I’ve just returned from a glorious week in Puglia with my partner Alex, and two of our friends.

I have to be honest, Puglia was not our first choice of holiday destination. We were supposed to spend last week in Spain celebrating our wedding, but of course Covid-19 got in the way. For obvious reasons, if at all possible we wanted to do something special to mark the ‘would-have-been wedding day’ ideally abroad…we all needed a holiday after everything this year!

So, we booked a trip to Ibiza, had sourced the perfect villa and were super excited for some time in the sun….and then Spain was one of the first to be added to the list of places that the FCO advised not to travel to, and quarantine was required.

We cancelled, and then spent several weeks considering various options including mainland Greece and Cyprus, before deciding on Italy.

I am lucky in that (in a normal year) I spend a lot of time in Italy for work but because of this, it is not usually my first choice of destination when travelling for pleasure.

After a lot of back and forth we settled on Puglia, an area I was less familiar with and keen to explore.

We had the most relaxing week filled with amazing food, delicious wine and some much needed sunshine. On my return, I thought it would be useful to share my top travelling trips in case you are considering Puglia as a wedding, honeymoon or holiday destination.

First things first…this is limited to the areas that I visited during the week, there is definitely more to see and do out there, but if it’s not mentioned it’s because I didn’t have time to visit this time around.

Location, location, location

The first thing we found is Puglia can be tricky to work out logistically. When we begun researching villas we didn’t really know where we wanted to be. We settled on a quaint little villa around 15 minutes inland from Monopoli.

We soon learnt 3 things:

1) Most places of interest can be reached within 1-2 hours so if you’re open to a day trip here and there then you can absolutely visit a good number of places from your chosen base

2) If you’re booking a villa then almost no where will be within walking distance. Everything is pretty spread out and shops/restaurants are rarely a short stroll away. This may differ for some of the hotels but make sure you know what to expect

3) Car hire is essential based on the two points above. Taxis are just not available, and whilst we could easily arrange transfers through our villa (which we did on one occasion for a special dinner) they are expensive and considerably more than a taxi would be.

Restaurants:

There are so many lovely restaurants around it’s hard to choose where to eat!

Puglia is essentially a coastal region and with so much of the food being locally sourced menus are very highly, if not solely, seafood based. This is my ideal and I absolutely loved the variety of fresh seafood available, but for Alex (a seafood hater) this was a bit of a problem as there were very few alternative options to choose from.

Of course you can always find a delicious pizzeria as a seafood alternative – you are in Italy after all!

If you set your sights on a particular restaurant beforehand, then my advice would be to try and book in advance. Many of the restaurants are small so it can be hard to get in if you arrive at peak dinner time (which tends to be later for Italians). There were several occasions we were told they were fully booked until 10pm, or no tables available at all.

A couple of places that I think should have a specific mention…

Grotta Palazzese

If you’re planning a trip to Puglia you will most likely come across this beautiful spot. It was pretty much on our doorstep and at one point we strongly considered booking a table.

It’s clear before booking that there is a minimum food spend of €190pp, but we were celebrating our friend’s 30th and thought it would be worth the expense….

That was before we read the reviews (which were incredibly mixed) and spoke to the locals who pretty much told us to avoid it.

I didn’t eat there myself but my opinion was it’s an undeniably stunning location – and is highly Instagramable, but by the sounds of it you can get a much better meal from somewhere a lot more low key for a fraction of the cost.

Saleblu

We chose Saleblu as our special dinner location and it was the perfect choice!

The restaurant is part of La Peschiera Hotel which (from what I saw) is a gorgeous little boutique resort right on the seafront. It’s modern, luxurious and yet not intimidating.

Our meal here included a dramatic raw fish starter featuring nitrogen basil and mango ice cream, a delicious first courses of risotto with salmon caviar, and a main of sea bass fillet combined with perfect delicate flavours. Of course it was finished off with a dessert to die for, and accompanied by wine that was far too easy to drink!It was a bit breezy for us to sit outside, but we took a pre-dinner stroll with a cocktail and had some photos whilst the sun went down – it’s a very picturesque spot.

Again, meat options were limited and not on the menu, but they were happy to accommodate and put something together but if you like seafood then absolutely opt for that.

One thing I should say, it’s not cheap, our bill was around €100 per head but we got a lot for that and it was totally worth it so if you’re looking for something special this is a great little option.

Overall I can’t fault it and would highly recommend a trip here!

Beach Club

We fancied a day at the beach and prior to travelling had attempted some research of beach clubs in the area. We found options were limited, however when we arrived at our villa they had provided a selection of places that I didn’t come across online.

After a quick browse online we booked a day at Lido Bambu and loved it!

It’s stylish, comfortable and a fab place to spend the day. We booked seafront beds (€70 for 2) which were a stones throw from the water and the beds had a button for service which was a nice touch.

