Puglia Itinerary 7 Days
Puglia Itinerary 7 Days – This itinerary takes in the key sites of beautiful Puglia, plus suggestions on restaurants and hotels. This itinerary is based on our personal trip and ideas, plus we took the kids with us, so if we can do it then you can too. *Contains affiliate links
ITINERARY – Bari / Monopoli / Caves of Polignano / Mora Mora / Lecce / Otranto / Masseria/Farm Stay / Alberobello
Day 1 Arrive in Bari – Puglia Itinerary 7 Days
Take the time to visit and explore Bari’s Old Town – stroll along Strada Arco Alto buying handmade pasta, step inside the airy cathedral, stop by the castle and the old harbour, and promenade along the esplanade. Bari has a good reputation for street food, so we nibbled on Panzerotti and Taralli en route while quaffing the odd Aperol Spritz. Discover a full Guide to Bari and details on the Old Town plus food and drink recommendations.
Organised street food tours are also available (book below), which point you to quality vendors in town.
The city centre also offers good shopping, great clothing, and our kids made a beeline for Lego City.
Decompress! We’d booked the Mercure Villa Romanazzi Carducci Bari with a pool, so we could relax, swim, have a cocktail and feel those holiday vibes. It’s twenty minutes walk from the Old Town, and about ten minutes from the railway station, offering modern functional rooms. Another popular Bari option with a pool is H Grande Albergo Delle Nazioni.
Dinner – Braceria Signorile on Via G. Petroni is very novel. Order your meat in the butcher’s shop, choose the weight, the cut etc. Then take a seat next door in the restaurant, order any sides and drinks, and within moments the meat feast is served. V good prices too.
Day 2 – Day in Bari / Overnight in Monopoli
After all the walking on Day 1, on Day 2 hit one of Bari’s city beaches. We opted for Pane e Pomodoro so we could soak up some rays. It has a curious sand bank, which meant the kids walked out into the deep before rising up again into the ankle deep water. They found this sudden ‘walking on water’ v entertaining. The beach has easy, vast parking and a chilled vibe.
Food – For low food miles, organic produce from a network of small producers head to Buò – Crudo, Cotto e Mangiato. It’s very close to Pane e Pomodoro beach too, if you’re peckish after your swim.
If you’d prefer something more hands on then book a pasta experience (below) to discover the local specialty, orecchiette.
If the beach doesn’t appeal read up on more Bari ideas. Next, the drive from Bari to Monopoli takes only forty minutes so whiz down the road and overnight in your second destination.
Hotel – We wanted some time by the pool, so we stayed at the Torre Cintola Natural Sea Emotions resort hotel. It has two pools, just a few mins outside of Monopoli. The pools were the main attraction for our family but the sea is within reach too. The accommodation itself offers curious apartment pods or standard apartments. We booked the latter, featuring a double bed plus bunkbeds for the kids, modern shower room, plus a small outdoor seating area. Evening meals can be booked there too. It’s a set buffet menu, including wine, but the buffet is all served by staff. Check prices and availability here. We found this place a little corner of relaxation after time spent in the centre of Monopoli.
Day 3 – Monopoli – Puglia Itinerary 7 Days
Old Town – Start the day by heading straight to the Centro Storico. Monopoli is one of the cutest, most picturesque towns in the area. We just followed our nose through the winding streets, so read our full guide to Monopoli here.
Beach – We also spent an hour or so at Monopoli’s tiny town beach, the kids swam while I searched for sea glass on the shore.
Food – Because Monopoli is quite a romantic and bonny place, a lot of the restaurants felt quite adult, quite pricey, and kids’ menus don’t seem to really be a thing in Italy. We were delighted to find Antiche Mura on Via Luigi Cadorna with its wide range of lunch fare at good prices. I tucked into bruschetta as the kids munched on pizza and pasta.
Book Monopoli’s Torre Cintola Natural Sea Emotions resort hotel.
Day 4 – Caves of Polignano / Drive to Acquarica
This is a fab excursion. We set sail from Monopoli harbour for a two hour cruise to see the Caves of Polignano. Our trip took 2 hours, the boat held 8 people maximum. We booked with Imbarcatour, who you can find on Facebook. The crew, Vincenzo and Giada, took us to the biggest caves and told us their story, then let us swim, and finally plied us with Prosecco 🙂 More detailed info, such as prices, in this Monopoli blog post.
Leave Monopoli and Drive South – Our next accommodation choice was v random. We wanted somewhere between Lecce, Otranto and the coastline so we chose a very cheap but cosy apartment in a tiny, cute but quite nondescript, quiet village called Acquarica. Take a look here. Situated above a pizzeria, the hosts even gifted us a free evening meal for all the family. It was so lovely, plus the accommodation had a washing machine, and an outdoor terrace that was a real sun trap.
Day 5 – Mora Mora Beach or Otranto
From the Acquarica apartment, drive ten mins to Mora Mora beach near San Foca. This was the most beautiful beach I saw during our 10-day road trip as it was so expansive and the water was so blue.
If you’d prefer something more active head to the white city of Otranto. This is the one place I wish to return to see, as we didn’t quite make it there!
Day 6 – Visit Lecce/Drive to Masseria near Alberobello
Next stop, Lecce. Ideal if, after the beauty of Puglia, you fancy a handsome, baroque city that boasts ornate churches and even an amphitheatre in the centre of town. Read a full guide to Lecce, including a park, plus food and drink specialties, such as the sweet Leccese coffee I’m drinking above, and the gorgeous bakery snack of pasticciotti.
From Lecce we headed to our final stop, the fairytale town of Alberobello. You can stay in the town’s signature and iconic creative conical houses called ‘trulli’. We’d also heard of Italian farm stays called ‘masseria‘, so we combined the two concepts staying at a masseria with trulli accommodation just outside Alberobello. The property had an outdoor pool, and our two-bedroom accommodation had a small kitchenette. We LOVED this place – book here.
Day 7 – Alberobello – Puglia Itinerary 7 Days
Exploring the beauty of Alberobello is an unmissable stop in Puglia. The biggest issue is knowing exactly what to see and where to get great viewpoints of the trulli. Read our guide to Alberobello to know which areas to head for, where to park and which trulli stand out.
Fly Home
From Alberobello, it was just over an hour to Bari airport, so before you know it you’ll be homeward bound. I hope this helps you plan your Puglian break. There are other stunning cities and towns to consider too, from Gallipoli to Brindisi, but in 7 Days this itinerary takes in core sights with some downtime factored in too.
You may also find this useful:-
Things to Do in Monopoli with Kids
Farm stay with pool and Trulli accommodation near Alberobello
Things to Do in Bari with Kids
Or Browse All of our Italian Content
Have fun!
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