excursion in Bari, Italy

Has anyone been to Bari, Italy? What do you suggest doing?

Most definitely a DIY part. Easy to get around on foot. Nothing spectacular to see as I recall.

The old town area of Bari, near the waterfront, is charming. There are two beautiful, historic churches to see (can't remember the names right now, and I'm away from home so can't check my notes).

Outside of town the two places I'd consider going to or taking a tour to are Alberobello and Matera. Both are about an hour to 90 minutes from Bari, both interesting, but in my opinion Matera is far more so.

Thanks for your advice. We were trying to determine which sounded more interesting.

I'm Italian and I live close to Bari. Bari's old town is very beautiful and rich from artistic point of view ... believe me, I am an architect!!! There are beautiful churches of 14th century to visit.f you can help, visit this site http://www.pugliaturismo.com/aptbari/default_e.htm

If you need info, please contact me.:)

I'm Italian and I live close to Bari. Bari's old town is very beautiful and rich from artistic point of view ... believe me, I am an architect!!! There are beautiful churches of 14th century to visit.f you can help, visit this site http://www.pugliaturismo.com/aptbari/default_e.htm

If you need info, please contact me.:)

Hi , we will be in Bari on a sunday and we are a group of 9 ,i am wondering if we can find some kind of transportation on the pier to take us to Alberobello,the ship tour offer only the ride for lots of money,so do u know if we can book ahead or they will be available at the pier?thank you.

Hi , we will be in Bari on a sunday and we are a group of 9 ,i am wondering if we can find some kind of transportation on the pier to take us to Alberobello,the ship tour offer only the ride for lots of money,so do u know if we can book ahead or they will be available at the pier?thank you.

The train, unfortunately, does not run on Sundays, but there is a bus. It's a long ride by bus, just under two hours. You can look at the timetables here: http://www.fseonline.it/en/default.aspx

The train, unfortunately, does not run on Sundays, but there is a bus. It's a long ride by bus, just under two hours. You can look at the timetables here: http://www.fseonline.it/en/default.aspx

Unfortunately, the transport by local train, as euro cruiser said, is not on Sundays. The journey Bari-Alberobello is about 70 km and I think a taxi is very expensive.

If you can help contact :http://www.tuttoalberobello.it/it/dirServizi/eurotaxi.html

If you need help, I'll be happy to help.

Does anyone know if you can actually drive around the streets where the truilli homes are located rather than walk? My husband has walking issues so we were thinking of taking a taxi for 4 so we could at least see these unique homes.

The ships tour on MSC is 3 hrs and involves a lot of walking, yet I have read that it takes about 90 mins. of traveling coming and going so it doesn't give you much time at this location.

Also, has anyone done the on/off tour bus in Bari and does it run in Dec.???

Thanks for any information.

Resubmitting this request:

Does anyone know if you can actually drive around the streets where the truilli homes are located rather than walk? My husband has walking issues so we were thinking of taking a taxi for 4 so we could at least see these unique homes.

The ships tour on MSC is 3 hrs and involves a lot of walking, yet I have read that it takes about 90 mins. of traveling coming and going so it doesn't give you much time at this location.

Also, has anyone done the on/off tour bus in Bari and does it run in Dec.???

Thanks for any information.

Trulli buildings can be found throughout the region of Puglia, although most people go to Alberobello to see them.

Alberobello is a little over an hour from Bari. The street that most people think of and photograph for its trulli (seen in the picture in the link following, from the UNESCO World Heritage site) is very steep and, as I recall, was pedestrian only. Most of these trulli now house gift shops. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/787

However, there are lots of trulli buildings in the area that can be driven to. Here is a link to one possibility: http://www.trullosovrano.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=4

I think your best bet would be to hire a car service and tell them specifically what you want, they will know which trulli to take you to that don't require a lot of walking. Divided among a number of people, the cost will likely be around the same as a ship tour.

Thanks, Euro, for the informationmon on the trulli buildings. Maybe a cab would be our best bet for 4 people. Ship's tour seems high at $70/person for 3 hrs.

Do you know anything about the on/off bus of Bari?

Frankly, I don't know Bari well enough to think of where you'd take a HOHO bus. I'm only really familiar with the historic district, which is very small and has extremely limited vehicular traffic. There's no way a bus is going to make it down those narrow streets.

I'm Italian and I live close to Bari. Bari's old town is very beautiful and rich from artistic point of view ... believe me, I am an architect!!! There are beautiful churches of 14th century to visit.f you can help, visit this site http://www.pugliaturismo.com/aptbari/default_e.htm

If you need info, please contact me.:)

Hi Sciroccata. We'll be in Bari for a day in December (Saturday 10th). We tend to avoid cruise excursions and it sounds as though we'd enjoy just wandering...cathedral, churches, old town, architecture, shopping, etc. Do you feel there's enough to keep us occupied all day at that time of year, with most things open? Are we likely to find any Christmas events, e.g. markets?

Thank you!

