Make the most out of your time there by following this one week Puglia itinerary. In this itinerary you will find the best towns in Puglia, the top tours and activities, and all the tips you need.

Are you planning a trip to Puglia?

Check out the best tours and accomodation along your stops: Ostuni, Alberobello, Otranto and Bari.

Best Tours along this Puglia route:

The White City: Ostuni Walking Tour
Visit the conical roof houses in Alberobello
Explore the “Florence of the South”: Lecce walking tour
Otranto: walking tour of the most beautiful beach town
Street food tour in Bari

Best hotels in Ostuni:
Casa Bianca B&B (Mid-range)
Ostuni Palace (High-end)

Best hotels in Lecce:
Ada Suites & Spa (Mid-range)
Palazzo Lecce – Epoca Collection (High-end)

Best hotels in Otranto:
Vele d’Otranto (Mid-range)
Palazzo de Mori (High-end)

Car rental:
Rent a car in Puglia (otherwise you can do this Puglia itinerary by public transport).

Puglia is one of the most beautiful regions in Italy. I have also spent time in other regions in Italy, and Puglia is by far my favorite.

You will fall in love with its picturesque and quiet towns, beautiful beaches, turquoise sea and delicious food. Also, it’s relatively cheap compared to the rest of Italy.

And just like in the rest of Italy, I have found the people to be extremely friendly and welcoming. Here I share with you an ideal itinerary in Puglia for 7 days. It works great either for a road trip or if you travel by public transport.

How to get to Puglia

If you are traveling from abroad, you will most likely have to change places in Rome.

The Rome Airport, Roma Fiumicino, has a fame for losing traveler’s bags, so make sure your layover time is long enough so that your bags will make it with you.

In our case, we flew to Bari and our bags didn’t arrive with us. Fortunately, they were delivered to Ostuni, our first stop in this Puglia itinerary, on the following day by the airline.

Puglia airports and getting to Ostuni

The most important airport in Puglia is in Bari, which is an international airport.There’s also another airport in Brindisi, international as well. There’s a third airpot, in Foggia, but it only operates a few national flights.

From Ostuni, you have to take a bus to the city center since it’s too far to walk.

Funny story: When we arrived at the train station we saw the bus would still take some time to arrive. So we saw what we thought was a shuttle van and joined the group of people getting in. Once we were sitting inside we asked the driver if he was going to the center and he replied “Yes!” with cheerful a smile. We asked how much was the price was. That’s when he said that well, that was his van and the people getting in were his family, but that he could take us too, for free. It was really nice of them and it was our first encounter with the amazing Italian hospitality.

Puglia Itinerary: the best towns to visit in one week in Puglia

Let’s take a look at the best towns to visit in Puglia in one week. This Puglia itinerary assumes you will either arrive either very early on Day 1 in Ostuni or the day before.

Day 1: Ostuni

Ostuni is one the most beautiful cities in the South of Italy because of its white stone buildings, white-washed houses, and cobblestone alleys. And since it’s 200 meters above sea level, from many points in the town, you will have beautiful views of olive groves and the sea.

Its main attraction is its historic center, a walled city of charming narrow white streets and alleys.

Piazza della Libertà is the heart of the historic center, where you will find most of the important monuments. Also don’t miss a visit to its Gothic cathedral.

Ostuni is a great place to spend a day just walking around, drinking almond iced coffee in one of its bar terraces, and exploring its shops. You can also take a walking tour, to learn more about its alleys and history with a local guide.

The city also has many good restaurants and bars. Our favorite restaurant was Osteria del Tempo Perso. Not only the food is delicious, but inside, you will feel that you step back in time, since its rooms where once a cave.

Tip: If you want to stay an extra day in Ostuni, I recommend visiting the nearby town of Ceglie Messapica for lunch. Ceglie Messapica is a small town with a beautiful and very quiet historic center. We had one of out best meals, and a very good and inexpensive restaurant.

Day 2: Daytrip to Cisternino and Alberobello

Your second day, you could have an easy morning in Ostuni and head for lunch to Cisternino and later to Alberobello.

Cisternino

To get to Cisternino, if you are not driving, you can take a bus from Ostuni. Cisternino is a quiet medieval town with a charming center. It has narrow streets, old churches, and a nice square surrounded by small shops, restaurants and cafes.

The town sits on a hill so there’s a viewpoint from which you can get beautiful views of the countryside.

Cisternino is beautiful, but very small, so that’s why I recommend going around lunchtime. We went early in the morning and everything was closed.

Locorotondo: optional stop

From Cisternino, you can continue your way towards Alberobello. But there is actually a nice town in between Cisternino and Alberobello: Locorotondo.

But since Locorotondo is also a small town, you might get there in the afternoon pause when everything is closed.

If you have a car, you might want to stop anyhow and wander around. If you don’t, then you will get off the train just to find a nice but small deserted town, like we did. We had to actually wait a couple of hours until things started to open.

