2 Days in Puglia: Ostuni and Alberobello

On a whim, I decided to book a trip to Italy for Mr AW’s birthday. The catch, however, was that we only had two days to spare and I didn’t have a lot of time to plan. Find out what we managed to see and do and eat and drink in 2 days in Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot.

Getting there

Puglia region is served by two airports, Bari & Brindisi, with both Ryanair & Easyjet operating direct budget flights from London to these airports. You can then take a train from either of these places to Ostuni.

We decided to fly into Brindisi and fly out of Bari as these were the most economical tickets for us. Since we were planning to spend only 2 days in Puglia, we also decided against renting a car to keep things simple and avoid any hassle in find parking, etc. In hindsight, renting a car is the best way to get around in Puglia and I would highly recommend doing that.

Day 1: Ostuni

Brindisi to Ostuni by public transport

Take Bus A (operated by STP Brindisi) from airport to Brindisi train station.
Ticket: € 1.50 pp (buy on board)
For schedule and further details, click here.

Option 1:

Take the train to Ostuni.
Ticket: € 2.80 (buy at the ticket counter)
For more details, click here.
Take local bus from Ostuni station to town centre.
Ticket: € 1.50 pp (buy on board)

Option 2:

Take the bus to Ostuni. This service is operated by Stp Brindisi and takes you to Ostuni town centre.
Ticket: € 3,20 (buy at the bar tabacchi (tobacco shop) at the train station)
For the schedule, click here.

Where to stay

When in Ostuni, don’t miss the chance to stay in a traditional stone house made in typical Puglia style. If going on a longer trip, consider booking a trulli villa that’s traditional yet luxurious, out in the Mediterranean countryside but close enough to drive to Ostuni.

For our short trip, we booked a traditional XIX century restored house in the old town of Ostuni through Airbnb. This rustic 2 floor house is entirely made of stones and the bedroom basically looks like a snug and cosy cave. Please note that it is not ideal for family with young children or people with mobility issues.

Haven’t booked from Airbnb before? Use my referral link to get a discount off your first booking.

Things to do in Ostuni

If you’re the kind of person who needs a proper checklist of things to do, for whom “just a pretty place” is not enough, Ostuni is not for you.

There isn’t really much to do except to wander get lost in its lanes, climb up and down the stone stairs, duck under the arches. So, make sure you pack a pair of comfortable shoes 😉

Walk the teeny-tiny myriad alleyways that seem to be going nowhere except that they lead you to the most charming nooks and hideaways or atmospheric piazzas that suddenly come into the view as you turn a corner.

The whitewashed walls are adorned with terracotta potted plants strewn with flowers in rich striking colours. And there’s cacti everywhere – from neat, potted ones on the front porch of the houses in old town to giant, wild ones out in the countryside.

Once you’ve seen Ostuni from up close, make your way to the viewpoint on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II road near Hotel Ostuni Palace. From here, you can see Ostuni, the Citta Bianca or White City of Puglia, in all its glory! Sit on the bench and take in the panoramic view of white houses cascading down a cliff, almost in a haphazard manner beautifully contrasted by the surrounding countryside greenery of olive groves.

Food and Drinks

Lunch at Taverna della Gelosia

Picking a place for lunch wasn’t easy. I spent a lot of time peeking into restaurants and then comparing reviews before finalising on Taverna della Gelosia. Set in a gorgeous courtyard garden over different levels with partial views over the Puglia countryside and the sea, this restaurant is utterly charming and romantic.

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The menu was vegetarian-friendly and I ordered a delicious pappardelle pasta with pistachio and cream sauce.

Address: Vicolo Tommaso Andriola, 26, 72017 Ostuni BR, Italy

Dinner at Osteria del Tempo Perso

Booking a place for dinner wasn’t that impromptu. Osteria del Tempo Perso is probably one of the most famous Ostuni restaurants and rightly so. A historic restaurant that opened in 1983, it’s set in a 500+ year old cave that used to serve as an oven where locals went to get their bread baked. Now it’s known for serving sublime Pugliese cuisine using the best local produce.

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I had made a reservation well in advance because we were celebrating a special occasion in Ostuni. Turns out, I reserved the wrong date (*rolling eyes at myself*) which meant a last minute amendment and thus we couldn’t get a table in the cave section of the restaurant. However, the adjoining room (also equally old) was lovely too, made of the same white limestone.

Again there are many vegetarian dishes and I ordered the pasta in cream sauce with fried artichokes.

Address: Via Gaetano Tanzarella Vitale 47, 72017 Ostuni BR, Italy

For everything in between lunch and dinner, I would recommend Borgo Antico Bistrot for coffee with sea views, Riccardo Caffé for nightlife (this was closed when we visited) and Gelateria Borgo Antico for, well, when in Italy we eat gelato!

Day 2: Alberobello

Getting there

Here’s the bit where we struggled to find public transport from Ostuni to Alberobello and had to take a taxi. It cost us € 50 but being a special day, we didn’t mind the splurge. We found that the best way to book a taxi was to go to the tourist information centre near Piazza della Libertà and ask the staff to book it for us. The journey time was between 40-45 minutes.

Things to do in Alberobello

The only thing to do in Alberobello (a Unesco World Heritage site) is to wander around its streets looking at the Trulli houses, after all that’s what you came here for.

So, what exactly are these structures? A trullo is traditional dwelling made with local limestone but without mortar. The history behind it was to make houses that could be dismantled in a hurry in case of an inspection. This meant that the town didn’t have an “inhabited establishment” status thus allowing the feudal lords to evade taxes.

Rione Monti area or Zona dei Trulli is where you’ll find a concentration of thousands of trullis lining narrow winding streets built on a gentle slope. The characteristic conical roofs are painted with what seems like religious symbols.

This is a very touristy area with many gift shops and we had heard that local vendors will call out and try to lure us in but we honestly didn’t see any of it happening.

Our Airbnb host from Ostuni warned us about Alberobello being underwhelming and this made us set our expectations very low. However, I am glad we visited, if only for a few hours, because this is a unique place and where else would we have seen such a fantastic landscape!

Alberobello to Bari by public transport

Alberobello has a train station but we found that it’s been closed for a while. The alternative was to take a bus operated by FSE. Since this is a replacement service, you may either get a bus directly to Bari centrale or have to change at Putignano. We had to do the latter but the connection was quick and easy. The bus stop was near Hotel Astoria and journey time was about 2 hours.

Ticket: € 4.20 pp (buy from ticket machine at the train station or the fuel station near Hotel Astoria)

Once at Bari centrale train station, we crossed the piazza to Ferrovie del Nord Barese terminal to get a train to the airport. The journey time was about 15 minutes.
Ticket: € 5 pp (buy from ticket machine at the station)

2 days in Puglia are just not enough to explore this south-east region of Italy and I cannot wait to go back – for its rustic charm, for the delicious food and for the laidback vibe!

However, I hope that this guide will be useful to you if you too want a quick getaway or a weekend break like we did. Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to know your thoughts 🙂

Cheers,
Ameeta xx