Driving in Puglia, according to Mr Fletche

Mr Fletche has long been the designated international driver in this marriage. There was the time we picked up our first hire car in Las Vegas and had to deal immediately with a left hand turn onto LV Boulevard. And then there were the winding roads to nowhere in Croatia. Mr Fletche has always dealt with driving abroad admirably. Well, apart from the auto v wall incident in Switzerland. And the three speeding fines on three consecutive days. Also in Switzerland.

Want to know more about driving in Switzerland? Here’s why we chose a rental car over train travel in Switzerland

But this was his first time driving in Italy. Italian drivers are notorious for driving without a care in the world and whole new sign language of driving gesticulation. And if train travel is SO easy in Italy – why would we ever need to drive? Although many of the cities in Puglia are well connected by train, having a car would give us the freedom to explore both the rural and coastal towns at our leisure. So on our first morning in Bari we picked up our hire car from Bari Airport and hit the road.

Mr Fletche’s top tips for driving in Puglia

Who better to tell A Brummie Home and Abroad readers about what it’s like driving in Puglia than Mr A Brummie Home and Abroad himself, Mr Fletche?

Hire the smallest car possible

Puglian towns have many narrow roads, often with cars parked on both sides of the street. This leaves little room for two cars to pass at the same time. Turnings into junctions were sometimes the tightest of angles. And sometimes the only parking spaces available required some pretty tricky manoeuvring. A bulky SUV is not going to cut the mustard so consider hiring the smallest category of car feasible for your party. Even some of the country roads are narrow – there’s a reason why Puglian farmers often drive the small three-wheeled ape vehicles.

Thrifty upgraded us from a Fiat Panda to an Opel Corsa – a car that Mr Fletche is thankfully familiar with as I drive a Corsa back home. Any bigger and we would have struggled on the urban roads, particularly when entering and exiting our accommodation in Ostuni! And remember that most cars in Europe are manual transmission; automatics are rare and therefore more expensive to hire.

Drive at a sensible speed but allow cars to overtake

Italian drivers all seem to drive fast. Often 20-25km/hr over the posted speed limit. It’s tempting to do the same but remember that there are still speed cameras. And the cynic in me thinks that they target rental cars which often have similar licence plate pre-fixes. You should drive at a speed which is comfortable for you, but if an Italian driver considers you to be moving too slow be prepared for waving hands and flashing lights. Posted speed limits change often so make sure your navigator keeps an eye on these if you don’t have a GPS which accurately updates.

Cars will cut in front of you without warning

Italian drivers are assertive. They will see a gap and move into it. Indicators are optional; I wonder why Italian manufacturers even bother adding them. In the UK, after overtaking we usually wait until there is a decent distance between you and the overtaken car before pulling back in. In Italy, drivers will cut right back in whilst the whites of your eyes are still visible. They are confident in their own ability, but also rely on other drivers to stay alert. It seems to work.

If you’re going to drive through towns be prepared to adjust your driving style. Sometimes you will have to pull into the smallest of gaps to let cars pass. Italian drivers can detect hesitation from a car away and will not let you hold them up a second longer than you have to. Just let the locals move around you.

Cars are prepared to stop at a filter lane onto a motorway

Don’t expect to automatically merge onto a dual carriageway road. Be prepared to stop and wait for a suitable gap. And filter lanes are shorter than we’re used to. Similarly, if you’re already on the dual carriageway, don’t slow down to let cars in. Move over to the left lane if you can.

Cars do not tend to stop at roundabouts

In the UK we’re all about politely waiting for a gap to enter the roundabout. Or island, for those of you fluent in Brummie. In Italy, not so much. Drivers approaching the roundabout assess whether to go slower or faster in order to join the flow of the traffic. Giving way to the left is a suggestion rather than a rule. Stop unnecessarily and you’re likely to get honked at by the car behind. Or overtaken.

