10 Reasons You Need To Visit Puglia

I just got back from leading my latest Glam Italia Tour.

This time the tour started and ended in my beloved Rome, with a 10 day trip through beautiful, dynamic Puglia smack bang in the middle.

Puglia needs to be on your bucket list, here are 10 reasons why.

The Landscape.

Puglia is gorgeous. Flanked by the Adriatic on the east coast and the Ionian on the west, Puglia has around 800 km of staggeringly beautiful coastline, with white sandy beaches and dramatic rocky cliffs. 

It also has endless vineyards and olive groves, and is sprinkled with picturesque whitewashed towns and villages. 

Ostuni, Puglia

The Trulli

The Val d'Itria area of Puglia is filled with amazing hobbit-like cone roofed houses. They are quite magical! We stayed in one for three nights, and it was really quite special.

What are trulli? Read about Puglia's fairytale houses here

The Picturesque Little White Towns

Throughout Puglia the countryside is speckled with picturesque little white towns. They offset the colors of the land, and gleam and sparkle against the lapis lazuli ocean. The are simply exquisite!

Monopoli harbor

They also are quite intricate, and form a labyrinth of narrow, winding streets that circle around, double back and lead to dead ends.

Ostuni, Puglia

For centuries Puglia was under attack and relatively defenseless with its endless coastline, so the towns were built into mazes designed to confuse and dis-empower invaders while allowing the inhabitants a chance to escape.

Ostuni

layered up for rain, cold and sunshine in Cisternino

I fell in love with Cisternino, Locorotondo, Ostuni and old town Monopoli.

Locorotondo

Cisternino

The Lack Of Tourists.

Saturday morning at Otranto cathedral

Although Puglia is an absolute tourist's paradise, compared to the rest of Italy it really doesn't have many tourists. 

If you have ever traveled to Florence, Venice or Rome you will know exactly what I'm talking about!

Italians, Germans and Brits know their way around the beaches, but outside of August and the end of July and beginning of September, Puglia is tourist light.

Lecce on a Saturday afternoon

Any place that doesn't have bus loads of tourists tends to have authentic food and fewer t-shirt shops. 

Piazza Duomo in Lecce, Saturday afternoon

You also get the added bonus of standing directly in front of art and statues and great sights instead of 5 bodies deep!

The People

I have always found Italians to be the friendliest people anywhere, but I particularly loved the Pugliese. Everywhere we went locals wanted to chat, point out cool things to look at, welcome us to their town.

I met this darling little lady, Caterina, in Ostuni. 
She lives in a teeny tiny little home on a whitewashed street, and walks everywhere every day with a cane that she hid for our photos.

We chatted for ages and she told us all about growing up in Ostuni, and living there her entire life.

What she lacked in teeth she made up for in heart. She was just adorable!

The Food.

Oh lord. The food! 

Octopus salad at Miseriaenobilta in Alberobello

Puglia is a major agricultural region, so everything you eat is local and fresh. 

Handmade Orecchetti with turnip greens in Santa Cesarea Terme, Puglia

From handmade orriechetti to fresh seafood, to the simplest of salads, eating in Puglia is heaven. And crazy inexpensive.

The remnants of a 15 euro order of seafood antipasti at Torre San Sabine, Puglia

The Beaches.

Sunset, Polignano A Mare, Puglia

Puglia's coastline gives you and endless stream of stunning beaches. 

Due Sorelle Beach, Otranto Puglia

Whether you want white sands and an Italian Maldives experience, rocky cliffs to dive from, dramatic rocky beaches, lidos or private, isolated coves, Puglia has it all. 

The water is a surreal carcophany of see thru blues - you can almost hear the colors! As far out as you swim you can see to the bottom, the water is so clean and pristine. 

Grotta Azzurra, Salento Coast Puglia

You can take boats out to blue grotto caves and swim alone in water.

The Wine

Puglia grows 17% of Italy's wine, an annual yield larger than the entire production of Australian wines.

The most famous wines from the region are the hearty reds Primativo and Negro Amaro, and the crisp white Fiano. 

While ordering bottles of wine with dinner is always fun, we particularly loved being in little local restaurants and getting liter jugs of the house wine for 4 euros! The crazy thing was the house wine was just fantastic, every single time.

The Olive Oil

Much of Italy's olive oil production happens in Puglia.

Driving through the countryside you see endless olive groves, some with giant old trees up to 500 years old still standing sentry, watching over incredibly fertile land that makes nutrient rich olives that burst with flavor.

ancient olive tree in Puglia

A simple mixed green salad with fresh olive oil from Puglia and a sprinkle of salt can change your life forever!

