Do you need a car on your Puglia holiday? Hiring a car versus taking the train: everything you need to know

Christopher White
12 hours ago
9 min read

Do you need to hire a car on your Puglia holiday? Hiring a car versus taking the train: everything you need to know — You can see a lot of Puglia on the train...but is it better to hire a car?

As someone who’s been visiting Puglia for nearly two decades, here’s my hot take on whether you need a car to get around the region.

I’ve done both: travel around Puglia with, and without, a car. And they do both offer their own benefits. So to help travellers new (and old) to Puglia, I've written up a helpful guide explaining what's great, and not, about taking the train versus hiring a car.

What I love about hiring a car in Puglia

Let’s start with travelling around Puglia by car. Hiring a car in Puglia gives you total freedom and flexibility, as there is no need to rely on public transport. You get to choose where you want to go, and when.

Total freedom to explore Puglia

I suppose the number one benefit of travelling by car in Puglia is that you’ll undoubtedly find yourself in places you’d never discover on public transport! For me, these places involve finding the best restaurants and beaches / beach clubs.

For instance, on a recent trip to the Martina Franca area, one of the top-rated restaurants was a bracceria (basically a butchers with a restaurant attached – you choose the meat in the front, and they cook it up for you), a ten minute drive outside of the city. By foot, you’d probably never bother walking over to it, because it would’ve been at least a 45 minute walk, maybe even an hour. Not terrible en route when it's still light, but a bit more scary in the dark.

Another example: on the drive back from Gallipoli, we stopped into a highly-rated restaurant for lunch in Galatina. This would have been basically impossible without a car!

Finding the best beach clubs in Puglia

And then there’s access to beaches, and beach clubs. It’s certainly possible to get to some beach clubs by bus (warning: buses tend to run most regularly only during July and August); but there are so many lovely little beaches and beach clubs in Puglia that you can really only easily reach if you have a car. And they are so worth going to if you can.

Cars are essential for self-catered / countryside stays in Puglia

If you’re staying in self-catered accommodation, having a car can be really useful for going to the supermercato and picking up a big food shop. By the way, my favourite is a chain of supermarkets called Eurospin, because they’re affordable, and they have their own radio station playing (‘Radio Eurospin’ of course). They’re a bit like an Italian version of Lidl.

That big food shop, if you're staying in the countryside, will also need to include lots of bottled water, because you can't drink the tapwater in the countryside - which actually comes from your accommodation's cisterna (filled up by lorry from time to time). It's fine for washing in, but not for consuming. If you don't want to pay for bottled water (although it's cheap, at around 20 cents per 2 litre bottle), you can take empty bottles to a fontana nearby (public water fountain) and refill them there. It's amazing how much drinking water you'll need on your trip - up to 4 litres per person per day (especially in the hot months).

Plus, if you want to visit any other friends who happen to live in the countryside, you’ll need a car for that.

Summary of advantages to travelling by car in Puglia

Freedom: go where you want, whenever you want (or not)
Can be affordable: especially in the shoulder months (April-June, September & October) and off-peak season (November-March), with a weeks’ car hire at around £100 (it's closer to £300 for a week in peak season)
Gives you full access to Puglia: there is nowhere you can’t explore, from countryside restaurants to lovely little beaches and beach clubs
Accessibility: really helpful if you have someone in your group with mobility issues, or if you have young children
Countryside stays: you’ll certainly need a car if you’re staying in the countryside in a villa or Masseria
Self-catering stays: not necessarily in towns, but again if you’re self-catered in the countryside, you can’t drink the tap water, and will need to buy plenty of bottled water (or fill up at one of the many public fountains).

The disadvantages to travelling by car in Puglia

Stress: you need to face the thrill / terror of driving on the right hand side; and someone will need to take on the responsibility of doing the majority of the driving every day
Language barrier: interpreting road signs (which are obviously all in Italian)
Parking: finding parking (especially hard in July and August), managing to pay for it, and parking in tight spaces
Getting lost: accidentally finding yourself following Google Maps through the centro storico of a town, and nearly having a panic attack with less than one inch to spare on either side of your car
High costs: the costs of renting a car (especially in July and August), including insurance, gas/petrol, parking, and damage (once, there was a huge hail storm during my July trip, and the hire car ended up looking like a golf ball – full of dimples – mostly covered by my excess insurance, but still cost me a few hundred dollars).
Dealing with Italian driving: nobody indicates, and if you don’t drive like a maniac on the motorways, Italian drivers will drive about 6 inches behind you and flash their headlights to get you to move out of their way.
(Not) drinking and driving: somebody will need to be the designated driver when you are going out for dinner
Picking the car up at the rental office: sometimes this goes without a hitch, sometimes you find yourself paying for excess insurance or breakdown cover that you know you really don't need. But that's quite standard for any car hire experience, anywhere in the world.

What I love about travelling by train in Puglia

Before I learned to drive at the ripe old age of 36 (!) I was solely reliant on public transport at home and abroad. That meant that I did have to get my head around the train system in Puglia, which I will say was a learning curve, especially as I usually travelling by myself.

It's a nice, slow pace

What I do love about going by train in Puglia (and Italy more generally) is that you get to sit back and watch the scenery – something that you don’t really get to enjoy if you’re driving (nice if you’re a passenger in a car though).

It's not completely stress-free, but equally shares any stress amongst your group

And as nobody from your group (or you) is driving, there’s no added stress for one particular person. I’d say that since 2018, almost every single trip of mine to Puglia has involved me being the principal driver, and whilst it’s not super stressful driving (any more…it was at first), and I’m thankful for the experience, I think that doing it every day does get your cortisol levels up a little bit, so it’s not quite as relaxing a trip as it could be for that person.

