurous travellers venturing to Sicily, Puglia is where Italians visit on vacation.
Our Puglia Guide to Puglia’s spectacular beaches.
Our region is known as la terra tra due mari – the land between two seas. Sandwiched between the Adriatic to the east and the Ionian to the west, Puglia’s 800km coastline is the longest of Italy’s mainland regions. Stretching from Gargano, a mountainous and verdant peninsula comprising the spur of Italy’s boot, where dramatic limestone cliffs plunge into the deep blue of the Adriatic to Santa Maria di Leuca at the tip of the heel of Italy’s boot, and land’s end. Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae.
Puglia is known for its award winning beaches, and – officially – the cleanest waters in all of Italy to bathe in. Gallipoli’s Punta della Suina regularly tops polls as Italy’s favourite beach and is considered to be one of the best 40 beaches in Europe.
The land between the two seas is one of the most diverse regions in Italy. The expansive Tavoliere, a plain adorned with durum wheat fields around Foggia, transitions southward into the rolling olive groves of the Valle d’Itria, the sprawling vineyards around Manduria, and the prickly pear-lined vistas of the Salento peninsula.
On this journey, discover iconic trulli, whimsical cone-shaped dwellings unique to Puglia. Ancient masserie, once fortified farmhouses to hold out against Saracen invaders, now transformed into luxurious boutique hotels.
Visit Puglia’s famous città bianche. White-walled towns sitting atop hillsides whose historic centres, a maze of whitewashed alleys, wind around their impressive catherdrals. It is no coincidence that these are reminiscent of Greece. The Salento peninsula was once Magna Grecia, greater Greece. In Taranto’s borgo antico the remains of a Spartan temple stand proud. Throughout Salento many towns are still known by their Greek names. Local dialects betray their Greek origins.
Our region was no less important to Rome. The Via Appia, the Appian Way, finds its way through Puglia before terminating in Brindisi, one of the Mediterranean’s first great ports. It was here the Crusaders set off to the Middle East.
For A Slower Pace of Life
Time and tide wait for no man. Not for the northern Italian, not even for Puglia’s American visitors. All year round we embrace la pausa (our local siesta time). Visit in summer and you will understand that this is not an indulgence, but a necessity!
Northern Italians may be critical of southern Italy’s split working day. Yet it’s one of the reasons they flock here. To experience la dolce far niente. It’s the time just after noon until 4pm when a lazy lunch is served before retreating to the shade, or dipping a toe in the pool. It’s the evening passeggiata ritual that follows the golden hour when aperitivi are served on every piazza.
In Puglia we embrace a slower pace of life. It’s part of our culture, reflected in all aspects of life and daily rituals. From the frustrating service of southern Italian burocrazia to la pausa and the evening passeggiata.
La Pausa
We work a split day. Most shops close from around 1pm – 4.30/5pm staying open until around 8pm. Restaurants tend to finish their lunch service around 2.30pm. Don’t leave lunch too late or you just might miss out.
Apertivo Time
As towns reawaken after la pausa, join us for an aperitivo on the terrace of our favourite bar. Enjoy a cocktail – usually an aperol spritz (though that is enjoyed all day long – don’t be surprised to see someone order lo spritz from 10am) with stuzzichini to nibble on. An apetiser before a late dinner. It’s unusual to see Pugliesi eat out before 9/9.30pm. The only diners in restaurants before then tend to be foreign visitors, or northern Italians.
La Passeggiata
The evening passeggiata is a time honoured tradition when families dress up and take to the main piazza for a late evening stroll – until very late on balmy summer nights – to see and be seen.
Puglia Guide | Italy’s Foodie Heaven
Puglia – situated in the heel of Italy […] arguably the best food in Italy.
Carmen Roberts, BBC TV Travel Show presenter
Puglia is known as the breadbasket of Italy. Our region’s fertile red soil and climate make Puglia one of Italy’s top durum wheat producers. We are the top regional producer of Italian olive oil – accounting for almost 40% of Italy’s liquid gold, producing some of Italy’s best tasting and most prized oil. Our region is the top producer of Italian red wines, overall Italy’s 2nd top regional wine producer after Veneto. And Puglia gave the world burrata.
Slow-food is not a gimmick, rather a tradition. La cucina povera (literally poor cuisine) serves up simple but inventive dishes using seasonal, locally produced, fresh and flavorful ingredients. Most dishes use only a few ingredients and very little goes to waste. Humble and frugal, the end result is much more than the sum of its ingredients.
Just as visitors come to Puglia for its beaches, so too do they for its cuisine. Puglia is considered to be the 3rd most visited foodie destination in Italy.
Good food is easy to find. Generally Italians don’t tolerate bad food. In Puglia you do not need to spend a lot of money to eat well. There are fine dining options, but some of the best meals we eat are at a local trattoria or osteria. Simple, delicious and inexpensive.
With 800km of coastline fish and seafood play a major role at the Puglia table, though our signature dishes are orecchiette con cime di rape, polpette, fave e cicoria and the unmissable spaghetti all’assassina. Concerns over sustainability mean there is a 3-year ban on harvesting ricci di mare – sea urchins – from Puglia’s shores but cozze tarantine (fresh mussels from Taranto’s mare piccolo) are plentiful and absolutely delicious.
The Puglia Guys local guides to Puglia include city guides listing our most popular destinations. They include listings for the best restaurants and bars, what to see and do and where to stay. The guides are made in Puglia, based on local experience. All accommodation, meals and drinks are paid for. Reviews and recommendations are independent and based on our experiences.
The Puglia Guys are Puglia ambassadors. Brought up on sun, sea and spaghetti assassina, our guides are written from local experience and insight. We live in Puglia full time and provide practical tips on getting around, cultural insights and unique local experiences: from pizzica dancing to wine tastings, cooking classes to road trips.
We don’t accept payments or freebies for positive coverage or recommendations. Our reviews are anonymous to ensure we have the same experience as any visitor.
