When is the best time to visit Puglia?
Puglia may be known for its postcard-perfect beaches, whitewashed towns, and olive grove-studded landscapes, but choosing the right time to visit is key to getting the best from Italy’s heel. While each season has its charm, your experience of the region can vary dramatically depending on when you come. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what to expect – from weather and crowd levels to local life and activities – so you can decide the best time to visit Puglia.
Understanding Seasonality in Puglia
When deciding when to visit Puglia, three factors really matter: weather, tourist numbers, and whether your chosen destination is open for business.
From November to Easter, life in much of Puglia slows right down. Away from the main cities — and to a lesser extent, Monopoli — many restaurants, bars, and masserie close or reduce their hours. It’s not that the region loses its charm; rather, it slips into hibernation mode, reflecting the rhythm of local life.
This is an important consideration because Puglia is, at heart, an outdoors destination. Its appeal lies in long lunches eaten al fresco, evenings spent in lively piazzas, and time on the coast or in the countryside, not in museums or galleries — which, with a few notable exceptions, are not our region’s main draw.
For visitors, that means the experience changes dramatically outside the main season. It’s not simply that there are fewer tourists, but that there’s less open and less happening: fewer dining options, fewer outdoor experiences — even fewer accommodation options — and a slower daily rhythm overall. Knowing this helps you plan realistically — whether you’re seeking the region’s vibrant summer atmosphere or the quieter authenticity of its off-season months.
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The Puglia Podcast
The real divide: summer and “not-summer”
We joke that Puglia only really has two seasons: estate and non-estate — summer, and not-summer.
From November to Easter, life shifts indoors. The weather turns cold and damp — the kind of chill that seeps through stone walls and straight into your bones. Even when daytime highs hover around 10–13 °C, humidity makes it feel far colder. Rain is frequent, skies stay grey, and daylight is short.
But what determines when to visit Puglia isn’t just the weather — it’s the rhythm of the region itself. Once the clocks change, many smaller towns and popular destinations slip into hibernation. Streets fall quiet, shutters close, and the buzz of al fresco life fades away. It’s not only beach clubs that close: masserie and private rentals go dark, and many of our favourite bars and restaurants reduce their hours or shut completely until spring. Outside the main cities, it can feel like the region has pulled down the shutters.
A shift toward year-round travel
Puglia’s tourism follows a familiar pattern: a spring awakening, crowded beaches in July and August, quieter roads by mid-September, and a long winter sleep that lasts until Easter.
The regional tourism authority wants to change that. Destagionalizzazione — extending the visitor season beyond summer — is now a strategic priority, with efforts to promote the olive and grape harvests in autumn, winter festivals and Christmas lights in the villages, and spring cycling and hiking routes when wildflowers blanket the countryside.
The message is clear: Puglia wants to be a destination for all seasons. And while its most authentic side can often appear outside the summer crush, the reality doesn’t yet match the ambition. Beyond Bari, Lecce and Taranto (and to a lesser extent Monopoli), options remain limited. Away from these cities, you’ll find less to do, reduced transport services, and little of that easy outdoor living that defines Puglia’s appeal. Special mention of Locorotondo over the Christmas season should be made — the old town buzzes with festive spice, as visitors from all around Italy come to enjoy the town’s festivities.
Still, Puglia’s “not-summer” season — with its misty olive groves, silent piazzas and woodsmoke in the air — has a quiet charm. For sunshine, swimming and lively towns, visit between late spring and early autumn. But for a slower, more local rhythm, a winter city break in the old towns of Bari, Taranto or Lecce can be rewarding — places where life continues as usual all year-round.
Here it’s a time for vincotto, and festive Christmas lights that bring a cosy magic to the old town. Just remember to wrap-up warm!
Winter in Puglia (November–March): quiet, damp, and chill-to-the-bone cold
The off-season begins in earnest around early November and lingers until Easter.