The Easy Way Of Life

Travel in Puglia is so incredibly easy. Contrary to everything I read prior to going, the roads in Puglia are fantastic. Driving is a breeze because the roads are not only in good shape but are also well sign posted. 
The people are friendly and kind, the pace of life is slower, with everything closing down for siesta from 1pm til 4pm.
The lack of cruise ships and tour buses disgorging thousands of nikon wielding tourists into the streets means that Puglia is still authentic and very affordable. Beautiful vacation rentals are very inexpensive, as are consumer goods and food and wine. 
Puglia feels like a secret. A magical, mystical secret, and is the perfect place for a glorious vacation.

5 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Travels

Right now I'm in Italy leading another group of ladies on their Glam Italia Tour. 

Are you following along on Instagram?? Check the trip out and follow me @Corinnamakeup. Today we are back in Rome, the eternal city (and my imaginary second home!)

I'm going to pot some of the goings on when I get back home, but in the meantime I found this fabulous post on Bloglovin to keep you in the traveler frame of mind.

And by the way this article is my absolute travel mantra! These are the 5 principals I live by when I'm traveling. This article was written by Darje Karstens

Image via Park & Cube. (Seriously check the link and look at the beautiful post it's from!)

Go Solo

Being alone for a while gives you a chance to take control of your trip and experience a whole new level of self consciousness. You might first think you need some company, but after a while you'll learn that just yourself is enough. By experiencing new things on your own, you'll grow and become more open-minded.

Interact With Locals

Talking to strangers might be a challenge for some people, but on vacation you have so many more reasons to start a conversation. Ask questions about your destination, food, customs, and everything else you're curious about.

Get Involved

This means saying yes to new opportunities and keeping your eyes open for great things happening around you. Do not wait until things happen to you, make them happen; go to a club, a restaurant alone, or ask others for their plans for the evening – you might even make some friends along the way!

Walk Everywhere

You may never leave your comfort zone if you fear finding a way by yourself. By foot, you will pass tons of places you wouldn't have seen by train or cab. Make the most of your trip and get your daily steps in the process!

Communicate In The Local Language

Even if you only know basic words in the local language, at least try to order your food, ask for directions, or even do your own bartering. If you're not good at it, you'll at least have some laughs with the communicating partner – maybe he or she will even teach you some new vocabulary!

Stranded After The Istanbul Terror Attack ~ What One Traveler Learned

It could happen.
You could find yourself in an airport when a terror attack happens. 
Or when severe weather grounds you somewhere, when there is an act of God, when war breaks out, when a quarantine happens - there are multiple events that could put you in the same situation (or at least similar) to the writer of this article, Carmen Dumitrescu.

One of my clients got married here in Phoenix and flew to Egypt for her honeymoon. While the newlyweds were en route to the trip of a lifetime, with pyramids, camel rides and immersion in a history as old as time, the revolution broke out. They arrived to absolute mayhem, and can no doubt relate to the following story.

If you ever get on a plane to anywhere, be it domestic or international, you should read this article. (via SmarterTravel.com)

Stranded After the Istanbul Terror Attack: What I Learned

Carmen Dumitrescu was in transit between Romania and Bangkok when she landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey just after the June 28 terrorist attack. This is her story, and the ways it has changed how she’ll travel from now on.

Carry Extra Necessities

“As we landed at the airport,” Dumitrescu says, “people started turning on their phones. There [was] this murmur from the passengers. The woman next to me said, ‘There’s been an attack.’ Meanwhile, [our] plane was just circling the runway. We were told by Turkish Air that they were having ‘operational difficulties’ and that we’d be on the runway for a while. Flight attendants served beverages and people started streaming the news to figure out what was happening outside the plane.

“I fell asleep with my glasses next to me. After about three hours, they rushed us off the plane, and in my grogginess left my glasses at my seat. It made everything that happened next much harder.”

Use Luggage That’s Easy to Carry

“I got off and saw all the luggage on the tarmac and just two staff members who told us to identify and take our luggage into the transit area. Those were the last staff members we saw.

“We went inside and found that all the elevators and escalators were shut down. People everywhere were struggling under the weight of luggage. The stairways were narrow, and people were asking for help. There was an announcement on repeat that said: ‘Please head to your departure lounge.’ But everything had been sealed and there was no staff. And to get to the departure lounge you had to go through immigration, which was cordoned off and the glass doors were locked.”

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Travel Rested and Don’t Drink

“I looked around and saw a kind of post-apocalyptic scene, the kind when a place is full of people who are stuck.  There was garbage all over the ground. It was so incredibly crowded. There was no ventilation, and people were smoking in non-smoking areas. A lot of people were disabled but didn’t have wheelchairs because there was no staff to take care of people. The toilets were wrecked—I couldn’t even get in there.

“More and more people kept coming off planes, and the transfer area got more and more crowded. It was thousands of people, body to body. There weren’t enough seats, so people just stood, and some groups claimed entire areas to sleep or sit down on the ground. There were a lot of people walking aimlessly because there was nowhere to sit.

“Everyone was trying to figure out what was going on, but there was no one to ask—no airport or airline staff. I wish I had been better rested. The fact that I was so tired made me confused and not as alert as I needed to be. But I was glad I hadn’t been drinking on the plane—I would have been even more disoriented and thirsty, which would have been disastrous. I needed to be able to think clearly.”

