Puglia in August (Locorontondo)

Hello,

We’re heading to Puglia from July 30 to August 31, 2020. I booked a rental with a pool in Locorontondo.

The more I read guides and forums, the more I regret booking the flight to Bari. I can still cancel the other reservations, but I’d face penalties for the flight.

It’s crowded, avoid August at all costs—traffic jams, stifling heat, price hikes… Basically, I’m having second thoughts. Our goal isn’t necessarily to hit the beach. I’m thinking we’ll get up early to go where we want and head back during the hottest part of the day.

Is it *that* bad? Thanks for sharing your experiences.

???

Does this mean you "thought Puglia," booked flights… but didn’t research ANYTHING beforehand? Weather, sights, crowds, costs—seems a bit reckless.

So own it, stop reading forums, grab the excellent *Michelin Green Guide Puglia* for 19.50 €, and plan your days to visit *chill* at the best times.

You must’ve noticed Bari’s at the same latitude as southern Spain—and August isn’t Norway!

See you around,

Hi there, of course at this time of year, European countries are very busy, and Puglia has become particularly touristy in recent years. Unless you have school constraints, it's always better to travel to these regions outside the crowds, meaning before July and after August. I visited Puglia last September—except in the Gargano area, there were still tourists, but fewer than in July and August, of course. I rented a car and was able to park fairly easily without paying, except once in Lecce. The towns in Puglia are old, so they're not really car-friendly. And the beaches, like in many places in Italy, are private and therefore paid during July and August. They're not really relaxing either, since you also pay to have music on the beach on top of the umbrella, sunbed, etc. In September, I was able to enjoy the beaches without music and without paying. That said, it depends on what you're looking for. I stayed near Locorotondo, 4 km from the city center, in a magnificent olive grove. It was the starting point for visiting the surrounding areas. Locorontodo is a pretty little old town, but you can visit it very quickly. Puglia is still really great to see because it has a very rich heritage. From Locoronto, you should go to Basilicata to visit Matera—it's a must-see and only an hour and a half drive away. I stayed for 3 weeks in 3 different accommodations: in Puglia, in the Gargano, then the Bari region, and the last week at the tip of the heel. I had planned itineraries from these three regions and was able to visit at my own pace without stress. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.

Hi there,

I asked myself the same question last year because I’d read that August isn’t ideal. In the end, I didn’t go and I regretted it... proportionally, there are more people in the south of France or Spain. There are crowds everywhere in August... It’ll be hot, that’s for sure, and it’ll be busy, but in a month you’ve got time to take it easy :) You’ve got a pool and you’re not right by the sea, so I think it’s doable. I’m heading there in June and I can’t wait.

Have a great trip!

Hi Delphine,

Feeling disappointed before you’ve even left? Such a shame :(😊!!!!

We had a wonderful 19-night trip from Bari back to Bari in August-September 2018...

We had absolutely no issues traveling there in August-September 2018, even though we’re not exactly spring chickens anymore …. We’re used to traveling in Italy, and there were often even fewer tourists there than in other regions of Italy during August-September….

We’re definitely not "beach relaxation" types, and we had some amazing visits, lovely leisurely walks all day long, in some really beautiful places during this trip... Not just early in the morning (Phew)!!!!

Now, booking a whole month in Locorotondo seems like a lot to me, unless you’re planning to spend a lot of time at your accommodation or drive a lot to visit Puglia, Salento, etc., from a single base in Locorotondo...

In my opinion, it might’ve been smarter to split your many nights between Bari, the stunning Matera, the area around Locorotondo, and Salento...

You probably should’ve looked into things to do, how much time to dedicate to visits, the weather, etc., in Locorotondo before booking your flights to Bari and a whole month’s rental with a pool just in Locorotondo (?) ... Just my two cents, but now you’ve got feedback 😎….

Personally, for us: everything was great with our 19-night trip there, and we did: 6 nights and 5 full days near Bari to comfortably visit everything north of Bari up to Barletta (since Gargano wasn’t for me due to my fear of roads), then 1 night in Matera (I really should’ve planned 2 nights there), then 4 nights in Cisternino (very close to Locorotondo), and finally 7 nights in Scorrano... One last night in Bitonto since it’s so close to Bari airport….

We simply booked accommodations, all with air conditioning, following Mathilde’s great advice…. It *is* hot there in August and September, but it’s not humid or unbearable heat, and we managed quite a few visits by the sea—there’s a breeze there, it’s really doable, at least for us 😎... We just liked cooling down our room a bit in the evening before going to sleep for a good night’s rest….

PS: We never hit a single traffic jam during our entire trip, nowhere …. Almost always found free parking (white lines), and the cost of a drink was much lower there than in Florence, Rome, Pisa, Naples, Bologna, etc... No tolls to pay either (or very few—I don’t even remember paying one)...