While “Southern Italy in winter” might sound mild, the damp cold can surprise first-time visitors. Humidity clings to Puglia’s limestone towns, where the chill seems to settle inside you. “Feels like” temperatures can drop well below the thermometer reading, particularly when the wind blows in from the Adriatic.
This is also the wettest part of the year, with around 10–12 rainy days per month. Days are short, evenings long and quiet. By January, many towns feel almost deserted, their shutters closed tight. February sometimes brings a few clear, sunny days when you can lunch outside — but only when the sun shines.
Towns that buzz with life in summer — Polignano a Mare, Gallipoli, even Ostuni — can feel ghostly as tourist-facing businesses shut down or operate on reduced hours.
Away from the main cities, it’s precisely the areas most loved by visitors that fall silent, the parts everyone comes to see. Take Ostuni, for example. From Easter to October, its main piazza and nearby spaces are packed with restaurants, bars and gelaterie open late into the night. By December, only one restaurant and a couple of bars remain open — mostly empty, since locals tend to socialise elsewhere.
We often see visitors wandering the empty piazza — often in the rain — puzzled that everything seems closed, wondering where everyone has gone. Life moves indoors, and the region’s social energy retreats behind closed doors into kitchens, homes and private gatherings, away from the piazzas and seafronts that define Puglia’s summer charm.
Bari Vecchia — the lived-in old town — stays vibrant, with bakeries, butchers, pasta shops, grocers and trattorie open as usual. It’s a wonderful time to explore the narrow streets, follow the scent of simmering ragù di braciole, and settle into a warm trattoria for a slow lunch.
Lecce offers a similar year-round appeal with its baroque architecture, and still lively cafés.
Apart from visiting churches, fewer indoor activities are on offer. Puglia isn’t museum-rich. Notable exceptions are Taranto’s Museo Archeologico Nazionale (MaRTA) — one of southern Italy’s most important Magna Graecia collections — and Brindisi’s small but excellent Museo Archeologico Provinciale Francesco Ribezzo.
Beyond that, limited cooking classes, wine and olive oil tastings may be available. Otherwise time is spent lingering in cafés and trattorie.
Weather snapshots
The main temperature shown is that at the time the screenshot was taken – check the high and low for the maximum and minimum daily temperature, and the 10-day forecast.
4 November 2025
Visiting Puglia at Christmas
From late November through early January, towns and villages across Puglia light up for Christmas — quite literally. The region has developed an informal rivalry for the most spectacular festive displays, particularly around the Valle d’Itria and along the Adriatic coast.
Locorotondo’s whitewashed old town becomes a glowing maze of lights and decorations, while Polignano a Mare draws visitors for its Luminarie di Natale, when tunnels of light transform its streets and seafront terraces. Alberobello joins in too, illuminating its trulli with colourful projections.
It’s a distinctly local celebration. Most visitors at this time of year are Italian, travelling from elsewhere in the region or from the north for the festive atmosphere. Outside these centres — especially in smaller hill towns like Cisternino, Martina Franca and Ostuni — life slows to a winter rhythm. Many restaurants and accommodations close, and coastal towns go into hibernation until spring.
For a livelier experience, we recommend staying in Bari’s old town or visiting Lecce for a winter city break. Here, life continues as usual, the narrow old streets taking on a cosy charm, the inviting smells of trattorie drifting, tempting us with warm hostelry and delicious food. Locorotondo’s small and compact centro storico is lively and the town buzzes with Italian visitors from mid-November through to 6 January.
Puglia has yet to fully cater for international visitors in its “not-summer” season, but that is slowly changing as the region begins to position itself as a year-round destination.
Spring in Puglia (April–June): warming up nicely
The best time to visit Puglia?
Spring is certainly one of the most pleasant times to visit Puglia. By April, the days start to lengthen a little, and the countryside bursts into colour with wildflowers and almond blossoms. May and June are particularly lovely—dry, sunny, and warm without being oppressively hot. Expect temperatures in Ostuni to range from 18°C in early May to 28°C by the end of June (as we write this we are experiencing highs of 33°C in the shade). Humidity is low, and sea breezes keep coastal areas comfortable.
