7 days in Puglia: exploring Italy's hidden gem

Welcome to my latest blog in which I hope to give you a taste of Puglia in Italy, from where my wife and I have recently returned.

We had booked an all inclusive guided tour holiday with Great Rail Journeys, a company we have previously used. We have reached the stage of our lives where we sometimes, but not always, like others to do the organising for us. This was our first trip to this part of Italy. Puglia lies in the heel of Italy and is traditionally the poorer part of the country, which meant that for decades it has avoided over-tourism. It is therefore unspoiled, but is slowly being discovered by celebrities. We don't count ourselves as being in that category!

We took an early morning flight from Gatwick with easyJet; in just less than three-hours we were in Bari, stepping out of the plane into 25c of late September Italian sunshine. Our coach journey to our hotel, the Porto Giardino, in Capitol, near Monopoli on the Adriatic coast, was an hour. I must be honest and say that some of the places we passed through looked as if they'd seen better days. A bad first impression, but believe me things definitely got better.

I'm not going into reviewing the hotel, just to say that it was comfortable and the food was ok without being anything special.

The first day was full-on with trips to Locorotondo, Martina Franca, and Polignano Mare. Thankfully the journeys took us through the picture-perfect Puglian landscapes of vineyards and olive groves. We wandered around the labyrinthine narrow streets of these three old towns, stopping at traditional bars and cafes along the way, taking in the whitewashed buildings and, of course, the many churches. My smartphone camera was working overtime.

Wandering through Locorotondo feels like stepping into a perfectly kept secret.The narrow, whitewashed lanes spiral gently around the hilltop, their balconies dripping with bright geraniums. If you arrive early in the morning, as we did, it’s quiet, almost meditative, with only the sound of footsteps echoing off the polished limestone streets.

Martina Franca greets you with grandeur — baroque palaces, ornate churches, and carved stone facades that rise proudly along its twisting alleys. The piazzas feel theatrical, framed by sweeping arches and wrought-iron balconies. As we walked deeper into the old town, the rhythm shifts from busy market chatter to hushed side streets, where laundry flutters between houses painted in soft, sun-faded tones.

Polignano a Mare, as its name suggests, is a coastal town. Walking the old town, the lanes are alive with gelaterias, seafood restaurants, and the smell of salt carried on the breeze. The stunning views out over the deep blue water of the Adriatic are not to be missed.

Our second day was to be a trip by train to Lecca, and a guided walking tour, which would take in Baroque, Renaissance, and Romanesque buildings. However, we opted instead to stay in the hotel and do a little sunbathing around the pool. Our fellow travellers told us that Lecce was worth seeing, but we felt we needed some downtime so as not to overdo it. However, we booked a session in the spa, which was certainly relaxing until, that is, my wife took a tumble on the wet floor tiles. She was shocked, but fortunately didn't suffer any serious injuries. It did mean that her mobility was a little compromised for the remainder of the holiday.

Day three was an official day to ourselves, which my wife used to recover from yesterday, but which I was also used to regain some energy. We chilled by the pool.

Our fourth day should have been a trip to Bari, the capital of Puglia, but my wife had a bad night as her aches and pains kept her awake. We therefore had another day to ourselves lazing around the pool, an experience that was somewhat spoiled by a very noisy party of guests who started drinking at 11.30am!

A better night's sleep, and felling reinvigorated the next morning, we decided that we would head out with our tour group and see the remarkable town of Matera and it's astonishing 'sassi' houses. Sassi are ancient stone-carved dwellings. Our guide gave us the full history of these unique buildings, which are truly remarkable when she told us that people only largely stopped living in them in the 1950s due to government-mandated relocation from the impoverished and unsanitary conditions. The Italian government, after Carlo Levi's book 'Christ Stopped at Eboli' exposed the squalor, evacuated the 20,000 residents to new apartments in the modern city between the early 1950s and 1970s. Although the official evacuation period lasted for decades, the Sassi were largely empty by the late 1980s or early 1990s. The route to these Sassi is not an easy one, as they can only be approached on foot and by negotiating steep descents and climbs across shiny, well-worn, and slippery paths. My wife was still unsteady on her feet so we left our group and headed back to the main town for lunch.

Our tour company certainly kept the best 'till last, and if there had to be only one trip, this would be our choice. The coach drive from our hotel took us through picture-perfect Italian countryside, with its acre after acre of olive groves and vineyards. Our destination was Alberobello, which is like no other place, its streets lined with trulli — white, conical-roofed houses that seem born from a fairytale. Walking here is an almost whimsical experience: symbols painted on the roofs catch your eye, while shops spill out with handmade crafts and local wines. The cobbled lanes climb and dip, giving shifting views of clustered stone domes that look almost surreal in the sunlight. Despite the crowds that gather, there’s still a gentle magic in wandering through this UNESCO-protected village.

The following day we headed back to Bari Airport and flew to Gatwick, having had a busy but relaxing week. We had met some nice people in our tour group and enjoyed some lively conversation over lunch, pre-dinner drinks, and dinner itself. Several of us exchanged phone numbers and our social media channels.

A week in Puglia is just enough to scratch the surface, but we left left wanting more, not necessarily of Puglia, but of Italy as a whole. September is a nice time to visit this part of Italy, with the main tourist season coming to a close. Puglia is currently largely unspoiled, so get there before the herd discover it and change it forever.

Thank you for reading my blog, it's always appreciated. Drop a comment, please, I'd love to hear what you think.

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© Mike Young 2025.