ITINERARY, TRAVEL GUIDE & ROUTE FOR ONE WEEK IN PUGLIA
As I was spending one week in beautiful Puglia, southern east part of Italy, this summer and always search for travel tips before my vacations, I wanted to share my experience with you in this blog post. We discovered hidden photospots, sandy beaches, delicious local Italian restaurants (spoiler alert: I had the best Pizza ever in Lecce!), chilled coffee places and bars with a breathtaking view.
As it was our first time in Puglia and we “only” had one week we, of course, wanted to see as much as possible. Although we could not cover the northern part (Gargano national park), I already can say that we will definitely return and then maybe also check out this area.
Due to the current COVID-19 situation, we were also not quite sure if we should go on our trip or not. However, as the numbers were decreasing steadily in July we felt quite secure to go. I have to say that the safety and hygienic measures were really good in Puglia: everyone kept distance and we wore our masks in supermarkets and when entering public spaces e. g. restaurants.
As mentioned we spent one week in Puglia and therefore rented a car, which was actually quite of a pain in the beginning as we booked very short notice. However, I would really recommend renting out a car as you are way more flexible in discovering the peninsula. Roads were always perfectly maintained and if you can get the smallest car possible as you might drive in super small towns sometimes :)
Our itinerary for one week in Puglia:
We flew to Brindisi Airport as flights were just cheaper compared to Bari. In retrospective, it was also the better-located airport as Bari is way more north and thus you would need to driveway longer to the south. However, if you also want to go to Gargano national park I guess Bari is the better choice. In the following I wrote down the cities or rather villages we visited during our trip and then will give you detailed tips for beaches, restaurants etc. in these areas:
Otranto
Porto Badisco
Gallipoli
Nardo
Lecce
Alberobello
Polignano a mare
Monopoli
Ostuni
Tips for your perfect week in Puglia
Cities we visited:
Otranto
The super cute city with a beautiful centro storico, nice restaurants and places to have a refreshing drink after a hot day at the beach
Gallipoli
The small town it especially pretty when you enter the centro storico via a bridge and get lost in the valleys. We enjoyed a coffee and cornetto next to the church and just walked around before we drove to our next stop
Nardo
As the Italian breakfast did not really fill us up we decided to do a quick stop at Nardo and did not get disappointed. The tiny village is really cute and you can grab a bite around the basilica
Lecce
In the beginning, we wanted to skip the biggest city of southern Puglia but we were very glad we did not! Lecce offers a great variety of restaurants, bars and also cute alleys in which you can get lost. We would recommend visiting Lecce especially in the evening for aperitivo and drinks
Alberobello
A must-see when you are in the area as the village is packed with cute trullis. Already when you drive to Alberobello you see some, but the village is just full of it - it is even a UNESCO world heritage site. However, I recommend to not walk around the crowded UNESCO zone that much but rather spend more time on the other side so crossing the main pizza where you can find authentic trullis and almost no tourists
Polignano a mare
We just visited the popular village for breakfast (so coffee and cornetto) and did not particularly like it that much as it was quite crowded and not as cute as the close-by village Monopoli
Monopoli
We actually did not expect that much from Monopoli and just wanted to grab dinner but did return already the next day as we liked it so much. The village with its centro storico was really cute and we especially liked to porto antico and piazza Giuseppe garibaldi
Ostuni
When you approach the white city built on a hill you already get a glance of the beautiful village. But when you then walk into the alleys you feel like in another world. Ostuni was one of the prettiest towns we visited. We especially liked all the aperitivo places on the steep stairs and white painted buildings. As the village is s picturesque, it was also quite full. If you can plan in advance reserve a table at a restaurant!
