Hi friends, I’m headed to Puglia with my wife and toddler in July. We’re staying at Borgo Egnazia and already have some towns in mind which we plan to visit (Ostuni, Polignano a Mare, Alberobello, etc.) However, that’s the extent of it. I’m hoping to get recommendations for specific wineries or other local agricultural locations worth visiting. Olive oil tastings, Masserias with home cooked meals, or anything else where we can eat, drink, and be merry!
But of course, most important is to find a couple respectable wineries that welcome visitors
Hi Jesse
When we stayed there. it was in nearby Speziale, where the accommodation was ok, but we thought the banquet style agriturismo meals were good, regional (even if that included a dish of tripe, which I detest, despite it being in a tasty sauce)
The driving is generally pleasant and with good visibility through countryside, but can get stressful going into/through small towns. Be gentle with each other if the stress of weird one-way systems and roads bordered by buildings gets to you.
We liked Ostuni, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, and the other small towns, but Alberobello lurches a little too close to ‘touristic’ for us.
Also worthy of mention is Trani, which was a useful morning / lunch stop for us before returning home via Bari Airport. It impressed us enough that I’d recommend it as a full day trip. Venetian architecture, pleasant coastline and not overcrowded.
If you like quirky, then a couple of locations heading south west. Firstly the very untouristic Gravina in Puglia has a remarkable ravine splitting the town, with bridge over it. It’s a pleasingly humdrum place aside from that, with a good street market.
More touristy is Matera with it’s cave dwellings that were still in use relatively recently, but which are slowly becoming a tourist stay destination.
Whilst there are wineries somewhat nearby, the local wines are typically rather workmanlike, whereas travelling a little further in Puglia would be required for the more prestigious places around Guagnano / San Donato. Personally, with a small child in tow, I’d choose locally and enjoy the experience for a chance to engage with them, but without it being a wine geek’s adventure.
The beaches weren’t that appealing to us (never liking the regimented beach umbrella setup), but with a young child, should be a frequent part of the holiday.
The lunchtime break is very much observed down here, for good reason, so be active in the mornings, find somewhere to relax at lunchtimes and seek out places with a great early evening passeggiata to explore again, and as you’ll have a young one in tow, probably interactions with locals that will be warm and friendly. We especially liked the feel of Locorotondo.
Thanks for all the suggestions Ian! Lots of good tips. I’m generally comfortable driving in narrow old streets, but navigating the parking rules is what kills me in these types of regions.
Yes, and it doesn’t help that the coloured markings vary their meaning, in different parts of the country.
We often pre-plan the route to a car park on day trips, just as a way to de-stress.
From memory Martina Franca has a reputation for being a nightmare to get parked, but we struck lucky in the same car park twice in a row, taking the last space each time from memory.
Locorotondo had a decent car park as we approached it, maybe a 5 mins walk from the centre, and that was never busy.
Yes, will add that Lecce is beautiful and must visit right there at the heel. Based ourselves for 4 nights there about 10 years ago and we have been meaning to go back.
Will add the town of Martina Franca, one of the prettiest in Puglia, as a must day time visit.
Stayed in Ostuni during part of our honeymoon at La Sommita, which has a pretty reasonable 1* restaurant (although it was a bit too generically Modern European to be truly interesting).
Dining highlights were
Masseria Il Frantoio. Classic Puglian cucina povera. Vegetable forward. Immense portion sizes without affecting quality. Big team of nonnas in the kitchen which was lovely.
PerBacco. Slow food place in Bari, also simpler style of cooking but with a lot of character and the wine list was both immense and well priced.
Visited Polvanera and Chiaramonte which were quite pleasant winery visits, if a little commercial.
End of September and early October we hit Puglia. I drove about 1,000 miles covering lots of territory. Here’s list of places we visited and I’ll write them individually.
Bari - Flew in there and got out immediately. Big city with crazy drivers, no Naples crazy, but close.
Flew into Bari but headed south to Monopoli. Cute fishing village and lots of tourists but, hey, it’s Italy. Interestingly enough, most of the tourists were Italians. I guess they have to go on vacation too!
Monopoli old town is where we stayed and where all the action is located which is really mostly shops, restaurants, and bars. We used Monopoli as basecamp for day trips to the surrounding areas. Monopoli is small and can be covered at night while staying and dinning there.
We day tripped to Polignano which is another port town. We did a boat cruise through the cliffs and grottos. Even took a dip in the Adriatic Sea for fun.
We didn’t go to Alberobello, home to the world famous Trullis buildings.
Why? it’s extremely popular, crowded and overrated for what we’re looking to do.
The Warden is in charge and she says there will be lots of Trullis throughout the countryside which is what she wants because she wants pictures of buildings, not tourists. Sure enough they’re everywhere in that area.
Ostuni is another worthy day trip. Hilltop village with cafes, restaurants, churches, and lots of climbing. LOL
I was expecting, for no good reason, the area of Puglia would be filled with vineyards. Not so, sure they’re around, but it’s olive groves that dominate the landscape. Here’s me getting Kim to taste a “fresh olive”. LOL you haven’t had the pleasure of picking an olive off the tree and tasting you’re missing out!
Sadly, lots of the old groves are being ripped out because they’re being killed by a virus. You’ll see huge piles of uprooted olive trees that are hundreds of years old.
Driving the Coast: Ostuni to Otrano the “cute way”
Again, the Warden is calling the shots and we’re up early and driving the coast. It’s the equivalent of driving Pacific Coast Highway in California for a reference, just the food is much better! Lots of scenic stops, small towns, delicious food. Hey, you can see Albania from here, who knew…
Otrano is great, lots of walking and things to do right on the water. We stayed here and really enjoyed it. It can get quite busy.
Great little wine bar, sit in the back outside. Food is good too
Very good casual seafood joint
We headed all the way down to the southern most point of the heel, Santa Maria di Leuca. It’s a very small, probably more summer time place. Not much going on. Off to Lecce
Lecce is base camp which is a great town, the walled old town is fantastic.
But the first place the Warden wants to visit Gallipoli. Wait, didn’t we drive by that on the way to Lecce? Yep, get in the car we’re going for the day. Okay…
Had a blast walking around and some good seafood with awesome views of the ocean and fisherman trolling the waters.
I could live in Lecce if I was walking distance to the old town. Our rental was a 5 minute walk, perfect. Took a pasta making class which was awesome.
