The ultimate guide to traveling to Puglia including the best towns, beaches, viewpoints, cave restaurants, hotels, day trips and more.

Hi guys! I'm back with another post on our lovely trip to Puglia. After Matera, we drove back to the Bari region. I had found a gorgeous Airbnb with, as the main selling feature, a gate that leads to a private beach. The good thing about planning a roadtrip in Puglia is that most of the sights are pretty much within driving distance wherever you're staying, so you're free to pick your home base inspired by the hotel/BnB/Airbnb that appeals most to you rather than being limited to any particular town. We ended up staying in Mola di Bari for 5 nights, and used the time to visit Mola itself, Bari, Polignano a Mare, San Vito and Monopoli. We took it easy and left plenty of time to simply enjoy the crashing of the waves on our little beach instead of cramming our days full of sightseeing, but we still managed to visit some gorgeous places. Let me take you on a trip! Bari is one of the biggest cities in Puglia, and host to one of its two airports. It has a pretty little old town on the coast, and a (in my eyes more interesting and beautiful) modern part of the city that reminded us of Nice, but a bit grittier and more colorful. Modern Bari has a university where we took shelter from a hailstorm on our last day in Puglia. Colleges and universities always add life and vibrancy to a city, and I have to admit it took me until we visited Bari's more modern part of town to really start appreciating the place. The old town is pretty enough, but not a must visit compared to some of the other whitewashed streets we visited in Puglia. Heads up: the littering that Puglia is a bit infamous for is by far at its worst in the Bari area, along the highways. I may not have fallen in love with Bari at first glance, but its old town is basically basket/straw hat heaven, FYI. I managed to resist the temptation because I was so happy with the items I'd packed - kudos to me! I didn't bring my camera when we visited Bari's more modern parts, but I can share some phone snaps - apologies for the quality! I hope it still gives an idea of why we ended up liking Bari so much - even on a rainy, stormy day! So that's Bari - not necessarily a must visit in Puglia, but absolutely a lovely city, and there's great shopping to be done here. Moving on to our Airbnb in Mola di Bari - a quiet little slice of heaven with lots of space, our own private stretch of beach and a pizza place just a couple of minutes away (Pizzeria Il Colosseo Di Mola Giovanna, get the Principessa because it's sensational). Mola itself is quite lovely as well, a small, very non-touristy town along the Adriatic coastline. We cooked at our place quite often, and honestly in such a setting all you need is an easy plate of pasta and a bottle of good wine. Being able to have dinner on the beach with those sunset views was a highlight of our trip. One place I absolutely recommend visiting if you're in the area is Polignano a Mare. We came to see that gorgeous cliff town ensconced beach, but we fell in love exploring the rocky coastline. We were in Polignano on another hot, sunny day, and those deep blue waves crashing against the cliffs were absolutely mesmerizing. I think we spent about 2 hours walking along the rocks, climbing up and down to dip our feet in the water, and just being totally in the moment. Polignano a Mare's old town was too touristy for us, but the rest of the place is a very charming little beach town. Would be a great place to choose as a home base as well, but since it's so popular be prepared to have to spend more money here. Next up, just a few minutes outside of Polignano: San Vito! San Vito is one of those hidden gems along the Adriatic coastline: we stumbled upon it by chance on our way home (like "ooh, San Vito sounds like a cool place name, let's check it out!) and it was love at first sight. The crystal clear water, the bright coloured fishing boats, the sandy beaches, the old abbey: everything you dream of when you're preparing your trip to Italy. We had an amazing lunch at La Veranda di Giselda (I had ricotta-melanzane ravioli that were to die for, my boyfriend had mouth-watering seafood linguine). The ultimate place to chill out and live la dolce vita. Moving on to my personal favourite town in the Bari area: Monopoli! Honestly, explaining why we loved Monopoli so much isn't easy - the pictures speak louder than words. Wherever you look in Monopoli, you see beauty. The crashing waves, the cacti, the whitewashed buildings, the old crumbling walls: everything just comes together in this magical sort of way that makes you feel like you're walking around on a movie set - without the town losing its authenticity. This town isn't overrun by tourists yet, but it is obviously begging to be because it is so painfully beautiful. Get there while it's still a (mostly) undiscovered gem! Btw, get your lunch at Panificio Santa Caterina di Zaccaria Angelo & C. Sas - their foccacia and pizza is absolutely delicious. Proof: Yep. I'm concluding this huge, way too long post with a shot of our night in Torre a Mare, where we walked around looking for a particular restaurant for like half an hour (Osteria Del Porto - google maps was WAY off) before finally settling on a restaurant that looked OK. Unfortunately, it was not. We had the only bad (terrible, I could say) meal of our entire Italian trip there. To add insult to injury: we stumbled upon the restaurant we had been looking for on our way back to the car - it was literally 20 feet from our car. Just in a different street than Google Maps had told us. FML. One sour note in 6 perfect days in the Bari area: I'll take it! Stay tuned for more Puglia recaps.

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The ultimate guide to traveling to Puglia including the best towns, beaches, viewpoints, cave restaurants, hotels, day trips and more.