Practical Information for visiting Alberobello

Alberobello is small enough to need nothing but shoes, and the region around it needs a car.

The two trulli districts and the modern centre between them are all within ten minutes' walk of each other. Rione Monti is a hill and the lanes are stepped and cobbled in places.

The station is a few minutes from the centre on foot.

Parking is in paid lots around the edge of the centre; the trulli districts themselves are effectively closed to visitor traffic, which is a mercy.

The Ferrovie del Sud Est line runs from Bari through Alberobello and on to Martina Franca and Taranto. It is slow and thins out badly at weekends and in the evening, but it connects the Valle d'Itria towns without a car.

A car is what makes the area work — the masserie, the other valley towns and the coast are all short drives.

Alberobello is inland and reached from the Adriatic side.

Trains on the Ferrovie del Sud Est run from Bari in around ninety minutes to two hours, with a change at Putignano on some services, and south to Martina Franca and Taranto. Check the timetable before relying on it: weekend and evening service is sparse and some runs are replaced by buses.

The nearest airport is Bari, about an hour away by road. Brindisi is a similar distance to the south-east.

Coaches connect to Bari and to the coastal towns, and in summer to the beaches.

Driving is straightforward on the SS172, which links the Valle d'Itria towns, and it is the way most visitors arrive.

Coverage for mobile networks is good; fixed broadband inside thick-walled trulli can be patchy, which owners will usually mention.

Alberobello is a very safe town and crime is not a meaningful concern.

Petty theft is rare, though ordinary care in the crowds of Rione Monti in high season is sensible.

The practical hazards are underfoot. The lanes are stone, worn smooth by a great many feet, stepped in places and steep on the Monti slope. They are slippery when wet and are not easy going for anyone with limited mobility or a pushchair.

Do not climb on trullo roofs. They are dry-laid stone held by their own weight, they are private property, and people are injured doing it.

In summer the town is exposed and shade in the districts is limited.

Driving on the narrow country roads of the Valle d'Itria calls for care: they are walled, winding and often single-track in practice.

Emergency services are reachable on 112.

No vaccinations or special precautions are needed; standards are those of Italy generally.

The main practical issue is the walking surface. Stone lanes, steps and gradients make sensible shoes worth more here than in most towns, and the trulli districts are difficult for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Trulli interiors are cool and can be damp; if that matters to you, ask about heating in winter, when the plateau is genuinely cold.

Heat in July and August is milder than on the coast but the districts are open and unshaded at midday.

Pharmacies are in the modern centre and post the out-of-hours rota.

There is no hospital in the town itself; the nearest emergency departments are at Putignano and Monopoli, with larger facilities in Bari.

EHIC and GHIC cards are accepted; travel insurance is still worth having.

The single emergency number across Italy is 112, reaching police, ambulance and fire, generally with English-speaking operators.

Other numbers still in use: 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire.

There is no hospital in Alberobello. The nearest emergency departments are at Putignano and Monopoli, each around twenty minutes by road, with the main provincial hospitals in Bari.

A pharmacy in the centre covers out-of-hours needs on a posted rota.

There is no foreign consulate here; the nearest consular representation is in Bari, and embassies are in Rome.

Report thefts to the Carabinieri or Polizia di Stato to obtain the report an insurer will require.

If you are staying in a rented trullo down a lane, note the street name and number before you need them — the districts are a maze and addresses are not obvious to an ambulance crew.