Our Puglia + Matera + Salento vacation cost us much less for the same number of nights than in other parts of Italy, even though our accommodations were really great and I recommend them whenever I can (in Bari, Matera, Cisternino, Scorrano). But we didn’t book a place with a pool—just two independent single-story villas and two great apartments with large terraces, etc., so visits were easy and nearby :) ... The apartment in Bitonto was very simple, but even though I wouldn’t recommend it to other travelers (it was quite cluttered, belonging to a very elderly lady), it worked out fine for us for one night... In our opinion, she left her home when the booking was confirmed, so we had no regrets about renting her place for just one night if it made her daily life a little better—she was so thoughtful. The apartment was also well-located for us, within walking distance of the train station and Bitonto’s center...

Go without fear! But maybe do a bit more research next time 😊 before booking your flights and vacation rental—it’ll save you unnecessary stress 😎.

Have a great rest of 2020! Dominike

Hi there, Thanks for all your replies. We really don’t have a choice but to travel only during school holidays since we have two middle-schoolers. And for August, no choice either because of my husband’s work. I honestly didn’t look into the summer crowds in Puglia enough. We went to Portugal last year and had no one on the roads between Lisbon and Porto, so I didn’t pay as much attention to that. We’ll definitely avoid the beach since we have a pool, and we’ll see how it goes. Anyway, I’ll share my experience when I get back in this thread.

Since you can't cancel your flight tickets, maybe you can change your single accommodation in Locorontodo to several stays so you can make the most of the different regions to see and the beautiful coastline, and avoid long car journeys. You can reach the Gargano area via a more direct route because the mountain road is indeed very long and winding. I can recommend the hotel where I stayed—you can book directly. In September, I paid 50 € per day for half-board, including parking (valet), a sun lounger, and a parasol on the private beach right by the hotel. The sandy beach is gorgeous near a lovely marina. From there, there are lots of sites to see, and the hilltop towns like Vieste are stunning.

Oops, I made a typo: we're leaving on 13/08, not the 31st. We're away for two weeks total, with the first night in Bari. For the rest, I’ve planned to go as far as Matera and Lecce, and we’ll explore the surrounding areas. Thanks

Hi there, we went to Puglia in August—yes, it’s hot, yes, the vast majority of Italians take their holidays in this region... You’ve got to get up early like in any hot country and take a siesta. Shops close in the afternoon and only reopen at 6 PM. It’s not unusual to see grandmas and kids out at 2 AM—we never felt unsafe at all. We went all the way down to Leuca, which was easy. We didn’t go near the beaches—too crowded. The inland areas are really beautiful and peaceful. Lecce is stunning; we stayed there for a month! It’s a fairly big city and quite expensive, so head to the villages further south—just as interesting, especially if you like backroads and figs... Lots of olive trees are dying at the moment—some are centuries old. I find that really sad. Happy travels...

Thanks so much for this account. Our rental is right in the middle of the olive groves, but I’ve heard that these trees are dying in Greece, Italy, and Spain.

We set off from Gallipoli... a very, very touristy town in the summer. We went there at Easter! The problem is parking—there are lots of cameras in Italy, so be really careful. Watch out for ZTLs. Do you have a rental car? Stick to paid parking lots. We had a car registered in Lecce that a friend lent us—it was way more relaxed. 😏

Yeah, we rented a car—otherwise it’s just not doable...

Rent a really small car—that’s my advice. The streets in the villages are super narrow! :-)

We have the Fiat 500 L. So it's not big, but it's the minimum for 4.

Ah, that seems much more doable than a whole month in the same place—like a whole month in Locorotondo... That did seem really odd to me. Don’t worry: it’s a beautiful region with plenty of great sights to see...

Happy planning! Dominike

Thanks so much. I’ll report back.

Hi, it's already quite busy for the small villages in Puglia, and also with the traffic.

Personally, I wouldn’t dream of wandering down an old alley, whether in Locorotondo or Rocamadour—and there are no more alleys in Puglia than in French villages.

Bari (latitude 41°06) isn’t at the same latitude as southern Spain, as someone wrote; it’s actually further north than Madrid (40°40), which is in central Spain. Temperatures in Puglia are the same as in Provence.

As for crowds in Italy, I have to laugh. These past summers, I’ve been to Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Prague, and Kraków—those places are just as packed as Venice, and Puglia? It’s nothing like Venice.

My trip through Puglia covers all the spots rated 1, 2, or 3 stars in the Michelin guide. http://recitdemesvoyages.over-blog.com/2018/04/pouilles-avril-2018-1ere-partie.html

Thanks. What a detailed account, I'm impressed. It really was a wonderful, well-rounded trip.

Hi there, for several years now we’ve been heading to the region in August—but much farther south than Matera. We leave from Rennes, and this year we’ll be staying for 15 days in the Lecce area before visiting Calabria. I don’t have a blog... As for the car, the GPS threw us a few unexpected surprises... We hardly ever go to the coast, though.