If you’ve been following along, our Puglia road trip included stops in the Salento wine region, Matera, and Polignano a Mare. Now we’ve come to our final day in Italy which took us through Alberobello, Ostuni, and one more visit to a Salento winery, before ending our trip where back where we started in Brindisi.
Here are the highlights from the final leg of our Puglia road trip:
5-Day Puglia Road Trip: Day 5
Breakfast in Polignano a Mare
We woke up in our Polignano a Mare apartment and packed up our things for our final day. Then we headed down for breakfast before getting on the road. Morning cappuccinos had become a part of the daily routine after all!
Morning in Alberobello
Back on the road, we directed our GPS for the famous Puglian town of Alberobello, known for its trulli. Trulli are small, limestone white homes with cone-shaped ceilings, of which some date back to the mid-14th century. Every guidebook you’ll read for Puglia recommends at least a stop here; some recommend an overnight in a trulli. In our opinion, in comparison with Matera or Polignano a Mare, a half-day visit is plenty of time.
We only spent a few hours in Alberobello, wandering the streets of the Zona Monumentale Trulli. There are lots of gift shops, restaurants, wine bars, and other touristy activities, but it was HOT in July and not much shade to come by.
After exploring and poking in a few shops, we found a restaurant with outdoor fans and sat down to try one of the popular local dishes: orecchiette with turnip tops.
Then it was back to the car and off to our next stop!
Photo Stop in Ostuni
Early afternoon we arrived in the town of Ostuni. We planned to have a snack or coffee and just stroll through town, but without knowing exactly where to park or go, it ended up turning into just a photo stop. We pulled over just outside of town for a panoramic view and snapped a few photos. Then we continued on our Puglia road trip.
Wine & Lunch Break at Torleanzi Winery
We continued south toward our final destination of the trip: Brindisi. But we weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to Puglian wines and scenery just yet. So, along the drive, I did quite a bit of Googling trying to find a winery open for walk-in tastings. We found Torleanzi which was past Brindisi but only by about 15 minutes. It ended up being the perfect final touch to our Puglia road trip.
As soon as we walked in the door at Torleanzi, we were greeted by friendly faces. Though they didn’t speak a lot of English, they were gracious and patient with us. We tried several of their wines and they shared a bit about the Torleanzi production, as well as the masseria (farmhouse). If you’re looking for a vineyard that doubles as accommodation in Puglia, definitely check it out. Though, of course, we can’t recommend Emera Wine Resort enough!
After our tasting, we sat on the back patio and enjoyed a charcuterie board and tucked into a bottle of the Verdefinao. What a refreshing white for a hot summer afternoon!
After a relaxing couple of hours at Torleanzi, we took the remainder of our bottle to enjoy that evening and got back on the road.
Evening in Brindisi
By the time we left the winery, check-in was open in Brindisi for our final accommodation. We stayed at Dimora del Casale, a three-room bed and breakfast close to the airport. Although a bit hard to find at first, it was just what we needed. The proprietor Maurizio is very kind and helped with our bags and showed us to our room and the kitchen/dining area.
Once settled, we headed into town for dinner (a short drive from the B&B). I wish I could say I had some photos to share from the waterfront or our meal, but I think we were so exhausted from two weeks of traveling (first Ionian Islands, Greece, then Puglia, Italy), that honestly neither of us took any!
It’s a quiet little town but the harbor is quaint with a handful of waterfront restaurants and bars. While I don’t know if it would be worth going out of your way, it’s a nice bookend if you’re planning to fly out of the Brindisi airport, or hop on a ferry to Greece or Albania. To be fair, though, we had such limited time to explore, there may be more to Brindisi we don’t know about.
Next Morning & Flight Home
After a good night’s rest, it was time to head home. We got an early start to the day with a coffee and breakfast at the B&B. Then we loaded up and headed to the airport to return our rental car. It was an amazing Puglia road trip, but after two weeks away, we were ready to get back to Denver and our pups. So, as the Italians say, it was”arrivederci” until next time!
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