The sea starts to become swimmable by mid-May and is usually pleasant by June. Importantly, these months are also relatively crowd-free. You’ll find most towns beginning to open up again, but without the crush of peak-season tourism. Restaurants, beach clubs, and shops are welcoming visitors, but there’s still space to breathe and enjoy.
The best time to visit Puglia for: Active holidays (walking, cycling), photography, relaxed beach days, and local festivals starting to reappear.
Easter in Puglia
Weather snapshots
The main temperature shown is that at the time the screenshot was taken – check the high and low for the maximum and minimum daily temperature, and the 10-day forecast.
23 March 2025
Note the “feels like” differential. The humidity makes the actual temperature feel much colder: 4°C in Alberobello. And the damp chills to the bone!
6 April 2025
April showers, with humidity once again making it feel much colder feel than the actual temperature in Ostuni (12°C feels like 4°C). Further south the weather is warmer.
26 April 2025
Forward forecast for the week ahead promises sun and warmer weather (finally)!
11 May 2025
Spring showers and cooler temperatures return. The weather is still changeable at this time of year. Bring warm clothing.
26 May 2025
As we come to the end of May, the weather is sunnier (and warmer) and becoming more stable. Nevertheless we received a severe weather alert on 24 May: Wind storm from N with peaks at 80-90 km/h (05/25 11:00 AM – 05/25 8:00 PM).
14 June 2025
With the arrival of June, the weather is much more dependable. Of course, we still have the famous winds. But temperatures will continue climbing. We start hitting 30°C +.
21 June 2025
Reliable sunshine, with highs reaching the mid-30s.
Summer in Puglia (July–August): heat, crowds and holiday energy
If your idea of a holiday is buzzing beaches, long warm Mediterranean nights and the energy of peak-season crowds, July and August are for you. But be prepared: Puglia gets hot. In Ostuni, daytime highs often reach 30–34°C, with inland towns climbing even higher. In recent years, a mid-July heatwave has become a regular feature, pushing temperatures past 40°C for several days in a row. By August, the extreme heat usually eases, though highs in the mid-30s are still the norm. Around Ferragosto (15 August), short but intense summer storms often roll through, breaking the humidity with heavy rain. This year a severe storm alert was issued on 30 August, bringing hours of sustained downpours.
These are also the busiest months of the year. The coastline, from Gargano in the north to Salento in the south, is busy, and city beaches in Monopoli and Otranto will be packed (Gallipoli’s city beaches fare a little better – we think because most visitors head to the beaches and lidos at Baia Verde and beyond). Accommodation prices soar, restaurant reservations are a must, and beaches fill up early.
But there’s an undeniable energy in the air. Towns come alive with festivals, sagre (food fairs), and late-night passeggiate. If you don’t mind the crowds, or can escape to lesser-known inland areas or uncrowded beaches, you’ll find this season full of colour and life.
The best time to visit Puglia for: Beach holidays, nightlife, festivals, and people-watching.
A word about August in Puglia
August is when Puglia reaches its peak — and not only in temperature. It’s Italy’s number-one staycation destination, with upwards of 800,000 Italians arriving for their summer holidays. The result is a region operating at full capacity: roads are congested, beaches are crowded, and even inland towns like Ostuni are creaking under the weight of visitor numbers and soaring accommodation prices.
For many locals, August is simply not the time to travel within Puglia. Most licensed tour guides take the month off, unwilling to host tours in such crowded conditions. It’s not necessarily the heat that’s the problem — July often brings the more intense heatwaves — but rather the sheer density of people and the strain on infrastructure. Ironically, mid-August can also bring unsettled weather, with flash storms, heavy rain, and the occasional hail shower breaking the humidity.
At the centre of it all is Ferragosto (15 August), Italy’s traditional summer holiday. It’s a day for beaches, barbecues, and family gatherings — but for travellers, it means near-total shutdown in many places as locals down tools and head to the coast.
