Early holidays for us this year! We received a wedding invite in Lecce and decided to combine this event with a road trip to Puglia. June is the perfect month to visit the South of Italy: not too hot and not too busy. Honestly, I would not recommend doing this tour in August, way too crowded. Below you can find our tour’s detailed itinerary, including all the restaurants that my friends from Puglia suggested.

First of all: how much does it cost?

Well, let me tell you: this holiday was not cheap. I tried to book not too fancy but authentic and highly rated accommodation and restaurants, to make sure everything was smooth and enjoyable. But you can find less expensive options, of course – both for food and accommodation.

• Flight 398€ with Transavia, 2pp, Amsterdam > Bari
• Rental car 776€ with Sicily by car, from the airport
• Hotel on average 115€ per night, 2pp with breakfast
• Lunch was around 30-40€ and dinner 70-80€, 2pp
• Sun umbrella and seats at the beach from 15 to 25€

So more or less the total is around 3.500 euro for 2pp, in June.

Itinerary: where did you go?

• Day 1: Bari
• Day 2: Polignano, Monopoli and Cisternino
• Day 3: Alberobello and Locorotondo
• Day 4: Ostuni
• Day 5: Lecce
• Day 6: The Maldives of Salento
• Day 7: Torre San Giovanni, Santa Maria di Leuca
• Day 8: Punta Prosciutto and Gallipoli
• Day 9: Grottaglie and la Murgia
• Day 10: Matera

We slept in:

• Bari, first night: B&B Murex
• Valle d’Itria, in a trullo, for 3 nights: Si fa trullo
• Salento, Casarano (town where we had the wedding), 4 nights: Le Casette Terreamare
• Matera, last two nights: Le Gradelle San Nicola

Day 1: Bari

I love this town and its vibe, I’m always happy to come back. We arrived early morning, we found a convenient parking spot (Parcheggio Saba, 5€ per day) next to the old town and we left the luggage in our B&B Murex, located in the famous “street of orecchiette” where old ladies are making fresh pasta on the street. From here we went to Panificio Santa Rita to order fresh focaccia. Awesome breakfast! Another good one is in Panificio Fiore. For aperitivo we stopped at El Chiringuito, a fish market where you can order freshly caught fish and drink a Peroni. Traditional Barese dinner at La Uascezze, menù 20€ with a loooot of food.

Other places I saved: eat Panzerotti at Cibò, drink coffee at la Ciclatera, dinner “Ai 2 Ghiottoni” (fish), “Al pescatore” (fish),“Osteria Le Arpie” (traditional).

Day 2: Polignano, Monopoli and Cisternino

After breakfast, we went to Abbazia di San Vito for a first jump into the sea, and then we drove to the super instragrammable Polignano. As expected: beautiful and busy. We stopped for a selfie and to drink the well-known Caffé Speciale at Super Mago del Gelo. Another thing to see: poems written by Guido il Flâneur, you can find them on walls and doors all around the city of Polignano. For lunch, we ordered the famous sandwiches with fish at Pescaria, highly recommended. From Polignano we went to Monopoli, a lovely town. Dinner in Cisternino, we had “orecchiette con cime di rapa” at Trattoria Bère Vecchie.

Day 3: Alberobello and Locorotondo

Valle d’Itria is the land of Trulli, traditional Apulian construction, dry stone hut with a conical roof. We stayed at Fabrizio e Simona, Si Fa Trullo. This b&b is located outside the cities, in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by olive trees. The atmosphere is really relaxing and suggestive. Plus point: their breakfast was amazing, made with fresh local products. We spent the morning at the beach, Torre Canne. In the afternoon we visited the famous Alberobello (UNESCO heritage, quite touristic but worth a visit) and we had dinner in Locorotondo, U curdunn.

Day 4: Ostuni

The plan for today was to chill at the beach in Torre Pozzelle and evening in Ostuni. As suggested by Fabrizio, we picked up Panzerotti (fried pizza, 2€) at Bar Tony and went to the beach. In Ostuni we had a lovely aperitivo with a view at Bar Perso but we were not particularly impressed by the restaurant Osteria del tempo perso, even though it’s quite popular and it received a lot of prizes. Some other spots I saved here were: La Locanda del Macellaio and Cicinedda fruit bistrot.

Day 5: Lecce

Time to move to the deep south, Salento! We decided to find an apartment in the same town where we had the wedding, Casarano. On the way there we stopped in Lecce, but our walk was stopped by a heavy rain! Here you definately have to try the Puccia, typical bread/sandwich. Two places: La Puccia, o Meditee. Other restaurant I had saved but didn’t try: Trattoria Le Zie, Tre Rane, Osteria le volte, 63 osteria contemporanea. In the evening we went to a small village, Ruffano. Here we had dinner in the place we liked the most during holidays: La farmacia dei sani. Their Menù Degustazione is absolutely amazing, and wine pairing too.

Day 6: the Maldives of Salento

For this day we were planning a visit to Otranto and Baia dei Turchi, but we changed our mind and opted for another full beach day at the Maldive of Salento, Spiaggia di Pescoluse. Some chilling before the wedding, and a pizza in Casarano. Here we stayed in a really comfortable apartment, Le casette terreamare. We would have never picked that small town if it was not for the wedding, but I have to admit that it was strategically located, in the heart of Salento. The price/quality/comfort of the place was excellent.

Giorno 7: Torre San Giovanni, Santa Maria di Leuca

Because we wedding was late in the afternoon, we decided to spend a few hours at the beach in Torre San Giovanni. We also visited quickly Santa Maria di Leuca and admired the view from the lighthouse. The wedding was in Casina Calò, beautiful authentic countryhouse from ‘700.

Giorno 8: Punta Prosciutto e Gallipoli

My favourite beach: the one that goes from Porto Cesareo to Punta Prosciutto. We booked a spot in Lido Hookipa, highly recommended. For aperitivo we moved to Kalura Beach. Last stop: Gallipoli, fish dinner at Osteria Briganti.

Day 9: Grottaglie and la Murgia

It’s already time to leave Salento. We paid our fine (that we got the night of the wedding) and we drove to la Murgia. We had a winery tour booked for that day, at Gianfranco Fino. They produced one of the most famous Primitivo, ES. Their estate is incredible, I loved the design details everywhere. The wine tasting and food pairing was incredible. For lunch we moved to Grottaglie, at La Luna nel Pozzo. The town is well known for the ceramics production, you can visit Casa Vestita Museum, and Ceramiche Enza Fasano. Evening in Matera, dinner at Baccus.

Day 10: Matera

I felt in love with Matera ten years ago. I really wanted to go back there with Patrick, and show him how wonderful is this town. We slept at Gradelle di San Nicola, nice place but I was expecting better quality at breakfast. We booked a guided tour with Giulio, it was fun and interesting. Lunch at Osteria Belvedere al Vecchio Frantoio, and after that we went to the exposition Dalì a Matera, really suggestive and recommended, inside a church in the rocks. A note on the restaurant where we dined: La nicchia nel sasso, osteria contemporanea; we took their tasting menu and enjoyed it in front of a view of Matera at sunset which turned into a full moon – amazing. Ice-cream at Vizi degli angeli and Cocktail from Area8, best end of a perfect holiday.