Locorotondo is totally worth it when the town is alive! If you have an extra day in Ostuni, consider wandering around Locorotondo at a better time in the day. Otherwise, you could consider visiting Locorotondo instead of Cisternino. They are equally charming.

Funny story: We had no problem getting into Cisternino since we went by bus. But to get to our next destination, Locorotondo, we needed to catch the train. The problem is the train station is 16km (~10 miles) away from the center. The hike to the train station is nice, though of course very long. We ended up hitchhiking part of it.

But once we finally got to the entrance of the station, the train was just leaving! We would have had to wait a long time for the next one. So we ran. We were of course not going to make it but we just tried. The conductor of the train saw us and stopped the train that had just departed! He waited for us to get to the train. In another amazing example of Italian hospitality, he spent the trip telling us about the attractions of the area and refused to charge us for the tickets.

Alberobello

Alberobello is a town famous for its trulli. These trulli are small white structures with conical stone roofs.

They are great examples a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. The oldest ones date to the 14th century. Although you can find trulli all around the Itria Valley, their highest concentration and best examples are in Alberobello. Besides their shape, makes them unique is that they are still inhabited.

The lunch pause that you fill find in so many Italian villages where everything is closed isn’t really important in Alberobello. One reason is that even if everything is closed, you can still explore Alberobello, wander around and admire the trulli. You will feel you are walking around smurfland 🙂

The second reason is that Alberobello is a touristic town, so there will always be a lot of people and enough places open.

Because of it’s uniqueness, even though touristy, it’s one of the best towns in the region to visit. And for sure one of the most instagrammable towns in Puglia. Make sure not to skip it in your Puglia itinerary!

Ideally, take a walking tour of Alberobello, so that you can learn more about the town. If you prefer a tour that is more flexible with times, you can also consider taking a private tour.

From Alberobello, you can take a train back to Ostuni.

Days 3 and 4: Lecce

Lecce is one of the biggest and most important cities in Puglia. But don’t imagine a city full of only modern buildings. Also known as the Florence of the South, it has received that nickname because of the big amount of monuments, churches and palaces it has.

Because it has modern conveninces as well as a beautiful old town, Lecce is a great place to use as a base to explore the South of Puglia.

My suggestion would be to stay here for two days and in Otranto, the next town, for one day if you go during the high season. Otranto is very beautiful but small, so it can get overcrowded between June and September. If you go off season, I would stay one day in Lecce and two in Otranto.

The historic center is big, and there’s a lot to see around its narrow pedestrian-only streets and big squares. There’s a Roman amphiteatre in the middle of the historic town, big old churches, museums, palazzos, etc. There will be enough to see around Lecce for a day or two.

A good way of exploring the historic center would be to take a walking tour or a private tour around Lecce. For something different, you could also take a rickshaw city tour.

Days 4 and 5 : Otranto

In the way to Otranto, if you go by car, you can stop by several small towns with very beautiful beaches. In my opinion, they are some of the best in Europe, along with some beaches in Portugal and Spain.

Otranto is a beautiful coastal town with sandy beaches and a turquoise sea. I loved all of Puglia, but Otranto was my favorite place of all. It is absolutely one of the best towns in this Puglia itinerary and one of the hidden gems in southern Italy.

The beach is incredibly beautiful and we would have loved to go for a swim (it’s one of the best beaches in Puglia). But we went in early May, so even though it was sunny and the weather was nice, it was not warm enough to swim.

Still, sitting in the sand or going for a coffee and gelato in one of the beach-front cafes makes the perfect morning.

The old town is small, and only accessible to pedestrians. It’s full of restaurants shops and bars. One of the most important buildings you will see is the Castello Aragonese, located in the center of the town. It was built in the 15th century to defend the city from the Turkish people.

Another important building is the cathedral, which has an impressive mosaic floor.

Consider taking this highly rated walking tour to learn more about the its charming historic center.

For lunch, I highly recommend Il Diavolicchio Goloso. We ate in many delicious restaurants during this trip but Il Diavolicchio was my favorite. The setting was very nice, it was in a building surrounded by big garden, and the food was great. We are vegetarian, and they had many options for us. If you have a car it’s just a few minutes drive away. Otherwise, you can walk 30 minutes from the town to get there, as we did.

Another interesting option for lunch or dinner would be to take a cooking class at a local’s home, where you will learn to prepare a delicious starter, pasta and dessert.

Grotta della Poesia

Translated as Cave of Poetry, its name says it all.

It’s considered one of the most beautiful natural pools in the world. It’s a great place to swim and dive into the clear water. Some people even bring snorkels to look at the colorful fish.

If you have a car, don’t miss a visit to Grotta della Poesia in your Puglia itinerary. It’s just a 20 minute drive away from Otranto. Since we didn’t have a car and couldn’t reach it by public transport, unfortunately we couldn’t go.

Day 6: Daytrip to Gallipolli

Gallipoli is a beautiful town for a day trip, either from Lecce or from Otranto. It will be your last destination in this Puglia itinerary.