For these reasons, we avoid travelling in Puglia during August as much as possible. It’s the month when the region feels least like itself — busy, inflated, and far removed from the easy rhythm that makes Puglia so special the rest of the year.
To put this in context, many other regions in Italy — from Tuscany and Veneto to Lombardy and Lazio — attract even higher visitor numbers in August. Puglia typically ranks around eighth nationally for arrivals that month.
Weather snapshots | 5 July 2025
The main temperature shown is that at the time the screenshot was taken – check the high and low for the maximum and minimum daily temperature, and the 10-day forecast.
For the last three or four years, July has been the hottest month. We usually hit a heatwave around the third week of July that lifts temperatures well into the 40s — in some cases as high as 46°C. Yes, it’s hot. But we have the beach.
Autumn in Puglia (September–October): warm seas and golden light
As the summer crowds fade, September and October usher in a calmer rhythm. The sea stays invitingly warm – still holding the heat of August – and early September often brings days of 25–28°C. But in 2025 we noticed autumn arriving earlier than expected. The first severe storm warning of the season came on 11 September. Though many days were still bright and warm, cooler air began to make itself felt. By 1 October, a sudden two-hour downpour was followed by forecasts of more than 17 hours of continuous rain in the next 24 hours. That marked the start of three unsettled days in a row, with further storms returning in the second week of October. Daytime highs dropped to 15–16°C before rising again to 20–22°C in central Puglia by the end of that week, while Salento stayed a few degrees warmer.
Even so, during these months some relaxed travel remains possible. Restaurants and bars are still open, beach days are possible when the skies clear, and prices start to dip. The light softens into a mellow, golden glow across the olive groves, grape and olive harvests begin, and food festivals return in earnest.
The best time to visit Puglia for: Swimming without crowds, food lovers, couples, and relaxed road trips.
Weather snapshots
The main temperature shown is that at the time the screenshot was taken – check the high and low for the maximum and minimum daily temperature, and the 10-day forecast.
4 August 2025
17 August 2025
Between these snapshots, we celebrated the ferragosto summer holiday on 15 August. The weather pattern over this holiday is usually always the same. Hot and humid conditions cause storms and heavy rain showers for around a week, usually starting around 12 August.
On 30 August we received a severe weather alert: Strong thunderstorm with cloudbursts, hail and gusts of gale (08/30 19:31 – 08/30 21:01).
30 September 2025
The first three weeks of September continued as the end of August. Settled, sunny and a little cooler. Extremely pleasant – apart from a storm towards the middle of the month.
Weather Alert: Strong thunderstorm with cloudbursts and hail, risk of flooding (11/09 03:50 – 11/09 05:20).
It cleared and we returned to settled weather.
Puglia in October: The Season Turns
October marks the start of Puglia’s not-summer — the moment when the rhythm changes, beaches empty, and the region exhales after months of heat and crowds.
The light softens, the evenings draw in, and the air takes on a damp edge. The first week of October can already feel like autumn proper: grey skies, heavier showers, and a chill that surprises visitors expecting an endless Mediterranean summer. Mid-month often brings another unsettled spell before clearer days return towards the end.
This isn’t the time to come chasing sunshine. It’s the time to slow down, eat well, and experience Puglia when it belongs almost entirely to itself again. There’s beauty in that — quieter, moodier, and often more honest than summer. But it’s a different kind of beauty, and it helps to arrive with the right expectations.
Weather: Unpredictable and Unapologetic
On paper, October should still be mild — daytime highs around 20–23°C, cooler evenings around 14–15°C. In reality, the weather can swing sharply from warm sunshine to long, damp spells. The first ten days of October 2025, for example, brought grey skies and persistent rain across much of Puglia, followed by a shorter but equally fierce period of storms mid-month.
When the sun does return, it can still feel like summer for a few hours each afternoon — perfect for a walk or an al fresco lunch. But nights are cool, and damp air settles quickly inland. The sea remains swimmable (around 21–22°C) for the hardy, though you’ll often have the beach entirely to yourself.
