Visiting Puglia: A Holiday in the Heel of the Boot in Italy

Italy is such a popular tourist destination that it’s hard to escape other travellers, no matter wherever you go – unless you go to the south, that is. Visiting Puglia in the southern region of Italy is perfect for anyone whose idea of a holiday is settling in for a while to live like locals.

Puglia in Italy is an area where tourism does not spoil the countryside and where people are very welcoming but still live their Italian way of life and their customs.

Here’s why you should consider visiting Puglia and what to expect when you get there.

The best time to visit Puglia

The best time to go to Puglia is in spring or autumn because then the temperatures are nicely warm and pleasant and not too hot to stay active. The area benefits from its position (south east of the mountains) and is protected against rain so that it is dry almost all year round. 

The advantage of the autumn time is that the temperature of the sea water is still very pleasant (20 – 23°C) so it is still warm enough to go swimming (the air temperature is about 22 – 25°C in September / October).

See also: Female Solo Travel in Italy: Why Puglia is the Perfect Destination

What to expect when visiting Puglia

The seaside has only a few inviting beaches, most of the coast line is rocky and the infrastructure is basic. That is the reason that most international tourists avoid it for their holidays.

There are many little roads with little traffic and some of them especially signposted for cyclists. This has become more and more popular so that you can even rent bikes there nowadays and organize your own bike trips.

There are plenty of campsites (often very basic). But you can also find accommodation in B&B places, farm houses (Maserie) or hotels easily. Search for accommodation here.

If you like walking (hiking) then this is not such an inviting area because there are only a few walking paths and they are poorly marked and the maps are not up to Middle European standard.

Best places to visit in Puglia

When visiting Puglia, make sure to include the below sites to your itinerary.

Alberobello

Alberobello with the Trulli Houses (there is a large area around this town where you can find them). Many places offer rooms in such buildings as accommodation (both Maseri and B&B) or you can rent places which are holiday homes (often bought, let and used by British people). 

Matera

There is an area along the line of the towns Massafra, Motolla, Castellaneta, Laterza and Matera where you can find many old cave settlements in the gorges (Gravinas). The best place amongst the many others is Matera where a cave town is still settled in and preserved.

Both places mentioned above are in fact more touristic, especially because cruise ships shovel passengers to these places; which makes them crowded every now and then.

There are more places which are also worth seeing: like the towns of Lecce, Bari, Castel del Monte and, and, and… they are numerous.

Here are three places to visit in Puglia which are lesser known but worth visiting:

• Ostuni: (medieval part / a bit touristic, of easy reach for cruise travellers) with its old part of the town, a spectacular view to the Adriatic Sea, and the old olive plantations in the plains between the sea and Ostuni.
• Ceglie Messapicca: it’s a rural and natural place, there are hardly any tourists; it has an extremely nice and unspoiled old town centre without any souvenirs shops.
• Locorotondo: positioned on a hill with a fantastic view to the west onto “Trulli Land” where you can see the Trulli scattered around the lower land.

How to live like a local when visiting Puglia

Here’s how to truly experience the local Puglia life.

1. Make Alberobello your base

The region of Puglia is ideal for travellers who like to get off-the-beaten-track and love countryside, beaches, food, history, and culture, and the UNESCO World Heritage listed town of Alberobello is the best place to base yourself as it offers all of those things.

2. Rent a traditional trullo*

Puglia is dotted with traditional trulli*, the whiteshaped conical-shaped houses that the locals have been living in for hundreds of years. There are many charming, rustic holiday-trulli to rent, many with outdoor pizza ovens and swimming pools, and staying in one is a real treat.

Here are two options to consider when visiting Puglia:

(*Note: trullo is singular and trulli is plural.)

3. Hire bicycles

The countryside around Alberobello is made for bike riding with lovely lanes that snake through fields and olive groves. There are a few busy roads but the locals are used to bike-riders, including plenty of amateur pro-cyclists who zip past faster than the cars, so you shouldn’t have any problems. If your trullo doesn’t come with bikes (bici in Italian), ask the manager to hire some on your behalf so they’re waiting for you when you arrive.

4. Learn Italian

English is not as widely spoken in Puglia as it is in the northern regions of Italy, so take a phrase book and dictionary with you or load a language app onto your phone, and try to learn some language basics. At the very least, learn how to say buongiorno (good morning) and grazie (thank you) and when a local says grazie to you, make sure you say prego (please), as is the custom, in response. The locals will appreciate your efforts and help you learn more.

See also: Learn The Most Useful European Travel Phrases and Words

5. Take a stroll with a local guide

Alberobello has a long, rich history, so while you can wander about on your own and take a peek into some of the thousands of old trulli in the old town, you’ll gain a much deeper understanding of the culture and traditions, and get beneath the skin of the place, if you hire a guide. Ask your trullo manager for a recommendation or ask at the tourist office.

Related tours: Alberobello: 2-Hour Guided Trulli Tour & Alberobello: History Walking Tour with Olive Oil Tasting

6. Make friends with locals

The produce in the local supermarkets and market isn’t very impressive, leaving us bewildered until Maria, the manager of our trullo, appeared with a bottle of her own olive oil and a bunch of pomodorini (tiny tomatoes) that she hung in our kitchen. We quickly discovered that most locals are self-sufficient, with their own olive groves and growing their own fruit and vegetables. To get the best produce you need to shop at the small stalls by the side of the road or make friends with locals. A good excuse!

Related experience: Market Tour, Home Cooking Class and Dinner

7. Learn to cook with a local

When our trullo manager, Maria, offered to teach us how to make Orecchiette con Sugo al Pomodoro, Puglia’s quintessential dish, we jumped at the chance. When she offered to teach us how to make pizza in the oven attached to our house, we invited her to bring her family along for dinner. It turned out to be the best thing we did – the kids kept requesting their favourite pizza toppings, so we got to try them all! It was a very memorable evening.

Related experience: Dining Experience at a Local’s Home

8. Eat local

If you’re a foodie, Puglia is paradise. This doesn’t mean you’ll find Alberobello’s streets lined with restaurants. You won’t. What it means is that there is some fantastic produce around and locals know how to use it, but the best cuisine is found in private homes. Fortunately, one restaurant, Paradiso di Puglia, dishes up home-cooked food, including hand-made pasta in a welcoming trattoria just outside of Alberobello. Say ‘ciao!’ to owners Maria and Michele, and daughter Anna, for us: we loved eating here and wished we didn’t leave it until our last night.

9. Drink limoncello

When you think of limoncello, Italy’s fragrant lemon liqueur, you probably think of Italy’s Amalfi coast and islands, but the potent drink is also popular in Puglia, and Maria from Paradiso di Puglia (see 8.) makes a heady version. Ask nicely and she’ll give you the recipe.

10. Buy a trullo

When we visited, locals were renovating the cute white houses left, right and centre – mostly for themselves rather than re-sale. Our trullo manager, Maria, told us that it had become fashionable for newlywed couples to buy a dilapidated old trullo and restore it – because they’re affordable and eco-friendly: heating and air-conditioning are minimal compared to modern homes. Hmmm…could there be a better way to live like locals when visiting Puglia?