Beaches:
Grotta della Poesia
As the area around the cave was so packed and there was an entrance to see the grotto (where you were not allowed to swim) we decided to not enter and drove a bit more south
Baia dei Turchi
Very long and nice beach with clear water which was also not too packed
Spiaggia di Porto Badisco
Sandy beach which was quite packed when we went there so we chose the close by Porto Russo
Porto Russo
Hidden from the main road, a small path leads you to this clear blue water „beach“. You have to climb a bit and there is no classical sandy beach area but it is definitely worth is as you can enjoy crystal clear water and see until the ground even at +3 meters. There is even a free parking spot next to it
Porto Miggiano Beach
We did not make it to this beach in the end but saw it from far. As the water is also super clear the beach was quite full but if you are around in September or June it’s definitely worth a visit
Porto Cesareo
This wide and sandy beach was really chilled and we particularly enjoyed the crystal cream water
Torre Chianca Beach
As Porto Cesareo Beach was a bit windy we tried out this beach and were not disappointed - as it is smaller you do not feel the wind that much and thus have lower to no waves
Porto Verde
We really enjoyed this hidden beach with only locals sunbathing. The only downside was that there was no shade but as we only went there for a short dip in the afternoon we did not mind
Spiaggia Tre Buchi
This was actually our favourite beach of the whole trip. The water was so clear, you were able to chill in the sun and shade and even explore some grottos nearby. Another advantage: if one beach is too crowded you can easily just walk or even swim to the next one
Even more beaches that we did not visit but look super beautiful
Punta della Suina
Torre San Giovanni
Beach of Purity
Punta Prosciutto
Photospots
Scoglio di Sapunero
Breathtaking view over the cliffs and a secluded beach. We entered via the holiday centre (next to the pool there are stairs to a fence where there is a whole). Thus we did not meet anybody there except another couple who also entered via this way but we are not sure if there is an easier way 😂
Terrazza 300
Great view over the cute village of Otranto and the sea
Terrazzo Santa Stefano
Beautiful view over the (often super crowded) beach of Polignano a mare
Restaurants, Coffee Spots, and Bars
Lu Tata N'zinu
Very good Neapolitan Pizzeria in Otranto. As it is not based in the centro storico the prices for the really good pizza are also decent
Home Restaurant Scirocco
Super cute agriturismo with especially delicious mixed antipasti and homemade fresh pasta. The setting is really beautiful with olive trees and flowers around you. After dinner, the owner showed us a special room (we were not really sure what he wanted to show us as our Italian is not that good and his English was neither. So when we entered into this room we were like where are we what are we doing here? 😂 But it was really interesting: the agriturismo built a bee home so you sit inside on a couch and can hear and smell (!) the bees and honeycombs as they attached the „bee homes“ to the room, separated of course though multiple grids. The owner told us that they were one of the first having this and that it would especially help people suffering from asthma. What a great place, do not miss it when you are in the area!
Skafe
We spent a couple of hours at this beach bar as the midday sun was just too hot and we did not get disappointed! The vibe is super chilled, you can enjoy coffee, drinks, and also food (although the poke bowl my boyfriend had was rather a rice salad 😂). We saw that they also have other locations in Otranto
La Vetta dello Spritz
When you think of Italy you immediately have the picture of a refreshing aperitivo and tasty snacks in your head right? We enjoyed the authentic bar where locals gathered for their after-work spritz accompanied with some snacks (I guess to not starve when you only have dinner around 10 pm 😂)
Il Quinto Pizza e Delizie
This was definitely the best Neapolitan pizza I had in my entire life!! They offered a great variety of vegetarian pizzas and the dough just melted in your mouth - AMAZING!
A’Roma L’Ostria
We decided for pizza and against this listeria since we only had one night in Lecce but this would probably also have been a great choice
Osteria Perricci
As mentioned I am a very big lover of seafood when I am actually at the sea so I loved loved loved this seafood osteria. We enjoyed antipasti, pasta and dessert, and wine and only paid 44€! The portions were not the biggest but the food was really good and authentic so I would highly recommend going there
Vini e Panini
We really enjoyed our drinks at this place (with their own beer) on the cute piazza
Primo Pasta Bar
Usually, we just grabbed focaccia from the supermarket or bakery for lunch but we really wanted to try out this pasta bar so we went back to Otranto to have lunch there. The place was quite popular and also offered salads, seafood, and daily fresh pasta
Panificio Europan
We just walked by this hidden bakery and decided to grab some focaccia for lunch on the beach. Later when we enjoyed it we found that this was the best focaccia we had in our whole week in Italy
Borgo Antico Bistros
One of the most popular places to grab an aperitivo in Ostuni. You can write yourself on the list and walk around to get a spot if you have not reserved
Trattoria Fave e Fogghje
Recommendation of a friend (she even said she would love to return to Puglia only for this trattoria) but unfortunately fully booked when we went
Bellavista Pizzeria Bistrot
Delicious pizza (vegan and vegetarian options available) and a great view. My boyfriend even described the pizza as the best one he had in his entire life!
La Mela Bacota Lounge
Nice place for grabbing a drink and bite on the stairs
As you can see my tips for Puglia mainly include restaurants/ food spots haha. But well as a foodie, who especially loves the Italian cuisine I can not be blamed I guess ;)
We never ate meat but did eat fish as I just could not resist at the local restaurants. Also, we enjoyed the best Neapolitan pizza with buffalo mozzarella so I guess I need to call myself “mainly vegetarian, sometimes vegan but always eating buffalo mozzarella” on this trip? But when in Italy do as the Romans do I guess?
Hope you enjoyed the travel (or rather restaurant haha) review of our trip to Puglia and maybe you got inspired for your next summer vacation when we all hopefully can travel freely again.
Have you ever been to Puglia? Did you travel abroad this summer?
Take care xxx
Magda
The sea and Italy is not your thing? Check out my blog post on camping in the Swiss alps here :)
