Our southern Italy roadtrip through Puglia & Basilicata is what started our love affair with Italy. Sure, we had been to some of the major cities in Italy before, but this was so much different! This part of southern Italy (below Amalfi and Naples of course) is much less touristed, and that means you can find some incredible hidden gems, and you really get a feel for the Italian culture. To tell you the truth, this roadtrip never would have happened if not for Anthony Bourdain. We watched his Parts Unknown episode on Puglia and we immediately knew we had to go there - and it absolutely did not disappoint! The food here is by far the best we've had in Italy, the people are so welcoming, and the towns are stunningly beautiful.
Top 3 Must-Do’s for a Southern Italy Roadtrip Itinerary
Learn how to make Puglia's famous orecchiette pasta in Lecce
Get lost in the ancient maze-like streets of Matera
Enjoy long nights dining al fresco on the patio at Villa Cheta in Maratea
Duration: 8 nights
Typical Daily Cost for two people: $354 (excludes any required airfare to/from Italy)
Best Time to Go: May/June or September/October
We went in mid-September and absolutely loved it! The weather was perfect (still felt like summer), prices were cheaper, and there were very few tourists.
Table of Contents
Puglia & Basilicata Roadtrip: Itinerary at a Glance
Day | Activities | Night |
Day 1 | Arrive at Bari Airport, pickup your rental car, and drive 2 hours to Lecce. Explore Lecce in the afternoon & evening. | Lecce |
Day 2 | Explore the eastern coast of Puglia. Highlights include Torre Sant'Andrea, Otranto, and a boat tour in Leuca. | Lecce |
Day 3 | Explore the town of Gallipoli on the west side of Puglia. Pasta making class for dinner in Lecce. | Lecce |
Day 4 | Drive to Ostuni in the morning and stay for lunch. Head to Claudio Quarta's Winery and relax at the vineyard for the rest of the day. | Claudio Quarta Winery |
Day 5 | Drive 3 hours to Maratea. Relax at the hotel in the afternoon and walk down to the beach. | Maratea |
Day 6 | Explore the town of Maratea in the morning and stay for lunch. Relax at Spiaggia dell'Arcomagno in the afternoon. | Maratea |
Day 7 | Drive 3 hours to Matera, stopping in Castelmezzano for lunch. Get lost wandering through the maze-like streets of the ancient Sassi in Matera. | Matera |
Day 8 | Spend the day exploring more of Matera, or drive 1 hour to Alberobello to see the trulli houses. | Matera |
Day 9 | Drive 45 mins to Bari Airport, drop off your rental car, and head off on your next adventure! |
Just the Facts
Stay
Lecce (3 nights): Lecce has tons of nice Airbnbs and hotels right in the city center. We stayed in an Airbnb with a roof deck that was nice, but for a similar price, you can opt for a hotel with even better roof deck views! Here are a few options:
Night at a Vineyard (1 night):
Eméra Wine Resort: High-end option right at Claudio Quarta's Winery.
Tenuta del Barco: Cheaper option next door to Claudio Quarta's Winery (literally 30 seconds away).
Masseria Amastuola Wine Resort: If the 2 hotels at Claudio Quarta's are unavailable, then this is a good backup option with similar vibes.
Maratea (2 nights):
Villa Cheta: We loved this hotel! It's an old home that has been beautifully converted into a hotel with a stunning pool, restaurant onsite, and plenty of beautiful outdoor spaces to relax and enjoy the views. One thing to note, this is about a 10 minute drive from Maratea, and there's not much around the hotel itself - it's very much a place to relax and escape.
La Locanda Delle Donne Monache: We didn't stay at this hotel but it was our backup option. It's located right in Maratea so walking distance to lots of restaurants.
Matera (2 nights): There are seemingly infinite well-priced, high quality hotels in Matera, just be sure to stay within the Sassi (old town). We stayed at Fra I Sassi Residence - this hotel was in the perfect location with an incredible view, but it is a bit pricier than other comparable options.
Eat
Lecce:
Osteria 203 (Lecce): Traditional Italian restaurant with great seafood and pastas.
La Cucina di Mamma Elvira (Lecce): Traditional Italian with a great outdoor terrace.
Le Zie Trattoria Casereccia (Lecce): Very traditional Italian, feels like your at a grandma's house, meat and pasta dishes (no seafood).
Crianza (Lecce): Great place to go for a lighter meal (lunch) or just appetizers and wine. Nice cheese boards and sandwiches. Some outdoor seating as well.
Pizza&Co. (Lecce): If you're looking for pizza, this is your spot! Very casual, mainly for takeaway, but there are a few tables.