A surprising fact about train stations in Puglia...

Here’s something that might surprise you: train stations in Puglia are often not connected to the town they’re named for! For instance, the station in Ostuni is a 30 minute walk downhill from the town, and to be honest, it’s not an entirely pleasant walk due to the heat, road traffic and incline (there are shuttle buses, but the one time I did take one one, it was so confusing and not on time).

The main exceptions tend to be the larger towns and cities, like Bari, and Lecce, where the train station is within the city centre.

Getting the train in Puglia: it's cheap

What’s really good about travelling by train in Puglia, is the price.

One thing you should know, related to price, is that there are two train companies here. One is the state-subsidised company (called ‘Trenitalia’ or ‘regionale,’ with older, slower trains which stop at every station); and the other is private (called ‘Frecciarossa,’ with newer, faster trains which are sometimes express).

My advice is to travel by the former – yes, it’s slower, but isn’t that vibe at the heart of Pugliese life? The best thing about these state-funded trains is the price: they’re really cheap. Of course if money isn’t a concern, then the faster Frecciarossa trains will get you where you need to go much faster. Just make sure you choose the right option when you’re buying your tickets at the automated machines in the train station.

Getting the train after flying into Bari or Brindisi airports

If you fly into Bari airport, it’s really easy to connect to the main east coast train line in Puglia. You simply get the airport connection train to Bari Centrale, and then the main station is literally next door to the airport connection terminal. Tip: there's a little cafe next to the terminale station where you can grab a caffe; and the little restaurant attached to Bari Centrale station is actually pretty decent if you want proper food.

In Brindisi, there’s no rail connection into the town if you arrive at Brindisi airport. Instead, you can take a bus into the city and make your way to the train station from there (I’ve never actually done this myself but I can’t imagine it’s too difficult).

Best towns to visit in Puglia by train

The best towns to visit in Puglia if you’re travelling by train? Anywhere that’s connected on the main coastal spine, including: Bari, Trani, Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, Ostuni, Brindisi, Lecce.

If you want to get to any of the smaller towns like Alberobello, Cisternino and Ceglie Messapica, then you’ll need to get a connection to the regional railways (‘Ferrovie’) which to frank, I’ve never done, assuming it will take a while for the connection to arrive!

Summary of advantages of rail travel in Puglia

Cost: cheaper than car hire
Pace: you get to slow down and enjoy the scenery
Less stress: relieves the stress of driving for the person who would’ve been responsible for that
Great for city breaks: connects you to most of the major Adriatic coast towns and cities in Puglia
Parking: no need to worry about parking anywhere

Disadvantages of travelling by train in Puglia

Pace: can be slow, and you could be waiting around for trains for a while
Slightly confusing: platforms can change at the last minute, you need to validate your ticket on the platform before you step onto the train, sometimes there isn’t adequate signage when you are trying to spot which station you’re arriving into.
Lack of access: you won’t be able to visit places which are not on the train route
Sharing spaces: it’s public transport, so say goodbye to your privacy
Not great for accessible needs: there’ll be plenty of walking involved, so not great for anyone with mobility issues or with young families.

So what’s the conclusion…is it best to travel around Puglia by car or by train?

It really depends on what sort of holiday you’re after, and who’s in your group.

If you’re a family with young children, it will probably be best to hire a car to avoid having to navigate the train system and plentiful walking with all your stuff (and kids).

If you’re food-lovers who like a drink: go by train, because you’ll not need to worry about who’s going to drive, and you can see enough of the region by visiting the major towns via the train network.

If it’s your first time in Puglia: it depends on how comfortable you are driving in a new country. If you want a less stressful experience and aren’t bothered by seeing the countryside, go by train so that you can relax a bit more and stay in towns. If you’re ok with driving, then hiring a car means you can explore a bit more off the beaten track.

Plus, you can get to places like Alberobello early, and do the touristy stuff before the big coach parties arrive and clog up the place. Get caught up in that and you'll wish you'd never bothered going...

If you’ve been to Puglia before and are looking to go beyond the tourist hotspots, then I’d say hire a car. That way you can head out to places off the tourist trails, whether they’re restaurants, small towns, or beach clubs.

If you’re looking for a relaxing holiday by the beach: it seems counterintuitive, but hire a car. You may find it challenging to explore the coastline and beach clubs without one.

If you want a traditional countryside / Masseria stay: definitely get a car, because you won’t want to be walking around the countryside all the time, and as a lot of countryside properties don’t have proper addresses, even ordering a pizza takeaway (or taxi) will be nearly impossible (we found this out the hard way).

If you’re doing a self-catered break: car, if you’re staying in the countryside, because you’ll need to do a big shop and buy lots of bottled water. If you’re in a town like Ostuni, and plan to mainly stay there, then train is fine – you can drink the tap water, and find little mercato shops to get your food (plus you’ll have plenty of lunch and dinner options within the town).

If you want a city break: train all the way, because it’s easy enough to fly into either Bari or Brindisi airports and then get connections to major towns. You’ll then not need to pay for parking all week, and can hop back on the train to go exploring to other towns.

If someone in your group has mobility difficulties: hire a car, because if you go by train, you’ll find yourself doing lots of walking, which is much harder if you have lots of suitcases to manage.

Have I missed anything about hiring a car versus getting a train in Puglia?

Let me know! You can email me at info@puglia-holidays.com