Coming from Bari Airport
Four ways to reach Polignano a Mare from the airport, and a firm recommendation at the end of it. We have nothing to sell you: no transfer, no ticket, no rental.
The four options, compared
Start with the overview, because it makes everything that follows obvious. Here are the four ways to make the trip, with the number of changes involved — that is, how many times you get out, wait, and climb into something else, luggage and all.
It isn't the duration that really separates these options: it's that number. Forty-five minutes in one go and two hours split into three legs with changes don't compare, especially straight off a flight, especially with children or heavy luggage.
The rental car
This is our recommendation, and it's a firm one. Not because the trip from the airport would otherwise be unpleasant — but because the car isn't just for getting here.
The masseria is in the countryside. That's precisely what people come here for: the quiet, the space, the olive trees. The flip side is mechanical — no public transport serves the countryside, here or anywhere else in Puglia. Without a car, every outing becomes a negotiation: the coves along the coast, the markets, the villages of the Itria Valley, dinner out in the evening. With a car, all of that is ten, twenty or forty minutes away.
The major rental companies all have a presence at the airport, and the desks are easy to find from arrivals. Book ahead: in summer, availability tightens and last-minute rates get unreasonable.
Two warnings about local driving that no rental company will give you. First, the historic centres of Puglia's towns — Polignano, Monopoli, Ostuni — are often regulated as ZTL, limited-traffic zones watched by camera: drive in without authorisation and a fine arrives months later, by post. Park on the edge and walk in — it's the more pleasant approach anyway. Second, country roads are narrow, lined with dry-stone walls, and distances take longer than the map suggests.
The train
The train works, and it's economical. But it means understanding that this isn't one trip, but two — on two different networks.
The first connects the airport to Bari Centrale, the city's main station: a short, dedicated link run by the railway network north of Bari. The second leaves from Bari Centrale and runs down the Adriatic coast to Polignano a Mare, on the national line. Each needs its own ticket, and the change at Bari Centrale means switching platforms with the luggage.
There's a third leg nobody mentions: Polignano a Mare's station is in town. If you're staying in town, that's perfect — you've arrived. If you're staying in the countryside, as here, you still need to reach the house from the station. A taxi does it in a few minutes, but it has to be arranged.
Our honest read: the train is a good choice if you don't plan to leave town during your stay, or if you're coming for just a few days without bulky luggage. For a week in the countryside, it will leave you stranded from the next day on.
Private transfer and shuttle
Between the two, there are intermediate options, which we don't sell and have no stake in either way.
A private transfer is a driver who waits for you on arrival and drops you at the gate. It's the most comfortable option after the car: no changes, no luggage to drag around, and the driver knows the way — which matters, in the countryside, where addresses aren't always obvious. It's also the most expensive.
The shared shuttle is the compromise: a vehicle serving several destinations along the coast, including Polignano, Monopoli and Fasano. It needs booking ahead, usually at least a day or two, and it stops wherever the other passengers get off — hence a slightly longer journey.
Either way, the same limit applies: these options solve your arrival, and nothing else. The next morning, you'll be in the countryside without a vehicle. Many travellers combine a transfer on arrival with a rental picked up locally afterwards — that's perfectly workable, just a little pricier than renting straight from the airport.
What about Brindisi Airport?
Brindisi is Puglia's other airport, and it serves the same region. From the masseria, it's about an hour's drive — fifteen minutes more than Bari.
That makes it a perfectly reasonable alternative, and it's worth comparing both when booking flights: depending on the season and airline, the gap in price or timing can easily outweigh that extra quarter-hour on the road.
The same trade-offs apply once you land: rental car, transfer or train. The logic of this page doesn't change.
Arriving at the masseria
One last point, specific to a countryside stay. A masseria isn't a hotel with round-the-clock reception: arrival is arranged in advance.
Victor and Fabienne agree arrival and departure times with each guest, and confirm them by email before you come. If your flight lands late, say so in advance rather than at the last minute: everything can be arranged, as long as we know.
Let us know too if you're arriving at night. Puglia's country roads aren't lit, and the daytime landmarks vanish completely — that's when following an address blind turns into a three-point turn on an olive-grove track. A meeting point agreed in advance settles it in one sentence.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take from Bari Airport to Polignano a Mare?
- About forty-five minutes' drive for roughly fifty kilometres, by car or private transfer, with no changes. By train, allow more like an hour and a half to two hours: the airport-to-Bari-Centrale link, the change, then the coastal line to Polignano — plus the remaining trip from the station to where you're staying.
- Do you really need to rent a car?
- For a countryside stay, yes. No public transport serves the masserie, and the whole appeal of the region lies precisely in what you reach by car: the coves along the coast, the villages of the Itria Valley, the markets. If you're staying in town and don't plan to leave it, the question looks different.
- Can you reach Polignano a Mare by train from the airport?
- Yes, but in two legs on two networks, with a change at Bari Centrale and a platform switch with the luggage. Polignano's station is in town: if you're staying in the countryside, one more leg needs planning from the station.
- What is a ZTL, and why should you watch out for it?
- A limited-traffic zone, common in Italian historic centres, watched by camera. Drive in without authorisation and a fine follows, often arriving months later by post. The simple rule: park on the edge of the centre and finish on foot — which is the right way to see these towns anyway.
- Is it better to fly into Bari or Brindisi?
- Bari is closer — about forty-five minutes against an hour from the masseria. But the gap is small enough that flight price and timing matter more: compare both before booking, one often makes up for the other.
- What if the flight lands late at night?
- Let us know in advance. Arrival times are agreed with Victor and Fabienne, who confirm them by email — a late arrival is no problem as long as it's flagged ahead of time. Since the country roads aren't lit, an agreed meeting point beats an address followed at night.
Forty-five minutes from the airport
Masseria 1863 is a countryside house for eight guests, with its own pool and olive grove, ten minutes from Polignano a Mare.