Mezzo Quinto (Lecce): Tiny Italian street food takeaway spot with a few tables outside.
Natale Pasticceria (Lecce): Best gelato spot in Lecce.
Trattoria Vardaceli (Castiglione): Traditional Italian food. Come for lunch on the day you explore the east coast of Puglia.
Ristorante La Vinaigrette (Gallipoli): Nice seafood spot for lunch on the large outdoor terrace overlooking the water.
Osteria Briganti (Gallipoli): Traditional Italian restaurant with mainly pasta and seafood (no outdoor seating).
Le Garibaldine (Gallipoli): Another traditional Italian restaurant with mainly pasta and seafood. There are several tables outside on the sidewalk.
Maratea: Most of your meals will be at Villa Cheta
Ristorante Bar Furano: Good lunch spot on San Nicola Arcella Beach for seafood.
Matera:
Pietra Viva: Incredible Italian food and fresh pasta! Option to seat inside or outside
Osteria Pico: Another great option, just next to Pietra Viva. Also has great fresh pastas.
La Lopa: Very traditional restaurant set inside a cave. Really good pasta and nice wine list.
Trattoria del Caveoso: Next to La Lopa, nice spot for traditional Italian food and pasta, of course!
Osteria MateraMì: Nice spot for pasta and seafood.
Uacciardidd Butchers Since 1946: Great option for lunch! It's super casual with all kinds of traditional Italian dishes, very good prices too.
L'Antica Credenza - La Paninoteca: Good option for lunch. Order a sandwich or a cheese & charcuterie board and sit outside.
Terrazza Cavaliere: Come here around sunset for a drink, a snack, and one of the best views of Matera.
Map
Detailed Puglia & Basilicata Roadtrip Itinerary
Day 1 - Lecce
Arrive at the Bari Airport in the morning or early afternoon, pickup your rental car, and drive 2 hours to Lecce. The main historical city center of Lecce is almost entirely pedestrian streets, so you will need to park your car outside this area and walk to your hotel.
Spend the rest of the afternoon just wandering through the streets of Lecce - we loved exploring this city (it feels more like a town than a city) and found that it was a great place to base out of while taking day trips to other areas further south in Puglia.
In the late afternoon, head over to Piazzetta Santa Chiara, a cute square with lots of restaurants and bars with outdoor seating - this is the perfect place to come for aperitivi before dinner.
For dinner, we recommend heading over to Osteria 203 for some incredible seafood dishes - you're in Puglia after all and seafood is king here!
Day 2 - Otranto & Leuca
Time to explore the eastern side of Puglia's heel of the boot (you'll want to pack bathing suit & towel for today). Head out after breakfast and drive just over 30 minutes to your first stop, the Cave of Poetry ("Grotta della Poesia" in Italian). This is a beautiful (and very well known) cave and natural pool so be sure to get there early to beat the crowds - we came in mid-September and unfortunately arrived just before lunchtime and it was packed! Plan to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour here.
Next up, drive just down the road to our personal favorite spot, Torre Sant'Andrea. This is a beautiful cove with cool rock formations and the opportunity to jump in for a swim or just sit on the rocks.
You should finish up right around lunchtime, so get back in your car and drive to the town of Otranto to enjoy some seafood pasta oceanside. After lunch, wander through the town and stroll down the beach for a bit.
Drive 1 hour to the most southern tip of Puglia to the town of Leuca. This is a cute town and the best thing to do here is to take a boat tour out to the caves. We recommend you book ahead (this boat tour is good one), but you can also try just showing up at the docks and checking availability at the many boat tour agencies (Blue Marine is a reputable company that does cave tours).
You should arrive back in Lecce before dinner. For dinner tonight, we recommend heading to either La Cucina di Mamma Elvira or Le Zie Trattoria Casereccia for some traditional Italian food.
Day 3 - Gallipoli
You'll be exploring more of the Puglia region today, but with much less driving than yesterday. Make the short 30 minute drive over to the coastal town of Gallipoli in the late morning, park your car in this lot near the old town, and enjoy a few hours wandering through the adorable streets. Gallipoli is technically on an island which means you've got plenty of options for great views of the seaside from every angle.
For lunch, we recommend stopping by the large outdoor terrace Ristorante La Vinaigrette for some seafood and a glass of wine. Some other lunch options (without ocean views) are Osteria Briganti or Le Garibaldine.
Once you've finished up in Gallipoli, head back to Lecce in the late afternoon. For dinner tonight, we highly recommend booking this pasta making class with Paola (it starts at 5pm). This was one of our most memorable nights of our entire trip! Paola is such an incredible host and went above and beyond to make this the most special night. She's also the one who introduced us to Claudio Quarta - the winery we recommend you go to tomorrow!
