Puglia Grand Tour: Part 3 Ostuni and Alberobello

Published on:  | Last updated: 14 March 2018

This section of the tour swings inland, through the Puglian olive country before climbing to the white cities of Ostuni, Cisternino Locorotondo and Martina Franco and then the world Heritage-listed city of Alberobello. These cities are on an altopiano - the land rises sharply from the coastal plain, and then levels off again.

Ancient olive trees in the Puglia countryside

Ancient olive trees in the Puglia countryside

Although The modern outskirts of Ostuni aren’t especially attractive, the centro storico - gleaming white on the hill-top - is dazzling. From Ostuni the route passes through two other graceful, elegant, white-painted hill-top towns Locorotondo and Martina Franca, before arriving in Alberobello. 

Alberobello is famous for it’s Trulli - conical houses made using drystone construction. There are plenty of Trulli in the surrounding countryside and in some ways I preferred these to the Trulli in Alberobello itself. Many of the Trulli in Alberobello have been turned into luxury accom­mod­ation (although some are available at more reasonable prices). 

Day rides

The area is a really good spot for day-rides, head for the minor roads between Alberobello, Martina Franca and Locorotondo.

Trullo near Alberobello

Trullo near Alberobello

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Distances
Porto Cesareo - San Pancrazio Salentino 21 kms
San Pancrazio Salentino - Ostuni 66 kms
Ostuni - Cisternino 15 kms
Cisternino - Locorotondo 11 kms
Locorotondo - Alberobello 18 kms

If you want to see what they look like inside and admire the ingenuity of the construction (not to mention enjoying a really good meal, head for the Ristorante La Nicchia on the outskirts.

If you are in Alberobello at Easter don’t miss the Passione Vivente on the evening of Good Friday when local people re-enact the Passion of Christ - with a procession through the streets of Alberobello, to each of the stations of the cross (marking events in the procession to Calvary). Despite the fact that the actors are amateur, it’s an impressive and even moving event even for non-believers.

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Places to stay

Find and book places to stay with Booking.com

Hotels and B&Bs

Booking.com pages for places on this section of the route:

About these links

If you use these links to book accom­mod­ation Booking.com will pay me a small part of their commission. This helps support the costs of producing this site.

I use Booking.com to find and book places to stay when there are no campsites in the area. The large majority of hotels and many hostels are now on ‘Booking’. I like it because it means that I can get almost-instant confirm­ation. The rating system is also a reliable guide to the quality of the accommodation.

I’ve never had a problem finding places to keep my bike —even if it’s a cupboard or store room. I always use the ‘special requests’ field on the booking form to tell the hotel that I’m travelling with a bike, which gives them the oppor­tunity to let me know if there’s a problem.

Many properties offer free cancel­lation but it’s a good idea to check the condi­tions as these vary from property to property.

Campsites

There are two campsites both run by the same company. There’s the Camping dei Trulli and the Villaggio Raggio del Sole. The Raggio del Sole also offer the possib­ility to rent a trullo either on-site or in the town, the prices are on the website.

  Map of campsites along the route:  PGT-campsites-map-show map in overlay    |    PGT-campsites-map-show map in new window 

Transport and services

Transport connections

Alberobello, Locorotondo and Martina Franca are served by the regional Ferrovie del Sud Est. You can take bikes on some trains - the newer ones but not the older ones - so you need to check with their call centre in Bari (080 5462417).

The nearest trenitalia station is at Fasano 16 kms from Cisternino.

Where to eat.

I highly recommend the La Nicchia ristorante. If you do go there order their antipasti della casa which offers a selection of mini-dishes - a meal in itself and really good value.

Articles in this series

Alberobello trulli

Trulli in Alberobello (Puglia)

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