Puglia is an amazingly beautiful and picturesque place. The Adriatic Sea washes it to the east and the Ionian Sea to the west. Here you will find white sand beaches, cliffs from which you can dive, incredible caves and grottoes. The 800 kilometers of coastline makes it the third longest in the region, after Sardinia and Sicily.
In Puglia, as in principle everywhere else, there are not particularly attractive beaches, where mostly locals rest. We’ve been to those too, and the sea is the sea, whether it’s blue or dark blue. It is still salty and nice.
Below I will tell you about the beaches we were on. And a couple that were not. I will tell you which ones you liked and which ones you didn’t. And do not forget that this is my personal subjective opinion.
Puglia is divided into historical and geographical regions: Salento, Gargano, Terra di Bari, Tavolere della Puglia, Arco-Iconico-Tarantino and Subappenino-Dauno, not coinciding with the provincial boundaries: Bari , Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto.
I will divide my article by provinces, to make it easier for you to navigate. We were not in Foggia, so there won’t be any information about it, but we were in the other provinces.
Province Bari
The sea of the Bari region is one of the most easily accessible and comfortable.
1. One of the most pleasant places for an urban beach holiday in this region is Monopoli. The beach, although very small, is clean and has a beautiful view. And people, as you can see, not so much!
2. Not far from Monopoli there are many bays with grottoes. One of them is Lido Pantano, pictured below. There are practically no people there, because the place is not famous at all. There is no sand there either, but there are plenty of places to dive.
3. The beach in the town of Polignano a Mare, called “the pearl of the Adriatic”, is probably one of the most famous urban beaches of Puglia. Well, from the photo, I think you’ll understand it.
So what is it so attractive? The crystal clear sea, beautiful cliffs and majestic natural caves – all this attracts tourists from all over Italy. And the town is only 30 km from Bari, which makes it very easily accessible.
I think any other month of summer is less crowded and more comfortable. And for that reason I wouldn’t judge the beach in August.
Province Lecce
The Adriatic coast near Cape Castrignano del Capo is famous for its wild rocky terrain and magnificent sea views. The Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea meet at Cape Santa Maria di Leuca. On the promontory there are beautiful grottoes, formerly a shelter for Byzantine monks. Gallipoli is a small town with clear sea and snow-white beaches, which unfortunately we missed.
4. There are many wonderful places for recreation near Otranto, but it is difficult with parking here (even with paid parking). We could hardly find a free parking, and that on the outskirts of the city, because of which we got on the beach for locals. From the pluses: we admired a huge yacht with its own helicopter.
5. One of the most beautiful places for swimming is in the Torre Dell’Orso area. Below is the photo of the bay between San Foca and Roca. The water is turquoise, the rocks and there are a lot of fish.
And this is probably one of the most famous and most visited places in Puglia – Grotta della Poesia. A natural grotto with access to the sea. In August, of course, it’s rough, but it’s still possible to jump. Even I was a little scared, but it was worth it. )
Province Taranto
The beaches of the Taranto region are absolutely unpredictable. There are both sand and rocks.
6. We visited the beaches near San Pietro In Bevagna, near Manduria. The water was incredibly warm and clear. The beaches here are mostly sandy and washed by the Ionian Sea.
7. The beaches of Gallipoli, called the Italian Maldives, are really beautiful. Snow-white sand, blue clear sea. And then there are the chic clubs and wild parties until dawn. If you are looking for exactly this kind of holiday, then you are here. By the way more about this paradise place you can read at Masha.
Province Brindisi
The sea around Ostuni, combined with the beautiful beaches, is considered one of the most beautiful in all of Puglia.
8. The beach of Spiaggia Lamaforca, not far from Ostuni. It’s a nice and not crowded place. There is a piece of sand here, but it belongs to the hotel. But you can lie on rocks, and of course you can swim here too – the sea is common).
9. The beach (not visible in the photo) in the town of Torre Dell’Orso with the famous rocks of Le Due Sorelle. By the way, you can go to them with or without catamarans (with masks, for example).
10. Santa Cesarea Terme. An insanely cozy little town, reminiscent partly of Bellagio on Como, partly of Taormina on Sicily. Today Santa Cesarea is one of the main spa resorts of the Salento Peninsula (“Italian Heel”). The use of thermal waters, whose springs are located in four caves, began about five hundred years ago, and now the entire economy of the city is based on these caves.
An old legend says that Santa Cesaria Terme got its name from a young girl Cesaria, who ran away from her cruel father and took refuge in one of the local grottoes. There she slipped and died, falling into a pond of hot water. According to another legend, it was her father, who was pursuing the girl, who slipped and died.
Santa Cesaria Terme is studded with underground caves, some of which have hot mineral springs rich in iodine, sulfur and sodium. The most important of these are the caves of Feydida, Solfurea, Gattula and Solfatura, which helped develop the spa business in the town.
The thermal baths are open from May to November, and the temperature of the waters is now adjusted to 40 degrees centigrade by special instruments. Here you can undergo treatment for respiratory diseases, recover from injuries and stress, and eliminate dermatological problems.
I want to note that I did not make a top / list of beaches to visit, I made a list of beaches that we were on (most of them were), the only beach on which from the list we were not – Gallipoli, but I think you understand why I could not not tell about it.
And in general, share your list of beaches in Puglia (who was), so that next time I would have a clue where to go.