Day 4 - Ostuni & Winery
Check out of your hotel in Lecce in the mid-morning and drive about 1 hour to the beautiful white washed town of Ostuni. The best place to park is here, just a 5 minute walk from the historic center. Spend a few hours wandering around town, grab a coffee in the main square (Piazza della Libertà), and make sure to walk over to the best viewpoint of Ostuni (Piazzetta Martiri delle Foibe).
For lunch, we recommend grabbing a seat outside on the terrace at Borgo Antico Bistrot.
Finish up in Ostuni in the early afternoon and drive 1 hour to our most unexpected surprise of the trip - Claudio Quarta's Winery. We had no idea who Claudio Quarta was before this trip, but we are so glad we met him, and we now tell everyone to visit him! This is a beautiful family run winery set in the countryside with two options for accommodation:
If you want pure luxury, stay at Eméra Wine Resort (owned by Claudio). There are only 2 rooms, both with a small private pool and terrace overlooking the winery.
If you want something a bit more modest, you can stay right next door at Tenuta del Barco.
Regardless of what accommodation you choose, be sure to organize a wine tasting of Claudio's wines in the afternoon. For dinner, you can go to the restaurant onsite at Tenuta del Barco.
Day 5 - Maratea
Now you may be wondering, "Why on Earth are you telling me to drive 3 hours to the opposite side of Italy to visit this unknown town of Maratea?". Well, let us be the ones to tell you - Maratea is SO WORTH the extra effort.
Step aside Amalfi Coast, Maratea is where it's at! Maratea is located just a few hours south of the Amalfi Coast and it may just be the best kept secret in all of Italy. So make the 3 hour trek over to Maratea, drive along the stunning coastal road that was in the opening scene of the James Bond No Time to Die movie, and be rewarded by our favorite hotel of the trip, Villa Cheta (technically this hotel is in the town next to Maratea). Once you arrive, ditch the car for the rest of the day, and just relax. Villa Cheta is such a special place - it's an old villa that has been converted to a beautiful hotel. You literally feel like you're living the Italian dream, wandering around the immaculately maintained grounds, relaxing by the pool, or having apertivo at one of the many outdoor patios or roof deck.
If you find the energy, walk down to one of the secluded beaches just below the hotel and take a dip in the ocean.
There's really not much around Villa Cheta, and that's exactly why we loved it - it gave us a chance to fully relax on our roadtrip. There's an incredibly good restaurant at Villa Cheta where you will have dinner the next 2 nights (dinner here will for sure be a highlight of the trip!).
Day 6 - Maratea
Today is all about exploring the old town of Maratea, but first, we highly recommend you start the morning by going to the secluded beach, Spiaggia dell'Arcomagno, about 45 minutes south of Villa Cheta. Now, this isn't the easiest beach to access, and it does require about a 20 minute hike (so bring sneakers and some water), but it is so worth it! Start by parking your car at San Nicola Arcella Beach and walking to the northern most side of the beach. Take the path at the end of the beach that leads up and around the cliffs. The path is well maintained and offers some incredible views along the way!
Walk back to the main beach right around lunchtime and enjoy some fresh seafood pasta at Ristorante Bar Furano (you can also stop at any of the lidos on the beach for a casual lunch).
In the afternoon, head over the the old town of Maratea - this town in incredible and was such an unexpected surprise. The town is set high up on the mountains and has endless tiny alleyways and streets to explore with virtually no tourists! Spend a few hours here, and then drive back to Villa Cheta for another relaxing evening enjoying the sunset and dining al fresco.
Day 7 - Castelmezzano & Matera
Today will be the longest drive (about 3.5 hours), but we will break it up for you and trust us, it's worth it. Leave Maratea around 10am and drive just over 2 hours to the tiny hilltop village of Castelmezzano. This village is so photogenic! Park your car in the spaces just before you hit town (do not, under any circumstances, try to drive in the village. We made the mistake of following Google Maps and it tried to make us drive down a set of stairs!).
Take a quick walk around the village and then walk along the path to Gradinata Normanna - this is a great viewpoint and kind of reminded us of something from The Flintstones. Have lunch in one of the few restaurants in the village - we recommend Trattoria al vecchio scarpone.
After lunch, drive just over an hour to the ancient city of Matera - this place is so cool! It's the 3rd oldest city in the world and is almost entirely build into caves. We first heard about Matera while watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and it's actually what initially inspired us to book this roadtrip to Southern Italy. We also happened to be there at the same time they were filming James Bond's No Time to Die which made for a very memorable experience.
