5 nights in Puglia (with 10 adults and 11 kids!)
We opted to stay in a small complex of 5 renovated Trulli, traditional Apulian dry stone houses with cone-shaped roofs. Absolutely stunning and due to the thick walls also very cool inside during the summer. The complex was situated in a rural location (the nearest small shop was 15 mins walk), it had a pool, but certainly no kids club!
HOW TO EXPLORE
Each family hired a car from Bari airport, the journey from the airport to the Trulli, took around an hour and was fairly simple. We used the car throughout our stay to take day trips out to the little towns. We chose to base ourselves in one location, although it is perfectly possible to do a ‘road trip’ travelling from one town to another. I’d say you’d ideally need at least 7 -10 days to explore Puglia properly.
WHERE TO VISIT
Many of the prettiest towns lie around the Valle d’Itria, classic postcard Puglia: a lush, green valley carpeted with olive groves, vineyards, drystone walls and winding lanes. It’s famously scenic, and extremely popular with tourists, especially Italian tourists. In the few days we spent in Puglia, we visited the Unesco world heritage site, Alberobello - known for its zona dei trulli — 1,500 conical houses clustered across the hillsides. It’s fascinating and worth the visit, but probably best visited outside July and August when it’s very crowded. We also spent a happy half a day visiting the city of Ostuni which is known as the ‘White City’ thanks to the white painted old town which crowns the very top of the city as it rises out of the Adriatic Sea. Martina Franca is also worth a visit, a walled town filled with winding alleys, baroque palazzi and piazzas, as is the upmarket coastal town of Trani, 50km northwest of Bari, sometimes known as the “pearl of Puglia”.
WHERE TO STAY
Puglia has a wide range of accommodation from medieval palazzi to traditional cottages and swish coastal hotels. We opted to stay in Trullo because this meant each family had their own little space so it worked well for us, plus they are quite simply really beautiful places to stay. There are hundreds of renovated Trulli across Puglia. Perhaps one of the most characterful places to stay in Puglia is on a “masseria”, a manor farm (usually either an olive farm or a vineyard), similar to an agriturismo in other parts of Italy. Modelled on classical Roman villas, they vary widely in style: some are rustic and simple, others seriously upmarket.
WHERE TO EAT
Our complex was family-run and although there was no restaurant onsite, it offered the most amazing breakfasts with traditional cheeses, meats and pastries like the famous shortcrust filled pastry called Pasticciotto. Absolutely delicious. They also organised a catering company to come and do a wine tasting for us one evening and ordered us pizzas from the local pizzeria which were the best ‘takeaway pizzas’ I have ever eaten as well as being the cheapest. Nothing like Dominoes, totally authentic. A couple of nights we ordered taxis to take us into the local towns for dinner. One evening, we decided to visit to Locorotondo, a tiny picture perfect town perched on a hill amongst the beautiful countryside. We ate at a traditional Pizzeria with our table for 21 taking up the length of one of the cute little side streets. The kids adored the experience of dining amongst the traditional lanes with their friends and quite frankly, so did all the adults. The crisp Italian vino was free flowing and the whole experience felt quite special.
To sum up, before travelling to Puglia, I have to admit that in addition to being excited, I was also somewhat apprehensive about venturing to a region I knew very little about and veering away from the usual family resort-based holiday we were used to. Not to mention doing this with 11 kids. How was it going to work, was it going to work? But actually, it did, and not just a little bit, it worked really well. The kids amused themselves much of the time, enjoying playing together in the pool or playing games, so the adults actually felt like for once we could kick back, relax, chat, eat, drink and soak up everything the region has to offer. The kids got a taste of culture too which they thoroughly enjoyed, but also made us feel good as parents. They especially enjoyed the evenings spent dining in the streets of the local towns with their friends.
I have memories I shall treasure forever, made even more special by being in this beautiful and captivating region of Puglia. We weren’t in Puglia long, actually not nearly long enough, but in the time we were there, it very firmly captured my heart and now I can’t wait to go back to Italy. This summer, we are visiting Tuscany…look out for my next blog ‘Visiting Tuscany (with 10 adults and 11 kids!)’
In the meantime, if you would like to find out more about visiting Puglia and creating your own Italian Adventure, get in touch to have a chat on 01277 790 056.
