In short. The passenger ports are Bari and Brindisi, connected to Patras, Corfu, Paxos, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Albania. Boats also run to the Tremiti islands. In summer the sea is calm; in winter almost nobody crosses.
Arriving by sea is the oldest way into Puglia and still one of the best, provided you are not prone to seasickness.
The routes
- Patras — the main crossing to the Greek mainland
- Corfu, Paxos, Kefalonia, Zakynthos — the Ionian islands
- Albania — close enough that on a clear day you can see it from the Salento coast
- The Tremiti islands — off the Gargano, and worth a day of any holiday here
Leaving, not only arriving
The ferry is also the reason a Puglia holiday can contain a second country. Two or three days in Greece or Albania in the middle of a fortnight here is entirely normal, on a scheduled boat or on a hired one.
The hired boat, split four ways. In the Salento the option exists and is less exotic than it sounds: a small yacht hired between a group, and the cost divided, turns the crossing itself into the memorable part of the trip rather than the transfer.
When to do it. The Mediterranean is generally calm through the summer. Out of season the crossings thin out and the sea does not stay flat — this is a warm-months way of travelling.
Where the boats leave from: Brindisi and Bari. The islands: the Tremiti.
Back to getting to Puglia.
