Planning
Is Puglia expensive? A real budget guide
Puglia has a reputation both as a cheap southern escape and as a celebrity-masseria splurge, and both are true. What you actually spend is mostly down to your own choices. Here’s where the money goes, and what a real trip costs.
The short answer
Puglia is still cheaper than Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast or the Lakes for an equivalent trip, but the gap has narrowed, and the top end is now world-class expensive. Eat like a local and it’s a bargain; sleep at the five-star belt in August and it absolutely isn’t. The single biggest variable is where you sleep, followed closely by when you go.
Where your money actually goes
Accommodation is the big lever. Agriturismi, B&Bs and apartments are inexpensive; boutique masserie sit in the middle; the five-star belt around Savelletri is a serious splurge (see where to stay and luxury masserie). Food and wine are the bargain: a trattoria lunch runs roughly €12-20, and a good bottle of local Primitivo costs little, though Michelin tables are there if you want them. Getting around means a hire car plus fuel and the odd parking or ZTL charge. Experiences are gentle: cooking classes around €50-90 and boat tours around €25-45.
What a day costs
Very roughly, per person sharing a room and a car and excluding flights:
Couples save on the per-person accommodation share; solo travellers pay more for it.
Doing Puglia on the cheap
Go in May-June or September rather than August, lower prices and arguably better weather (see the best time to visit). Base inland or in the Salento rather than on the luxury coast. Eat where locals eat, picnic with market burrata and bread and drink the house wine. And lean on what’s free: the towns, the beaches and the evening passeggiata cost nothing.
Is it good value?
Yes, arguably Italy’s best-value sun-and-food region, as long as you sidestep the peak-August luxury trap. The high end is genuinely expensive now, but the magic of Puglia doesn’t require it. Plan the trip around our 7-day itinerary and you’ll spend well.
Raised in the province of Brindisi, 30 years in Puglia. About this site