As the month ends and November nears, daylight shortens and shutters start to close: beach clubs, seafront bars, and seasonal masserie wind down, leaving a smaller circle of places open year-round.
A Quieter Kind of Puglia
October is when the region finally belongs to its residents again. The roads are calm, the air smells of woodsmoke and soil, and the sound of the sea carries further. Life moves indoors: meals linger longer, conversations stretch out, and small towns feel more intimate — but also, sometimes, more closed.
In coastal towns like Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, or Gallipoli, you’ll notice the shift immediately: shopfronts shuttered, fewer evening lights, and locals catching up after the season. Inland, the rhythm is steadier — life continues much as usual in Cisternino, Locorotondo, or Martina Franca, though even here some restaurants and bars start closing midweek.
It’s a time for long lunches rather than long days.
If the weather turns, follow the local instinct: go inside, eat, talk, wait for the next clear spell.
Weather snapshots | October
The main temperature shown is that at the time the screenshot was taken – check the high and low for the maximum and minimum daily temperature, and the 10-day forecast.
1 October 2025
As we moved from 30 September into 1 October, we moved from summer to not-summer.
Weather Alert: Strong thunderstorm with cloudbursts and hail, risk of flooding (10/01 2:40 PM – 10/01 4:10 PM).
Weather Alert: Windstorm from N-NE with peaks at 70-100 km/h (10/02 11:00 PM – 10/03:00 6:00 PM).
Suddenly, three to four weeks earlier than usual, the weather changed dramatically. It became colder (dropping to 12°C during the day). Much colder. And the rain started. Heavy downpours, which continued through to 7 October, pretty much non-stop for five days. Some of these developed into heavy hailstorms. We had thunder storms continuously for more than 24 hours.
When the rain stopped the winds continued. Finally on 9 October, the sun shone once more and the wind disappeared.
11 October 2025
Mid-October we are still enjoying settled weather. We were on the main piazza in Ostuni yesterday. There was plenty of al fresco dining going on at lunchtime. The locals in warm sweaters and winter jackets, tourists in shorts and t-shirts, and summer dresses.
But later in the week, more rain is to come. October will end as it started – and that is likely to move us very definitely from the tail end of summer into four or five months of not-summer!
More severe weather warnings for October:
27 October 2025
Understanding Puglia’s weather: it’s all about the wind
Spend a little time in Puglia and you’ll soon realise the weather here isn’t just about sunshine — it’s about the wind. Locals talk about lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu — the sun, the sea, the wind — with real affection. It’s more than a saying; it’s a way of reading the day. The same sun that warms our olive groves and fills our beaches also powers the breezes that shape our weather. Those breezes can turn the sea from calm turquoise to crashing surf in a few hours, and dictate whether your washing dries in ten minutes or not at all. Understanding them helps you understand Puglia itself.
Lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu (the sun, the sea, the wind)
The sun is obvious. Puglia is Italy’s southernmost region on the Adriatic coast — the heel of Italy’s boot — and one of Europe’s sunniest corners, with more than 300 days of sunshine a year.
The sea needs little introduction either. With around 865 kilometres of coastline — the longest of any Italian mainland region — Puglia offers endless beaches, spectacular cliffs, and rocky coves washed by both the Adriatic and the Ionian seas.
And then there’s the wind. Or rather, the winds, plural. Each has its own name, mood, and direction — and understanding them helps explain Puglia’s unique climate and shifting weather patterns.
Here comes the science
Understanding why the wind blows inland from the sea towards the land is, quite literally, a breeze.
The temperature difference between the sea and the land — and the resulting contrast between high air pressure over the water and low pressure over the land — causes the sea breeze to form. That’s why the wind tends to pick up in the afternoon, when the land is at its hottest, and is most noticeable in spring and summer when the temperature contrast is greatest.
During the day, both the land and sea absorb heat from the sun. But water warms up more slowly than land, so the air above the land becomes much warmer. This warm air rises, creating low pressure at the surface. Over the sea, the cooler air sinks, creating high pressure. Air moves from high to low pressure — and that movement is what we feel as the wind.
