Puglia is a region renowned for it’s amazing cuisine, magnificent coastline and exuberant architecture. In fact, with nearly 800 kilometres of coastline, Puglia proudly boasts the longest coastline of any main mainland region in Italy and is a fantastic area to visit for people who enjoy spending time at the beach combined with time spent sightseeing and enjoying delicious food and wine.
To help you make the most of your stay in Puglia, Bookings For You has put together a Puglia travel guide, packed full of all the things to do in Puglia during your holiday. Our Puglia travel guide can provide restaurant recommendations, provide you with ideas about how to keep the children entertained, let you know which are the best museums to visit or, for the keen shoppers out there, where the best bargains are to be found.
Click on the image below to see information about the exciting activities and things to do in Puglia. If you have recently visited the region and have your own special list of things to do in Puglia that we don’t know about, please do share it with us. We will then be able to add it to our Puglia travel guide so that future travellers can benefit from your experience!
At Bookings For You, we strongly believe that the key to a successful family holiday is to keep the children entertained and happy at all times! After all, if the kids are happy then it usually naturally follows that the parents are too! Hopefully our guide to holidays with children in tow in Puglia will help ensure that this is the case!
Dependent on your choice of Puglia holiday rental, you may well have the convenience of a play area on site to keep the youngest of children entertained. You may also have the luxury of either a private or communal swimming pool on hand. Many a happy hour...
As with all other areas of Italy, Puglia enjoys a number of festivals each year. It's well worth trying to time your visit to coincide with one of the events - they offer a unique insight into the Italian culture and are great fun.
The first of these in the year is the Carnival in Putignano. This is actually one of the oldest carnivals in Europe, and is believed to have been running since 1394 however it only came to resemble the modern event it is today during the Fascist era when the street parade came into fashion. Nowadays floats are themed, usually relating to current affairs or political...
There are a number of excellent golf courses in Puglia to enjoy during your stay, many of which you will find to be quieter than those in other regions of Italy, and certainly quieter than in many other countries in Europe. There are five 18 hole courses as well as a small course to enjoy, namely:
San Domenico
Situated on the Adriatic coast, this is a challenging 18 hole course. Whilst the proximity to the coast means golfers can enjoy some stunning sea views during their round, it also brings the added challenge of contending with some testing sea breezes, not to mention the usual bunkers...
Puglia offers some absolutely stunning scenery and some superb walking territory. Nestled between the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other, the region is surprisingly varied and there can surely be no better way to appreciate the beautiful scenery and countryside than on foot. You have the option of enjoying one of the many coastal routes on offer or instead you could opt to head inland and enjoy a more rural hike.
Unfortunately though, this region isn't as well organised as other parts of Italy in terms of having marked trails and maps of paths easily available to access....
Puglia is an area steeped in history and local customs and there are plenty of museums on offer to help bring the region's history and culture to life. In fact, there are so many museums scattered around Puglia that we could never hope to provide an exhaustive list of those worth visiting during your holiday. However, we hope that this at least gives you information on some of the most easily accessible museums that the region's principal towns have to offer and provides a helpful starting point to your holiday planning.
Alberobello
In Alberobello, it's definitely worth taking the time...
Puglia has the longest coastline of any region in Italy and certainly some of the most fantastic beaches, with long stretches of gorgeous white sand and beautifully crystal clear water. To the East of the region is the Adriatic Sea whilst to the South East is the Ionian Sea. The Straits of Otranto and Taranto then sit to the South of Puglia.
Starting in the North, there is the beautiful Gargano National Park. You can certainly argue that the focus within the park is more on the Umbria forest than on the beaches but it has been extended to include almost the whole promontory and now includes...
Bookings For You are pleased to be able to offer the services of a private chef during your stay in Puglia. A professional chef will come to your holiday villa in Puglia and prepare before your very eyes a delicious 3 course menu. Enjoy the very best of Puglian cuisine without even having to take a step outside your holiday home.
How about enjoying some freshly made orecchiette with cime di rapa, followed by a delicious fish dish making the most of the wonderful seafood that the Puglian region enjoys off it's long coastline. Or perhaps you would prefer to try one of Puglian's traditional meat...
There are some absolutely wonderful restaurants across Italy. Eating out in Puglia is no exception. Often, the most unassuming restaurants can provide the most exceptional cuisine. The food is varied, often simple but always delicious! Most of the land in Puglia is rural - for perspective the region's 66 million olive trees produce 40% of Italys' olive oil - and so food tends to focus on using this abundant local produce, including fava beans, courgette, rocket, artichokes, fennel, peppers and durum wheat. The latter is used to make their 'orecchiette' which are little ear-shaped shells, often...
We all know that travelling can be stressful. But hopefully our guide to travelling in Puglia will help to ease the stress out of your journey.
Puglia has two main airports serviced from the UK - Brindisi and Bari. Unfortunately there are not many flights leaving from the UK outside the main London airports, but British Airways and Easyjet fly to Bari and Brindisi respectively from London Gatwick and Ryanair flies to both destinations from London Stansted.
You may also want to consider flying into Naples as it's only a 3-4 hour drive across from Naples to the region. This certainly opens...
There are weekly markets all over Puglia which we can highly recommend. Try your hand at haggling in Italian, or if that fails in English or, as a final straw, use sign language to snap up that bargain!! For those in a self catering property looking to dine in, the markets are certainly a great place to pick up all your fruit and vegetables. One of our absolute favourites is the market in Ostuni every Saturday.
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Puglia is definitely one of our favourite regions in Italy.... truly unspoilt and unlike anywhere else in the country and with an incredible wealth of things to see and do. We have listed below some of our favourite towns and villages in Puglia, all of which are well worth visiting during your stay here.
Alberobello
Alberobello is one of the most famous and most easily recognised landscapes of the Puglia region. The skyline is a spectacular gathering of trulli (circular buildings with conical roofs, built from limestone). Reminiscent of 'hobbit' houses, you will find them throughout the...
Travel money for your Puglia holiday
If you're looking to order euros for your trip to Puglia, then we would always advise ordering your travel money online before you jet away. Avoid the last minute panic buying at the airport and instead secure far better rates of exchange by reserving your travel money online in advance. As well as ensuring you get far better rates, it's also much more convenient. We recommend organising your travel money through our recommended partners TravelFX . After all, as well as offering excellent exchange rates, TravelFX will also deliver your currency ...
Puglia is a great area of Italy to visit all year round with an average of over 300 sunny days to enjoy each year.
As you would expect, July and August are the hottest months in the area, where temperatures often reach 30 degrees centigrade. Certainly, at this time of year, some of the main towns and cities can get almost stiflingly hot and here it's not unusual to see temperatures over 35 degrees, however temperatures tend to stay cooler on the coast. And the coast is certainly a great place to be in the height of the Summer. The sea warms up to the mid twenties, making a dip in the sea...