Bari to Polignano a Mare – Puglia Road Trip

As we were planning our road trip for 2 weeks in Puglia, I kind of had to make it up the best I could as there was not loads of information available online. We left planning our accommodation only 3-4 weeks before, that didn’t mean that we lost out though as every place we stayed in did not disappoint. We vaguely had a route planned, of the places we wanted to visit, though it didn’t allow us time to spend a great deal of time in one place, however we came away feeling that we captured the essence of the region and we fell in love with Puglia straight away. We landed at Bari airport, and picked up our rental car for the two weeks and checked in to our first B&B just outside the centre of Bari called Le Tre Sorelle, for one night. If you’ve never been to Puglia, maybe the following photos, experiences and route can help you plan a trip of your own 🙂 We wandered down the narrow alleyways of Bari Vecchia on our first evening in Bari and it felt like we were walking through someone’s living room. Entire families from grandparents to babies were sat outside their homes chatting, playing, napping, whilst washing dangled from balconies and scooters whizzing by.Women were sat at tables outside their homes making the typical Puglian pasta orecchiette. These are known as ‘little ears’.

The focaccia in Bari was delicious, smeared with roasted cherry tomatoes, olives and plenty of local olive oil. If you visit make sure you visit Panificio Fiore for the best focaccia.

We spent a few hours on Pane e Pomodora beach in Bari after a few hours of walking. It was a gorgeous sandy beach where we swam in the warm water, afterwards we continued to stroll round the pretty streets of Bari, admiring all the lovely buildings.

We set off early the following day to Polignano a Mare, a relaxing little village just south of Bari. It took about 40 minutes by car, which is where we checked into a lovely B&B called Tra Le Mura for two nights. It was in a perfect location in the old town and Matteo the owner was super lovely and helpful. We came across a lovely beach called ‘Cala Porto’ located in the centre of Polignano. It was made up of small white pebbles and had the most beautiful crystal blue water. It’s hard to put into words how stunning Polignano a Mare actually is.

A popular lunch spot I would recommend was called Pescaria it’s described as a ‘fast food fish restaurant’. It’s trendy, popular and has a very welcoming atmosphere.We enjoyed a couple of glasses of white wine and shared a tray of prawns, squid and cuttlefish, a salmon fish cake burger and a prawn & mozzarella crostini.

We spent a day exploring and headed south, down the Adriatic coast towards Monopoli where we stopped off at a couple of coves. The sea was beautiful and after swimming a few strokes we found ourselves in the open sea.  We also visited a place called San Vito which was a 50 minute walk from Polignano a Mare, a peaceful place where there is a port and many fisherman boat’s where you can buy fresh fish directly from them. If you have a free afternoon and a meal to settle, then why not squeeze it in? The LIME bar was a brilliant place for an Aperol Spritz. La Laconda Porta Picc is brilliant for an evening meal. Moonshine cocktail bar we loved, they did a huge selection of cocktails, I loved the red basil martini’s.

Polignano a Mare is a place for dreamers, a place where every corner you turn it gets even more prettier than the one before. It’s a place for twilight walks, ice cream and Aperol Spritz. When can I go back?!

Next stop was Alberobello!