Polignano a Mare, and Monopoli - Seaside paradise - 7th September 2026
Buongiorno bellas from Polignano a Mare,
Leaving Roma was fairly straightforward as we walked to Cavour Metro and rode the 6 or so stops to the Flix Bus stop. Five hours on the bus and 30 minutes on the train, and we were in the southern coastal town of Polignano a Mare.
As we walked the mostly flat road to the beach, our first impressions were that this was a well-planned, neat town. The building where mostly white or yellow sandstone; there was on Old Town, plenty of shops, great bridges and the highly photographed beach of Lama Monachile.
After a bit of a stuff-up with the location of the accommodation, we found the keys and settled into our beautifully air-conditioned cool pad at Casa du Mare. So lush!
Jon and I trekked to the local Conad and loaded up on supplies for the next four days. It was a hot and heavy carry, but we feasted on local cheeses, fruits, vegetables, breads, meat and wine, as the sun set perfectly over the Adriatic Sea.
The next morning Jen-Jen went for a solo explore and told us about an incredible (mostly locals-only) beach across the road called Cala Paguro. We packed the beach bag and headed off for the morning. The water was incredibly warm, and we realised that this was our first Italian swim this year… Wow.
The rest of the day saw us trekking along the headlands, checking out the rest of the town, catching up on washing clothes, blogging, siesta-time, etc.
That night we walked around the old town until we found a table at a restaurant called La Nobilnonna. The waiters were a great laugh, the wine was good, and the food was sensational. Octopus, squid, swordfish and trimmings were all fresh and delicious.
What a day.
The next day we were up early and on the train to the next town: Monopoli.
We set off in high, yet quiet spirits as the town was still asleep apart from early morning joggers and walkers. Everything was going well until we walked over a section of the marble road that looked innocent enough but had been hosed down with detergent. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Chaeli, Jon and Jen-Jen all slip over in unison! My first reaction was to run to help my beloved - just like in Himare - and then I was over too!! What a bunch of FT's! At least wea ll got (awkwardly) up and there was no permanent damage to anyone. The adrenaline and laughs carried aus to the train station and a few minutes later boarded the train for the five minute journey to Monopoli.
We got off the train and had a coffee and a local pastry called a Pasticciotto. This heavenly creation was an almond pastry filled with a mind-bending lemon custard. Accompanied by industrial-strength espressos, we were set for the day.
As we entered the Old Town, I looked for the GO square to collect my 200 Euros, but couldn’t see it. (I’m sorry, that will be my one and only bad Monopoly joke. You can bet your house - or hotel - on it.)
We checked out the lazy old town, the fortress complete with canon holes, the port, chilled locals with pot plant gardens, and then found a beach to have a second amazing swim.
The south of Italy just keeps getting better. Two incredible rocky bays and clear turquoise water in two days. Bellissimo.
Lunch was an incredibly delicious panini. Jen and I shared one with mortadella, cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, semi-spicy cheese and rocket. Incredible! Jon and Chaeli went for the fennel salami, cream cheese and rocket. Awesome.
We got the train back to Polignano and met a tuk-tuk driver, Daniel, who drove us home for 5 Euros each and said he would be back at 5 pm to drive us to the beach for our sunset cruise.
Righto. Home. Lunch. Siesta Shower. Tuk-Tuk at 5 pm.
We got to the Calaponte Marina with 10 minutes to spare before we were loaded onto our boat with 6 others and met our incredibly funny and cheeky captain: Pietro.
Over the next 90 minutes, we motored up and down the East coast of the heel of the Italian boot. We saw several caves, the world-famous Il Grotto restaurant, where lunch (without wine) is 300 Euros and a room for the night is 3000… suckers, plus we heard some great tales about the history of the town and pirate caves.
Just before docking, we had a swim off the back of the boat and an aperitivo: a packet of olive oil crackers and a glass of prosecco.
Perfecto.
Nothing else to say, but
Perfecto.
We then had a home-cooked meal that we had semi-prepared earlier. Orchietto (pig’s ear) pasta with homemade fagiola bean sauce, with Greek Salad and Chianti Classico.
Perfecto.
We chilled and swam the next day at the most photographed beach in this area: Lama Monochile. Check out Jen's vid:
I know it is a big call, but this was probably my favourite spot of the trip so far. It ticked every box and was just:
Perfecto.
Ciao
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