Travel with Food and Water

“Everything was loud—people were yelling and children were crying. It was really hot, and there was no ventilation, and no water. No information. Things kept getting more intense because there was no one there giving information, no ‘Stay calm, you will be rebooked.’

“There was no food or water for sale anywhere, and I had no water and hadn’t eaten for many hours. I got lightheaded, and said to myself, ‘Just lie down and you’ll figure it out.’ I found a small free space and passed out on my bag. I will always make sure to have water and something to nosh on for my whole journey from now on.”

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Always Have Enough Data Roaming

“I had topped up my roaming plan before I left, but not enough. When I first arrived in the transit area, I saw I had a message from my husband. I texted back to say, ‘I’m stuck here, I’m going to try to exit the airport. Can you get me a hotel?’ I had started to think about what if there was another attack. But at that point, all of us were still trapped.

“A few minutes later, my husband sent me the name of the hotel. And then my roaming was blown, all gone in a few minutes.

“In the airport there were signs that said Wi-Fi was available, but in order to sign up, you needed a Turkish phone number, so couldn’t use it. My husband had been trying to call me for hours, but I had no credit, and without getting on Wi-Fi I had no way to top up. I could just see dozens of missed calls but no way to respond.

“From now on, I’m going to make sure to have a lot more roaming on my phone. And I’ll know the roaming rates for where I’m going so I can be sure to have enough.”

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How to Prepare and Use Your Cell Phone Abroad

Carry Multiple Forms of Currency

“It had been about seven hours since I landed at this point. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get another flight out for a while, I so started waiting in a line to get an exit visa. There were five machines issuing visas but all of them were broken except for one. The line was hours and hundreds of people long, but people kept cutting so the line never got shorter. I gave up when I saw people running to immigration, because one immigration officer [had gone] to a desk, and one Turkish Airline person came out and started screaming, ‘You have to get out! Get in line and there will be buses to take you to the city.’

“I got in line and made it to the desk, but they looked at my passport and told me I needed a visa.  The line was still so long there was no possible way to get a visa using this machine. Somebody told me that the transfer line was open and were issuing tickets, but I had my bag and there was no way to check it back in.

“A visa officer eventually showed up and a bunch of people (including me) went there. There was a lot of frustration, screaming and banging, because they were only taking euros, dollars, and pounds, not local currency. But they were still announcing that people needed to exit. So people were trapped but being told to leave—if you didn’t have the right currency, you couldn’t get out.

“Before I left for my trip, my husband had given me 40 Scottish pounds. I ended up standing near two British women who were traveling to Thailand, and they offered to trade my Scottish pounds for British pounds. I thanked them and ran back to the visa line with my British pounds. Within 20 minutes I was out.”

Have a Contingency Plan, Even in the Places You Transfer Through

“I got out of the transfer area at about 6:30 in the morning. I went through immigration and down a narrow hallway, and then came out at the bomb site. They had boarded up a lot of it and there was a construction crew. Someone was yelling ‘No photography! Just keep walking.’

“They had sealed most of the doors to get out, and there was no staff to tell you how to exit the airport. I walked up and down the airport looking for any door that would open. I went upstairs to the departures level and found a random door that opened; outside there were no vans or buses, just a few people waiting and one or two taxis. I got in a taxi, and as we were driving away, saw hundreds of people sleeping with their bags on a grassy area right in front of the airport.

“Now I know I should contact someone local in advance and have a contingency plan—at least a hotel name and number or a person who knows I’m coming through. Maybe make note of a hotel that would be close enough to walk to or have the phone number of a taxi company on hand.”

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Carry a Well-Stocked Carry-On (with a Charger)

“Looking back, I think: ‘What if my bag had transited without me?’ I would have had nothing. I ended up needing to stay in Istanbul from Tuesday to Friday. From now on, I’ll make sure to carry on any supplies I need as well as weather-appropriate gear for the transit city.

“I’m so glad I happened to have my phone charger and an extra charge, which meant I was able to keep my phone charged the whole time.”

Related: Portable Phone Chargers and Power Packs At Best Buy

Enlist Help Rebooking

“I landed in Istanbul on Tuesday night and couldn’t get out until Friday. Once I was in the hotel and had Wi-Fi, I called Turkish Airlines to rebook. No one answered. I had booked through Expedia, which was good, because it will do some of the dirty work for you. An Expedia agent called the airline on my behalf and told them I was stuck and needed a flight out.

“I was on the phone with Expedia for six hours straight. I was exhausted, so I put the phone on speaker, lay down on bed, and stayed on hold. I fell asleep for part of it, and every so often they would check in with me and say, ‘We’re still trying to get ahold of Turkish.’ At one point the phone got disconnected, but they called me back. The only available flight was on Friday night so I took it.”