3 Days in Puglia

A last-minute trip to Puglia meant little time to prepare an itinerary for a few days in the ‘heel of Italy’s boot’, so a driving holiday felt like the perfect fit. A road trip is one of our favourite types of vacations, with the flexibility to stop as we please or change plans on a whim; or in this case, to adapt to high temperatures and make the most of air-conditioning in the rental car! I didn’t really know what to expect from the Puglia region, but was so charmed and delighted by everything we saw, ate and enjoyed! Here’s what we did for a few days in Puglia.

Illustrated map of Puglia, Italy by Megan McKean

We flew into Bari, and picked up a rental car at the airport. We got going straight away and headed south, stopping in at the small towns of Polignano a Mare and Monopoli — making a point to sample our first foccaccia to kick off the trip. We reached Lecce in the afternoon and made an emergency stop for gelato; the temperature was almost 40 degrees Celcius at this point, so cold gelato felt like a necessity!

The following day we started heading north again, reaching the white stone city on the hill, Ostuni, in the morning. We explored the winding roads and the buildings covered in bougainvillea, and the views that looked out across the Adriatic Sea and olive groves below the city. Further on from Ostuni we visited Alberobello, to see the unique trulli houses, before checking into our second hotel of the trip, Villa Fenicia.

After a beautiful, slow breakfast at the hotel on the 3rd day, we drove into the old town of Bari, to see the ladies rolling fresh orecchiette out the front of their homes, and dogs panting in the heat. We had planned to visit the ancient city of Matera on our final day, but given the high heat we opted for an afternoon by the hotel pool instead, and an early night in before a morning flight the following day… a choice we definitely feel was the right one, and leaving plenty to see on our next trip to Puglia!