Puglia region of Southern Italy, A Great Alternative Vacation

Many Cities Are Offering Other Modes of Travel to Tourists Who Can See Even More of the Region's Many Wonders

For tourists and visitors in Italy's Puglia region - travelling by bus, boat, train and bicycle has suddenly come back in vogue. The reason may be that travellers are searching for alternatives to combat the amount of vehicle traffic on Italy's highways (which has eclipsed whatever was considered "unbearable" last summer and even before then), or maybe it's because the tourism industry has opened it's eyes to other modes of getting visitors from "here to there", whether it's for a day, a weekend or even longer.

Case in point: The Gargano Train Station - coincidently the very first in Italy to convert to electric tracks on it's railroad line back in 1931 - is pushing an "Olive, Ocean and Rocks" tour which takes tourists on a casual 79 kilometre venture through some of the most scenic areas in and around Rodi di Gargano (for more on Gargano check the AC Travel Archives). Gargano is one of Puglia's most cherished areas as this region combines a pristine coastline with mountains and forested areas. The "OOR" trip takes passengers around the stunning Lago di Varanno, through Gargano National Forest and the seaside village of Peschici. Passengers are encouraged to take a camera as the scenery viewed from their window seats is worth a thousand words. For more information on departure times and prices check out www.ferroviedelgargano.com

A little further south in the capital city of Bari, where the bicycle club "Ruotalibera" or "FreeWheel" is offering different cycling trips in the Puglia region through September 9th. In fact, this is the first summer that a serious effort is being made by the Puglia Department of Tourism to map out cycling routes throughout Puglia. For more information call (0039) 080 - 523 - 66 -74.�

A brief sidenote begs attention here: for the last 30 years or so, the Puglia Region has been routinely ignored by tourists and travel writers because the region "hardly compares with the North". Thirty years later, the lack of crowds, low prices and relatively clean beaches have all of sudden made the Puglia Region one of Italy's bigest tourist attractions.