Flashing lights behind are a polite warning, not always a sign of aggression

More about those flashing lights – do not assume this is a signal to proceed. In Italy drivers flash their lights as a sign that they are (probably) moving faster than you and they will find it more difficult to stop should you move into their path. Oddly Italian drivers seem to have an awareness of other drivers rarely found in the UK.

Park a little way out of town and walk in

Most small towns in Italy have a limited traffic zone (ZTL). This can only be entered if you are a resident or hold a permit. We worried about accidentally entering a ZTL zone but they were usually very well indicated with electronic signs. Often the ZTL only covers the most central part of the old town. But to avoid a costly fine – precious aperol spritz funds – we mostly researched parking lots that were a little way out of town. Some were planned, such as the parking lots in Cisternino and Lecce. Others ended up with us being a little further away than we planned, like Matera and Polignano a Mare. If you find an available spot, take it – don’t rely on there being a better spot later on. Even if it means having to parallel park.

Also remember that pedestrians in Italy have scant regard for the Green Cross Code so watch out for people emerging from between parked cars without even checking.

Download the EasyPark App

Blue lines mean paid parking and white lines indicate free parking. Where parking is chargeable we found the majority could be paid for using the Easy Park App. Just enter your vehicle registration, select your parking lot (usually your phone’s GPS will pick this up automatically) and the duration that you wish to park for, then click “Start Parking”. Funds are held for the duration that you select, however if you return earlier than intended, click “End Parking” and you are refunded any additional time. In some parking lots, your parking space will be numbered, and you will be asked to enter this information.

Most ticket machines also take coins – we spotted a few that took cards but these weren’t always working. Some of the screens on the machines were in dodgy condition meaning we had to guess at times/fares on some occasions. In Lecce we used an underground car park with barriers where you take a ticket on entry and pay at the machine before you exit. We found parking costs to be very reasonable around Puglia, around €1 – €1.5 per hour.

Always listen to your Navigator

Alright, so I added this one in. We managed to negotiate the driver/navigator relationship without any arguments. Maybe a missed junction or two. We used a mixture of Google maps and good old reading of road signs and stayed (mainly) on the planned route. It turns out we’re a pretty good team.

Driving in Puglia: The Details

The most convenient place to rent a car is from the airport so that you can pick it up on arrival and begin your road trip straight away. We should have listened to our own advice here, instead of relying on taxis and public transport to travel between Bari and the airport. There are two airports in the region – Bari Airport and Brindisi Airport so if booking in advance make sure you select the correct airport for pick-up.

We rented our car in advance from Thrifty, using Expedia to get cashback. It cost us £280 for 6 days hire. We only needed to fill up with petrol once, which cost €70 – fuel is molto expensive in Italy. We did see EV charging points quite frequently on our travels so this might be something you consider. Roads are mostly well-maintained, and locations well sign-posted. Unlike in Malta.

Picking up the rental car at Bari Airport was easy; all the rental desks are in the Arrivals Hall and are easy to spot (look for signs for noleggiare auto). Some of the rental desk queues were a little lengthy but we waltzed straight to the Thrifty desk, and after signing his life away Mr Fletche comes away clutching the keys. It’s a ten minute walk over to the rental lot – with very little shade – but we’re soon checking in and locating our shiny car. We give it the quick onceover to check for any scratches or scrapes, and then we’re on our way. Mr Fletche takes the first trip as an opportunity to adjust, to get used to the car and to driving once again on the “wrong” side of the road.

Our itinerary took us from Bari to Ostuni, via Poliganano a Mare and Monopoli, with a day trip to Lecce and Gallipoli. We then travelled from Ostuni to Alberobello via the Valle d’Itria. Our longest drive was from Alberobello to Matera, and then we drove from Alberobello back to Bari Airport before spending a final day car-free in the city.

I would highly recommend hiring a car if you plan to fully explore the Puglia region. The smaller towns within the region aren’t particularly well connected by public transport, so driving allows more flexibility and freedom. Mr Fletche’s key tip is to try and adapt to the Italian driving style, and drive confidently but safely. And remember that they drive on the right hand side of the road!