Five-Star Trip trip to Puglia and Basilicata
Italy
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Sep 21 - Sep 30, 2026
Our trip to Puglia and Basilicata in southern Italy during late September 2026 was amazing. Our KimKim guide, Fabio Ilardi lived up to his name. He was fabulous! Our 10-day trip started in Monopoli. It is a charming town and an excellent base for our day trips to Polignano a Mare, Ostuni, Martina Franca and Alberobello. The wine tasting experience at Puglia Pop was delightful, too. Then we traveled by private car to the ancient city of Matera. We were fortunate to arrive on the evening of their annual candlelight celebration , “Matera Cielo Stellato”, in the historic section of the city. The one-hour event, when electric lights were turned off and the old city was illuminated by candles, was accompanied by choirs and musicians. It was breathtaking! We finished out trip with a two-day stay in the port city of Bari, which has a warren of winding back streets and alleys in its historic center that we discovered during a wonderful small-group food tour.
All of our hotels were well-located and clean with excellent staffs. The private transportation to and from all of our side trips and between hotel destinations was an added bonus. The food throughout our trip was delicious. Lots of homemade pasta and seafood accompanied by delectable Puglian wines. Fair warning to other travels: this trip requires a lot of walking, often on steep stairways to hotel rooms and historic sites. You need to be relatively fit to follow this itinerary. But it is worth every step!
Hotel Reviews
The Palazzo Giuditta was unique and quirky. On the plus side, it was well-located in the historic district and had a view of the harbor. The rooftop terrace with its two shallow plunge pools and lounge mats was lovely. The staff was very responsible and the daily breakfast at a nearby restaurant was delicious. On the negative side, there were 59 steps up to the room, and upon opening the door, another 29 steps down to the bedroom, which was small but adequate. The mattress was firm and the small balcony overlooking a side street was nice. The bathroom, however, was ridiculous! It was huge with a massive round jacuzzi tub (which we never used), a tiny sink and a small shower. There were no horizontal surfaces for toiletry bags and other personal items. But the oddest feature was there were no drawers or storage furniture of any kind. Just one rack for hanging clothes. We spent five days living out of our suitcases on the floor!
We stayed in a beautiful light, bright room with a vaulted ceiling. It was originally part of a 17th century monastery. The window overlooked the canyon and we had access to a lovely small terrace. The bathroom was adequate and it had a nice warm shower—once we figured out how to use the dials!
The Grande Albergo delle Nazioni is a lovely property overlooking the harbor with a beautiful rooftop pool. The restaurant served an excellent daily breakfast with beautiful views.
Activity Reviews
My husband and I enjoyed the hour-long ride through the Puligian countryside to the hillside town of Ostuni. Our driver Ivan stopped along the way for a panoramic photo opportunity of the “white city”. We spent a few hours strolling the back streets of Ostuni, visiting churches and stopping for a mediocre lunch in a street side cafe. The bruschetta included some rich stracciatella cheese that triggered some severe stomach issues for my husband, who lost a day of sightseeing the next day as he recovered from the illness.
I visited the Puglia Pop winery solo as my husband was still recovering from his lunch-induced stomach illness in Ostuni the previous day. The winery is the result of the collaboration of two legacy winemakers from Puglia and Spain with a vision for the future of Puglian wines. Everything about the winery is a delightful from the well-appointed tasting rooms to the high-design concepts of the winery bottles. I had a private tasting experience with my guide Valentina . She introduced me to six different wines including a light and refreshing white and rose wines and some deep and complex reds. All the wine tastings were accompanied by delicious local cheese , meats and bread. I ordered a case to be sent home and can’t wait for it to arrive. This was one of my favorite experiences in Puglia.
The ape tour of the ancient Sasse area of Matera with our guide and driver Vito was one of the highlights of our entire trip. Vito, a well-traveled native of Matera, provided us with so much personal history and context of the UNESCO-designated city of Matera, why it was once labeled as the “Shame of Italy”, and how it has evolved into a major tourist attraction and the favorite site for hundreds of filmmakers. Mel Gibson’s movie, “Passion of the Christ”, launched the city’s reputation as an ideal location for historic films and the many winding streets and piazzas served as a backdrop for a car chase scene is the 2021 James Bond film “No Time to Die”. Our fascinating tour of the historic sites was capped off with a delicious apertivo on a hotel terrace overlooking breathtaking views.