There is a good range of facilities including a restaurant, bar, multiple chill out areas, showers and touches like sea shoes and phone charger lockers – something that is quite handy as it’s a place you want to take lots of photos!

We had an amazing sushi lunch which I could eat again and again – accompanied with some rather nice pink bubbles.

Again, the spend can soon rack up here, but we had a really relaxed day so I’d happily do it again.

Towns

There are several towns in Puglia that you could visit, including Ostuni, Bari, Monopoli, Alberobello, Otranto, Lecce and Polignano a Mare to name just a few.

In just a week we didn’t have time to visit them all (we wanted to spend some time just chilling by the pool too!) but we did get time to visit the following…

Ostuni:

Of the places we visited this one felt the most cosmopolitan. We sat and had an aperitif (which consisted of an aperol spritz the size of my head) and people watched for quite some time. There was a constant buzz of activity so it was a great place to stop and watch the world go by.

Off the main square is a maze of cute little streets. All white of course, as it is known as the white city. Arrive whilst it’s still light if you want to make the most of the photo opportunities here.

A restaurant that was recommended to us was Osteria del tempo perso but unfortunately we couldn’t get in so if you wish to go here book in advance – it did look lovely!

Alberobello:

This is kind of one of those must visit tourist spots.

On one hand it’s incredibly whimsical. A village of trullis where you imagine a town of tiny people to live. I honestly think it must be one of the most photographed spots; not only do you see people constantly taking photos but you just can’t help but do it yourself too.

On the other hand, it is very touristy and the shops here don’t offer much, unless fridge magnets are your thing.

It’s worth a visit but is not somewhere you need to spend a long time, we arrived late afternoon, wandered around the maze of streets before having an a drink in a couple of bars, followed by a lovely, very reasonably priced dinner at restaurant Il Trulli Antico and finished off with a gelato from a nearby shop.

Alberobello looks it’s best as the sun is going down but before the dark, the light is beautiful.

Polignano a Mare:

We stopped here after being at nearby Cala Ponte Marina (more on this shortly). Like most places in the region, it’s another cute town with some lovely view points.

It’s not huge, so I wouldn’t recommend a large amount of time here but if you’re in the area it’s nice to visit.

One absolute must in Polignano a Mare is a visit to La Casa del Mojito. We stumbled across this by accident when we almost tripped over the ladies preparing the mint in the street. A few steps later and we found ourselves at the hatch surrounded by people drinking mojitos.

All I can say…BEST.MOJITO.EVER!

Cooking Class

A cloudy day was forecast so we made the most of it and booked into a local cooking class.

It was private for the four of us, and we learnt to make the local focaccia and pasta (orecchiette) whilst enjoying a glass of white wine.

Honestly, I think you could find a better class than the one we did so I won’t mention it, however I would absolutely recommend doing something like this as it was lots of fun – and of course you get to eat the results once ready!

Boat Trip

I believe I have saved the best until last!

My favourite day of our holiday was the day that was actually supposed to be our wedding day.

We booked a private catamaran (which was suitable for up to 12 people) from Cala Ponte Marina; we opted for the lunch time departure (1:30pm) and headed out to sea. Our first stop was just down the road at the aforementioned Grotta Palazzese restaurant; in my mind this was the best way to see it. We stopped here for a bit whilst the boys jumped in the water and us girls made the most of the sun.

Shortly afterwards we then headed out to Monopoli before stopping again – we all braved the sea this time before enjoying the view, an aperitif and a sunbathe!

We returned around 3 hours later where we made one final stop just outside the Marina surrounded by several other people also enjoying their boats and a swim.

It was a really, really lovely day that truly softened the blow of it being our original wedding day.

We paid a total of €500 so yes it was a bit of a splurge but it was actually pretty good value for money considering the size of the boat and the fact it was private, so again I would highly recommend.

Weddings

Although this wasn’t a work trip, I of course had weddings on my mind too and whilst we were around and about I was also doing a bit of research.

In my opinion, Puglia is a truly beautiful setting for a wedding BUT there are a couple of key considerations:

1) The region isn’t quite as well known internationally yet, it’s still fairly up and coming in the scheme of things and whilst there are some big benefits to this, and they’re very experienced with Italian weddings, international weddings have different requirements and there are some aspects (which we can of course work around) that make me think it’s not quite ready yet.

2) With the above in mind, and knowing the cost of some of the wedding venues in the area, I would definitely suggest Puglia for higher budget weddings only. Whilst food and drink in restaurants is generally very reasonable compared to other areas in Italy, the cost of venues and wedding logistics (for example requiring certain suppliers to travel from other parts of Italy) mean this is not an area suitable for lower spend weddings.

If you’re interested in getting married in Puglia then do get in touch on weddings@emilycharlotte.co.uk and I’d be very happy to discuss in more detail.

If you’re not planning a wedding but just a trip to the area then I hope you found the above useful – as I say, it’s just a bit about my experience and thoughts on the places we were lucky enough to visit this time around.