Apulia is the ideal place for a sunny beach holiday, as many of Italy’s most beautiful beaches can be found here – but it is also the perfect place for a touring holiday, with a wealth of art, nature, gourmet cuisine, excellent wines, local culture and tradition to be found within a short driving distance.

Another outstanding feature is its climate, which is never bitingly cold (or at most for a few days a year) and is often very sunny. So the best season to visit depends on the type of holiday you are looking for. For a relaxing sunny beach holiday, the best season is of course the hottest time of year, which goes from early June through to mid-September, when the wonderfully hot sunshine makes lying on the beach a pleasure. Combine that with plenty of time spent in the water, resting in the cool depths of the trullo and dining out on the terrace. In June and July there is also much less chance of rain, which if it does come (and it is rather rare) tends to do so in August, a time when the area is very crowded, especially with Italian holidaymakers.

Spring and autumn, from March to May and from mid-September to late November, have the ideal climate for a touring holiday, visiting Ancient Roman sites or admiring the Romanesque and Baroque architecture of the area; enjoying the spectacular views of unspoilt coastlines or an excursion into the magical stony landscapes of the Murgia hills; or tasting the wide variety of local foods and buying local craft products – all of which can be more tiring at the hottest time of year.  Springtime also enables the traveller to enjoy and take part in the many spectacular processions typical of Easter week, an ancient tradition (and a manifestation of true devotion) that is very much alive today. The most outstanding one must be the Good Friday procession in Taranto.

Winter visitors should not miss the living cribs, whole villages built in country areas recreating the atmosphere of the Nativity, showing a wide range of ancient and sometimes long-forgotten crafts and customs being carried out before the eyes of the spectators, in a sort of living museum. The living crib in Pezze del Greco is particularly appealing, set in an ancient village of cave dwellings which was in fact inhabited until just two centuries ago.

We always recommend comfortable walking shoes or trainers; swimwear; a rucksack or suitable bag for excursions; suncream for fair-skinned visitors.

We recommend: when walking around the old city of Bari, not to wear bags over your shoulder or carry cameras round your neck. Unfortunately, instances of bag-snatching do still occur there.

Both Italian tourists and foreign visitors will find Apulia quite a “cheap” place, with everyday items and all public services costing slightly less than the Italian average, and much less than the European average. In the main tourist spots, though, there may occasionally be some hiking of prices in craft shops and restaurants.

A holiday for two people in a lovely trullo with a kitchen and bathroom, car hire and fuel, and access to private beaches will probably cost a total of around 160 euros a day. For a higher-quality holiday (staying on a farm, car hire and fuel, eating at a restaurant each day, private beaches with various services) the budget for two people will start from around 250 euros.

The price for hiring a middle-range car starts from around 400-450 euros.

The average price of a full meal at a restaurant will vary considerably according to the choice of wines and food. Restaurants and trattorias at a middle to higher level, the price per head is between 25 to 40 euros (plus drinks), whereas a pizzeria where you can enjoy a real Italian-style pizza, with a trolley of interesting local hors d’oeuvres will set you back 15 to 25 euros a head.

If you are travelling with friends, sharing costs and cooking your own food instead of going to a restaurant each day, you will be able to spend much less. You can buy everything you need from breakfast through to dinner for two people for between 18 and 25 euros. We recommend using one of the many open or covered markets (the larger cities will have several, each serving various suburbs). It is often one of the most interesting experiences for the holidaymaker, a way of “mixing business with pleasure”, being cheaper than the supermarkets, but especially a way of getting to know local people in a direct and enjoyable fashion.

There are also weekly markets, where clothing and accessories, furnishings and household goods, fabrics and sometimes typical craft products can be picked up for next to nothing.

We recommend: if you have a barbecue, buy your meat from one of the many butchers in the towns of the Itria valley. Their meat is unusually good, and when it is cooked over charcoal, with a side salad of local tomatoes and a good red Apulian wine, it is a true delight for the palate at a surprisingly low price. Traveling on your own by car can be quite expensive – a litre of petrol in Italy costs a minimum of 1.20 euros, while diesel is around 1.13: for the latest prices, see the website at www.prezzibenzina.it

There are plenty of open beaches, many of them being beautiful, and they are completely free, but with no services at all. There are also dozens of private beaches, with everything from  beach umbrellas to deckchairs, bars, restaurants, showers, toilets and all sorts of other things to make your day at the beach run smoothly.

Costs will vary according to the level of service, ranging from 6 euros for a parking place in the shade to 22 euros to hire a luxury beach hut (more common on the beaches close to the Itria valley) or for your own place on the beach with everything you need to enjoy the day (more common on the beaches of the Salento peninsula).

We recommend: having a recent detailed roadmap of Apulia for car journeys, especially for the area south of Lecce, which could make all the difference to your car journey.

Apulia has an excellent network of wide roads, which are a pleasure to drive on and well-maintained.

To get to know the area properly, we advise hiring a car, because even though the towns have good rail and bus connections, there are so many places to visit, and the distances can be quite daunting, that using public transport would be tiring and slow. Unless of course you have set aside a whole month for your holiday, in which case you could perhaps do without the luxury of your own car.

The A14 motorway connects Apulia with the north, first passing through Foggia and Bari provinces and ending up in the province of Taranto.  The other two provincial capitals, Brindisi and Lecce, are on a superstrada, a fast but often busy free dual carriageway.

The coasts are served by a number of state roads affording superb views, whereas some inland areas (especially in the south of the Salento peninsula) are not very well signposted. That can make it quite a journey of discovery, and the best way of finding a place is to stop and ask a local, who will be very pleased to help.