In short. Four motorways bring you into Puglia — the A14 Bologna–Taranto above all — and from the exits a network of trunk roads covers the region, including the SS16, which runs from Padua all the way to Otranto. Driving here is easy; not driving is what limits people.
Arriving in your own car gives you the one thing that matters most in a region 400 km long: the freedom to move when and where you want.
The motorways in
- A14 — Bologna to Taranto, the Adriatic motorway and the main way down
- A1 — Rome to Naples, for anyone coming from the west
- A16 — across the Apennines to Canosa di Puglia
- A3 — Salerno to Reggio Calabria, for the far south
Once you are off the motorway
Puglia is served by modern dual carriageways, ring roads and trunk routes. The one to know is the SS16, the Adriatic road: it starts at Padua and ends at Otranto, and for long stretches it is the spine of the region — Bari, Monopoli, Brindisi, Lecce all hang off it.
Distances are longer than they look on a map. The region is about 400 km from the Gargano to Santa Maria di Leuca, and the last stretch into the deep Salento is not motorway. Plan for the drive, and do not try to do the whole region in three days.
Hiring instead of bringing
Both airports have car hire desks, and it is the standard solution for anyone flying in. A car is what gets you to the masserie, the small inland towns and the coastline between the towns — none of which the buses reach usefully.
Back to getting to Puglia.