We took a RCI tour to the city of Matera and the cave town (Sassi). It was an incredible place and worth every penny. One of the most informative tours we have taken and the information offered about the city was something I never knew of or had heard about before.

I would highly recommend this tour, or this city. It did involve a great deal of terrain walking and was a full day.

Cheryl

I think there are 4 main sites to see in Bari:

1) Bari itself

2) Matera

3) Polignano a mare

4) Trulli houses (usually at Alberobello)

We rented a car and did the last 2. We loved it. Alberobello is like being at Disney it's so picturesque and well maintained. If you rent a car, I strongly suggest a GPS. It's easy to get to Polignano a mare and Alberobello, but finding your way back to the rental location can be a challenge. Street names are on the corners of buildings and hard to read, especially at dusk/night.

edit: I'll also add that we had planned on spending some time in Bari, but we enjoyed Alberobello so much that we stayed there longer than we had planned and then didn't have time for Bari.

You might find this thread interesting. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1387851 A bunch of us from our sailing took the local bus to the central train station in Bari. It's super simple. The bus is literally right at the port and you pay 70 cents or so to go downtown. We all bought a train ticket to Polignano a Mare and spent the day there. It's a spectacular little whitewashed town set on the cliffs. Google some pictures and you'll be amazed!

You might find this thread interesting. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1387851 A bunch of us from our sailing took the local bus to the central train station in Bari. It's super simple. The bus is literally right at the port and you pay 70 cents or so to go downtown. We all bought a train ticket to Polignano a Mare and spent the day there. It's a spectacular little whitewashed town set on the cliffs. Google some pictures and you'll be amazed!

Both are nice, but I liked Alberobello better. However, it's very easy to get to Polignano a mare, so if you don't want to deal with logistics, Polignano a mare would be the better choice.

I'm Italian and I live close to Bari. Bari's old town is very beautiful and rich from artistic point of view ... believe me, I am an architect!!! There are beautiful churches of 14th century to visit.f you can help, visit this site http://www.pugliaturismo.com/aptbari/default_e.htm

If you need info, please contact me.:)

Don't like cruise ship excursions...too many people...wondering if you or anyone else knows a good guide to take us to Conversano? Or can we take a train or bus there and see the main sights ourselves? (Castle, Church of Santi Cosma, St. Benedettos etc). OR is Polignano a Mare by train a better place to visit? We will be there via Silhouette in October.

Don't like cruise ship excursions...too many people...wondering if you or anyone else knows a good guide to take us to Conversano? Or can we take a train or bus there and see the main sights ourselves? (Castle, Church of Santi Cosma, St. Benedettos etc). OR is Polignano a Mare by train a better place to visit? We will be there via Silhouette in October.

I'm always mystified when people get off the ship and rush to move on without enjoying the port town itself (except, of course, where the port has nothing to offer, there's something really special nearby or you have a personal reason for visiting a local town or attraction).

We were in Bari in December and there's plenty to occupy most people for a full day, between the castle, the basilica, the cathedral, the shopping, etc. If you haven't been there before, I'd suggest enjoying Bari rather than wasting time and money travelling elsewhere.

There are of course many other places to visit, including those you mention, but consider saving them for next time.

Two cautions: Beware the long lunch break when many things, especially shops, close for around three hours. Beware thieves - we were all warned, but one party from our ship still had their bags snatched, although they were lucky in that some locals chased the thieves and got the bags back; keep everything well-hidden and firmly attached to your body.

I was in Bari last June. We walked off the ship and asked any of the Taxi drivers if they spoke English. We hired a taxi for 5 hours for 140 Euro for 4 people. He drove us to a cherry farm, 1 hour to the Tulli houses and we stopped at a local champagne tour. Then he dropped us off in the old city in Bari. We spent two hours walking around. It was a 10 min walk back to the ship. Just follow the water.

Will be in Bari on a Sunday... will any shops be open in the old town?

My wife and I had a very pleasant day strolling the old city last year. Here's a bit I wrote one of the churches:

http://platytera.blogspot.com/2011/08/vremya-avrupa.html

Coming to Bari on an RCI cruise, on a Sunday. Choice # 1 - "do" Bari itself independently. If we choose to do that how complicsated is it to get into town?

Choice # 2 - a five hour trip toAlberobello.

Choice # 3 - a 3 hour Bari and Truilli district... did not specify Alberobello

Any help appreciated. Thanks

Coming to Bari on an RCI cruise, on a Sunday. Choice # 1 - "do" Bari itself independently. If we choose to do that how complicsated is it to get into town?

 

Choice # 2 - a five hour trip toAlberobello.

 

Choice # 3 - a 3 hour Bari and Truilli district... did not specify Alberobello

 

Any help appreciated. Thanks

HI!

If this is any help, we too are going on an RCI cruise in Sept. ( Splendour) and we have booked the 5 hour trip to Alberobello..We normally take private excursions, but it seemed like a ship sponsored excursion was the easiest way to see Alberobello/trulli houses. We chose this because my husband is an architect and really wanted to see the structures.

Ali