I very much enjoyed helping Emma and Colin (pictured above at their hotel in Otranto) to plan their first trip to Puglia last summer. They managed to fit in a long list of wonderful cities in the two week itinerary: Ostuni, Monopoli, Lecce, Otranto, with day trips to Polignano al Mare, Gallipoli and Alberobello. I am pleased to share some of the highlights of their trip and I would be delighted to help you arrange a similar holiday if you fancy visiting this beautiful part of Italy.

Their first stop was Ostuni, staying at the beautiful Masseria Cervarolo, a 10 minute drive from the hill top city of Ostuni. This place is just gorgeous – they adored the vast swimming pool and their characterful room.

Colin: We couldn’t believe it when we arrived at Masseria Cervarolo, coming up the drive to be met by a tiny collection of Trulli houses and the most stunning pool area I have ever seen. The weather was perfect while we were there so we certainly made use of the outside area, enjoying the complete peace and tranquillity, as well as enjoying meals in the in-house restaurant which offers typical Puglian dishes, of top quality in a magical atmosphere.

*The beautiful pool area at Masseria Cervarolo*

Emma: And it was a great base to explore the local area– we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon and evening in Ostuni, which is very cosmopolitan and lively and we also visited Alberobello to see the famous Trulli houses which was magical. We felt the Masseria was a good mix of rural setting and architecture but with a very high end, boutique feel. We see they won ‘best budget boutique hotel’ Smith Hotel awards last year and I am not surprised!

We then moved to stay at the Hotel Relais Valle dell'Idro in the buzzy town of Otranto, on the East coast of Puglia. We loved Otranto as it was the perfect combination of old and new – trendy with lots of young people and modern hotels yet also lots of history, cobbled streets and a typical fishing harbour lined with lovely restaurants.

Colin: We chose the hotel as it is in central Otranto and it really was perfect – we loved the rooftop terrace for the hot tub and enjoying early evening drinks overlooking the city and the sea. We would definitely return to Otranto; we really loved the vibe there, everyone was so relaxed and friendly – we didn’t want to leave!

Emma: However, our next stop was Lecce which was actually very similar, just with more history and no sea views as the city is in the centre of Puglia. Lecce is often referred to as ‘the Florence of the South’, stunning Baroque architecture and is probably one of the more popular cities in Puglia for tourists. However, we found it to be not remotely touristy and it was our favourite place on our trip. There was so much to see and do; lots of churches, Roman ruins and the wonderful amphitheatre in the centre of the town where, one evening, we were lucky enough to enjoy a free classical music concert.

*Classical concert in the Roman amphitheatre in the centre of Lecce*

Colin: Our accommodation was perfect too – we had an apartment with Apollo Suites which was situated in the centre of the city, had several spacious rooms and was spotlessly clean. Not that we spent much time there, we were out and about exploring and taking in Lecce. From here, we drove 30 minutes over to Gallipoli, on the west coast of Puglia. This was the one place we probably wouldn’t return to as it was a lot smaller than we expected and there didn’t seem so much to do. While the name Gallipoli is taken from the Greek for ‘beautiful town’, it certainly felt much more like a working fishing harbour and we didn’t find it particularly beautiful unfortunately!

*Cafe action in Piazza Garibaldi, Monopoli*

Emma: The final stop on our mini tour was the lovely harbour town of Monopoli, where we stayed at the Palazzo Indelli, a comfortable modern hotel with a very Italian feel overlooking the bustling Piazza Garibaldi and just a short walk from the sea. We loved Monopoli too; it was small enough to navigate easily and was a great mix of historic harbour, castle and alleyways but with lots of modern and trendy design and great restaurants. It is a lot quieter than Lecce and Otranto but is certainly less touristy and we enjoying mingling with local people, young and old, for the two nights we were there.

Colin: From Monopoli we visited the next town along the coast, Polignano a Mare which was quite different from the other towns we had visited as it is built along the rugged cliffs of this part of the coastline, were you can stand on logge (balconies) and watch the waves crash below you. There is a delightful centro storico here too and it was a good half day excursion from Monopoli.

*Breath-taking Polignano a Mare (Photo: Brushfire Photography)*

Emma: Monopoli is just a 45 minute drive back to Bari airport and we were very sad to leave when we had to, though as we had seen so many places it felt like we had been away for longer than we had! Our trip to Puglia has inspired us to visit other parts of Italy, as well as one day returning to Otranto and Lecce. With a car, the Puglia region is so easy to explore, the people were so friendly and we loved the simple but fresh and very tasty food. It is also, we feel, much better value than other parts of Italy, perhaps because there are fewer tourists, but we certainly spend less than we had expected to! We would recommend a holiday in Puglia to anyone, of any age, as there is so much variety to please everyone. We will be back!