The main historic area of Matera is called the Sassi - this is where you'll be staying, but there are no cars allowed, so we recommend you park in this lot in the new town. Depending on which hotel you choose in the Sassi, you will encounter about a million stairs, so be prepared!
Spend the rest of the afternoon just wandering around the Sassi. You'll be spoiled for choice for dinner as Matera has some incredible restaurants! For your first night, we recommend going to either Pietra Viva or Osteria Pico for some fresh pasta.
Day 8 - Matera
You have 2 options for your last day in Matera.
Full day in Matera: Depending on how much you were able to explore yesterday, you may want to spend the entire day today walking around the Sassi (that's what we would do!). There are countless viewpoints throughout the city and so many cool hidden alleyways to wander through. For a casual lunch, we recommend going to either Uacciardidd Butchers Since 1946 or L'Antica Credenza - La Paninoteca.
Drive to Alberobello: It's likely that if you read any travel guide on Puglia, it will tell you to visit the town of Alberobello to see their famous trulli houses. We did this, and it turned out to be the biggest disappointment of our trip. Sure the trulli houses are very cool looking, but the town is so over touristed that it just feels inauthentic. If you're still dying to see it, then today is the perfect opportunity (1 hour drive from Matera), but be sure to arrive early and keep your expectations low.
For your last night, enjoy aperitivo (and an amazing view) at Terrazza Cavaliere. For dinner, we recommend you go to either La Lopa or Trattoria del Caveoso.
Day 9 - Bari Airport
Thanks it for your Southern Italy roadtrip through Puglia and Basilicata! Drive 45 minutes to the Bari Airport, drop off your rental car, and head off on your next adventure!
Changes from our Original Trip
The original roadtrip we took covered Puglia, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. We absolutely loved this roadtrip - it's among our top 3 trips we've ever taken and it started our love affair with Italy - but that doesn't mean it was perfect. So for this itinerary, we adjusted a few things based on our experiences and things we would have done differently if we were to do it again. Here are the changes we made:
Removed the Amalfi Coast: This was a tough call for us because we actually really enjoyed our time in the Amalfi Coast, but we loved Puglia so much more that we would have rather spent more time exploring Puglia than Amalfi. Amalfi is lovely, but it's also insanely touristy, very expensive, and a bit of a pain to get to (we do NOT recommend driving here, so the best option is to pay for an expensive private transfer from the airport). If you have an extra few days to spare and want to check out the Amalfi Coast then we recommend basing yourself in the town of Amalfi for 3 nights and doing day trips to Ravello, Positano, and a boat trip along the coast. Your roadtrip route will go Naples - Amalfi - Naples (pickup rental car) - Matera - Lecce - Maratea - Naples.
Fly into Bari Airport instead of Naples Airport: Since we dropped Amalfi from the itinerary, there's really no reason to fly into Naples. Bari is a much more convenient airport for exploring Puglia.
Removed the night in Alberobello: For us, Alberobello was the biggest disappointment of our trip - we had very high expectations because it looks SO COOL in photos. Unfortunately, this town is so over touristed and absolutely not worth spending a whole night here. If you're dying to go, just stop by for a few hours.
Extended Matera from 1 to 2 nights: Unlike Alberobello, Matera exceeded all of our expectations and we were so bummed we only had 1 night here. This is one of the coolest and most unique places we have ever visited.
Extended Lecce from 2 to 3 nights: There are so many beautiful towns and coastal areas to explore in Puglia and Lecce is the perfect base for this.
Added a night at Claudio Quarta's Winery: Our best memories tend to come from the most unexpected and unplanned experiences, and Claudio Quarta's Winery was exactly that! We had no idea this winery existed until the night before at a pasta making class in Lecce - the host shared a bottle of wine with us from her friend Claudio. As the night progressed, we realized we'd be driving right past Claudio's winery the next day, so our dinner host called her friend and arranged for us to meet up. Fast forward to the next day and we ended up staying the entire afternoon with Claudio and then came back for dinner!
Cost Breakdown (2 people for 8 Nights)
Note: Flights to/from Italy are not included in this cost breakdown.
Rental Car (includes gas, tolls, parking) | $500 |
Hotel - Lecce (3 nights) | $406 |
Hotel - Winery (1 night) | $189 |
Hotel - Maratea (2 nights) | $385 |
Hotel - Matera (2 nights) | $177 |
Lunch - 8 lunches x $40 | $320 |
Dinner (2 entrees, 1 app, bottle of wine) - 7 dinners x $70 | $490 |
Airbnb Pasta Class in Lecce | $140 |
Leuca Boat Tour | $65 |
Extra Drinks | $160 |
Total | $2,832 |
Daily Cost for 2 People | $354 |
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