At night, the system flips. The land cools quickly, while the sea retains its warmth. Low pressure now forms over the water, and high pressure over the land, sending breezes seaward. These gentle offshore winds — known as land breezes— are common along Puglia’s coast on calm summer nights.
OK, so what about Puglia?
On the Salento peninsula, winds blow from almost every direction. From the north, east and south off the Adriatic Sea, and from the west and southwest off the Ionian. These opposing airflows converge over the central part of Salento, where the air rises and often forms clouds, rain, or even summer thunderstorms. It’s why you’ll often see dramatic clouds hanging over Oria in mid-afternoon.
During the hottest months, winds from the south bring warm, humid air and choppy seas along the Ionian coast. The Sirocco (Scirocco) — a wind that travels north from Africa — carries heat and moisture, and sometimes even deposits fine red Saharan dust across cars, balconies, and olive trees.
The Tramontana, by contrast, is a cool, dry wind blowing down from the Alps through the Balkans. It clears the skies, drops temperatures, and brings that crystalline light photographers love. From the northeast comes the Grecale, another Balkan visitor, brisk and refreshing, often following a storm.
Because the Salento peninsula is mostly flat, with no mountains to act as a barrier, these visiting winds sweep freely across the landscape — shaping the weather, the waves, and even daily life. Locals know which direction to face their washing lines, and which beaches to head to depending on the wind that day.
And what about humidity?
Inland areas heat up rapidly under the summer sun, but they also cool quickly once it sets. Coastal towns, meanwhile, benefit from the moderating influence of the sea. The air near the coast holds more moisture, keeping daytime temperatures slightly lower and nights milder.
In winter, the reverse is true: coastal areas stay noticeably warmer than inland Puglia. In summer, the sea breezes help keep the coasts more comfortable than the sweltering plains inland. It’s why a 30°C day in Ostuni can feel manageable, while the same temperature in the Valle d’Itria can feel like an oven.
A note on today’s climate
In recent years, Puglia’s winds have played an even more visible role in the region’s changing weather patterns. Stronger Sirocco events have carried heavier dust and higher humidity, while prolonged Tramontana spells have brought cooler, drier air earlier in the season. These shifts, combined with longer summer heatwaves and sudden autumn storms, remind us that lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu aren’t just poetic — they’re the forces that continue to shape daily life here in southern Italy.
So, when should you visit?
- For beach holidays: June or September — warm sea, fewer crowds.
- For local life and food: May, September, or around Christmas in Bari or Lecce.
- To avoid tourists entirely: November to March — just bring a coat and manage expectations.
- For vibrant Puglian summer magic: July and August, if you can handle the heat and crowds.
There’s no bad time to visit Puglia — but knowing what to expect can help make your trip exactly what you want it to be. Whether you come for the still-warm waters of October, the blooming countryside of May, or the cosy trattorias of a December evening, Puglia always offers something… just not always to everyone, at the same time.
I just wanted to say thank you for your super helpful podcast — I’m planning a two-week trip to Puglia this December with my mother, and your tips have been a great resource. I was wondering if you have a Masseria you’d recommend for a cozy and festive New Year’s celebration in Valle d’Itria. Would love your insight!
Ciao Jacqueline
Have you seen our Masseria guide? You also have to factor in getting to and from if you are planning to see some of the region – fine if you have your own transport. At this time of year where most Puglia is in relative hibernation away from the main cities, and to a lesser extent Monopoli, a city break in Bari or Lecce might be more interesting. Your choice of masserie open during this period might be a little more limited. Wrap up warm.
Buon viaggio, Gianmarco.
Hello
Are there any local guides you would recommend for people staying near Ostuni who could take us around the region
Ciao – details here in the section Puglia by tour guide. However Pietro does small group tours and is usually booked well ahead, in which case ask your host or at the hotel you are staying. They should have recommendations. All our recommendations come from personal experience, and we don’t often have need for a tour guide ourselves!
Buone vacanze
LuigiM.