When you arrive in Gallipoli, you will see that there’s a clear division between the city and the old historic center. They are next to each other.

The city is modern, though small. It has some nice clothing shops and restaurants, but the charm of the city is the old town.

The old town is located on a very small island, which is connected to the mainland by an ancient bridge. It is almost completely surrounded by defensive walls, which date back to the 14th century, and it also has a fortress.

The town is made up of a maze of small streets, which open up to the expansive sea-front promenade with beautiful views. During the spring and summer, cafes, bars, and restaurants open up onto the sidewalks creating a lovely ambiance.

Taking a leisurely evening walk along the promenade, with a view of the sea, is a great activity and sets the tone for a delicious meal.

The beach, la Spiaggia della Purita, is also a popular spot in the summer.

Day 7: Back to Bari and home

This will be your last day in this Puglia itinerary, and time to get back to Bari to fly home. If you are traveling by public transport, take the train from Lecce, which will take you 1 and a half hours. If you are on a road trip, you will have to drive for 2 hours.

Still, depending on the time of your flight you will still have time to explore Bari.

Bari is a big city, but again, its historic center is were you will find most of the interesting places to visit. Wander around its alleys and don’t miss a visit to the Basilica di San Nicola and the Svevo castle.

A good idea to visit the old center can be to take a street food walking tour, to get to taste some nice focaccia, cheese and wine along the way. Or take this bike-rickshaw street food tour, which will take you to the main sights, like the basilica and castle, while stopping for food and drink; including wine, cheese, gelato and more. These tours are just two hours long so you will have enough time to make it to the airport on time.

This is the end of my recommended Puglia itinerary. Hope that you enjoy it as much as we did!

Do you need to rent a car Puglia?

It’s totally possible to visit Puglia by public transport, like we did. There are inexpensive regional trains and buses connecting the area. It’s no problem at all traveling without a car in this recommended Puglia itinerary.

Of course, you will still depend on their timetables so you have to plan ahead. Trains in this region sometimes don’t run that often.

That means that if you miss a train you might have to wait for an hour. Or that you might have to wait for the buses that connect the stations with the city centers.

And there are some places that you won’t be able to reach by public transport, like Grotta della Poesia and other remote areas.

For these reasons, a lot of people choose to do a Puglia road trip by renting a car. You can rent a car here for traveling with more flexibility and comfort.

If you are also going to travel with your partner, like we did, make sure to check out these road trip tips for couples to make the best out of your time together.

When is the best time to visit Puglia?

We visited Puglia in May and it was relatively quiet. In July and August the streets are very crowded, especially the beach towns. While we loved Otranto and it was our favorite place in this Puglia itinerary, our friends who visited in July felt overwhelmed by the crowds.

May and October are possibly the best months to visit but you can’t really swim at the beach because it’s not so warm. June and September will be better if you like the beach and it will be less crowded than July and August.

Where to stay in Puglia?

One of the best things about Puglia is that you can stay in very nice accommodations without spending a fortune, since this region is one of the cheapest places in Italy.

Let’s take a look at some of the best options to stay in Ostuni, Lecce and Otranto.

Best hotels in Ostuni:

Since Ostuni is a small city, there are not as many accomodation options as you could find in bigger places. Many of them are not hotels but apartments. Here are some of the best:

• Mid-range: Casa Bianca B&B: Comfortable large rooms. Good breakfast included. Near the old town
• Mid-range: Ca’milla Sweet Home: Beautiful apartment with everything you need, very near the old town.
• High end: Grotta Carlotta: This bedroom has a totally magical feel to it. It’s located in a natural cave and has a jacuzzi. Great location in the old town. Only one room available.
• High end: Ostuni Palace: Rooms have a classic and elegant design. Enjoy the spa and the breakfast buffet. Very near the old town.

Best hotels in Lecce:

• Budget: B&B Il Sedile: Small B&B right in the middle of the old town. Good breakfast included and served in the bar across the street.
• Mid-range: Ada Suites & Spa: Highly rated B&B. Nice rooms and a spa. Located a short walk away to the old town.
• High-end: Palazzo Lecce – Epoca Collection: Lovely boutique hotel in an old palazzo. Rooms have a modern while at the same time classical decor. Sauna and Turkish bath available.

Best hotels in Otranto:

• Budget: Bed & Beldebere: Simple and spacious rooms, some with a sea view. Located very near the train station and a 15-minute walk from the old town.
• Mid-range: Vele d’Otranto: Very highly rated B&B. Nice rooms with a balcony. Very close to the beach and old town.
• High-end: Tenuta Centoporte: Big modern resort with a swimming pool, surrounded by olive groves. Big spacious rooms, some of the more expensive ones with a private pool. A 5 minutes’ drie from Otranto.
• High-end: Palazzo de Mori: Elegant B&B in the old town. Some rooms overlook the port, others have views of the sea or the Aragonese castle.