Tickets in Puglia & Matera

The one ticket to buy ahead

Castellana Caves. Visits are guided only, in tours at set times, and the sales rule is back-to-front: online sales stop the day before, and on the day itself only the ticket desk sells, while places last. If you have a fixed date, buy online the evening before. The full route (about 100 minutes, ending in the White Cave) costs only €3 more than the short one; if you're driving there specially, take it.

Everything else can be decided on the spot. Alberobello and the Sassi have no gate: walking around is free and you pay only where you go inside.

Paying door by door

Alberobello. Rione Monti and Aia Piccola are ordinary parts of town. The entry worth paying for is the Trullo Sovrano, a two-storey house museum, at €2.50. It closes for lunch from 12:45 to 15:30, so check the time if your tour arrives at midday.

Matera. The FAI's Casa Noha (€7) is the best first stop, but it's closed on Wednesdays. Palazzo Lanfranchi, home of the National Museum, costs €10 and opens only at 14:00 on Tuesdays; the Ridola museum is temporarily closed. Cave houses and rock churches have different operators and separate tickets, so a guided walk that includes them saves you hunting for each one and buying tickets one by one.

We found no official card covering Matera or Puglia as a whole: you buy site by site.

Planning the days

From a base in Bari, one day covers Alberobello and the Castellana Caves, which pair well by car, with Polignano a Mare for the evening if time allows. Matera deserves its own day, ideally with a night in the Sassi. Without a car, coach tours from Bari combining Matera and Alberobello are the simplest option: you're paying for transport and a tour leader, since the main sights are free or cost a few euros. Check how many hours you get at each stop before booking.

For Matera from Bari there are also FAL trains and buses, and the Pugliairbus runs from the Puglia airports. Each place's page lists official prices, hours and partner options.