Ending cruise in Bari - need advice on options

I am looking at a cruise that starts in Venice and ends in Bari. We will have flown in to Venice and stayed overnight.

I have always wanted to see the Trulli and now I am looking at my options, Matera looks like it is worth a visit.

What I am thinking about is to hire a car (brave for me because I am the only driver, but it worked so well for us in Alaska that I am willing to do it again) and stay one, possibly two extra nights.

My thought was to pick up the car in Bari and drive to Polignano a mare for a couple of hours and perhaps and early lunch, then go to see the Trulli in the Alberobello. Not sure how long a visit would be. Then we would drive to Matera and stay overnight. If there is a lot to see, we could do some more touristy stuff in the morning and then head off to an airport for the journey home (still considering the options, much depends on whether we are doing this trip alone or with another couple).

My main query is: has anyone who has done this sort of trip tell me if I have I allowed long enough - half a day for the Trulli and later afternoon/evening/morning in Matera.

I can see that I have more time than if it was a 6 hour port stop but I don't want to come away thinking that we have rushed the end of our trip unnecessarily.

Three hours or so are fine for Alberobello. You might enjoy seeing Locorotondo which is nearby. A half a day in Matera is good.

Have you thought of your airport options? Depending on that you could easily add another day to enjoy the area.

It is a good point. I am still considering the airport- I first need to find out if we are a two or four person party. We fly to Malaga and that does limit our options on airports - to try to find direct flights.

In Italy you can keep adding days ad infinitum. I have already considered adding lake Garda and Turin to the start of the trip - but at some point I have to say “for another trip”

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