Ostuni from Brindisi without a car: train, bus and a half day in the white town

Brindisi to Ostuni by train

Ostuni is on the main Adriatic line, so regional trains from Brindisi stop there. Timetable sites show most direct regional trains taking about 20 to 22 minutes, and around 26 trains a day in total, with fares from about 4 euro one way. Those figures come from a third-party booking site, not from Trenitalia, so treat them as a guide and look up your exact train on trenitalia.com or the Trenitalia app. Frequency changes with the season and the day of the week.

Brindisi to Ostuni is short enough that you do not need to book a seat on a regional train. Buy the ticket at the machine, online or in the app, and remember to validate a paper ticket before boarding if it is not date-stamped.

From your door in Brindisi to Ostuni old town, step by step

• 1. Walk to Brindisi station. From the house it is about 750 m, a walk of roughly ten minutes, with no car and no parking to think about.
• 2. Buy your ticket. Either a normal regional ticket to Ostuni, or the Ostuni Link ticket (see the next section) which adds the bus to the old town. Check the destination name carefully on the Trenitalia site.
• 3. Take a regional train towards Bari. Ostuni comes after Brindisi on the way north, in about 20 to 25 minutes.
• 4. Get off at Ostuni station. It is a modern station on the flat land by the coast road, not in the town. You cannot see the old town from it.
• 5. Take the STP bus to the centre. The bus leaves from the station area and takes roughly a quarter of an hour to climb to the centre. A traveller's report from 2023 says to get off at Via Tenente Specchia, the first stop in the town, and walk uphill to Piazza della Libertà. STP's notes mention a change to that stop, so check the current stop in the timetable.
• 6. Walk up into the old town. From Piazza della Libertà the lanes climb to the cathedral. Wear shoes with grip: the stone is smooth and steep.

Ostuni Link, the STP bus and the taxi question

Trenitalia describes Ostuni Link as a train + bus service on its regional pages. From what I can confirm, the bus is run by STP Brindisi, the provincial bus company, and a ticket to "Ostuni Città" includes the bus ride, according to travellers' reports. I could not read the details on the Trenitalia page itself, so I cannot tell you the Ostuni Link price, the exact stops or whether it runs all year or only in some seasons. Check the Ostuni Link page (in Italian) before you buy.

If you buy a plain train ticket instead, STP publishes a PDF called "Collegamenti tra la Stazione e Ostuni Centro" on its Ostuni page, and the urban Line 1 (Ostuni, Stazione, Villanova) has a winter timetable. The same PDF is the place to see the days and times. A traveller reported paying 2 euro for a bus ticket on board in 2023, but fares change: ask the driver or STP (toll-free 800 23 20 42).

A taxi from the station is the plan B. I could not find an official taxi rank or fixed fare for Ostuni station, and travellers say taxis are not guaranteed to be waiting when your train arrives. If you want one, ring a local taxi before you travel. Walking is possible but long: the town is roughly 2.5 to 4 km from the station according to different sources, and all of it uphill at the end.

What to see in Ostuni in a few hours

Ostuni is a hill town of whitewashed lanes, and the pleasure is walking it. With three to four hours you can do the essentials:

• Piazza della Libertà and the old town. The main square is the natural start, with the lanes of the Terra above it. Wander without a map; the town is small.
• The cathedral. A 15th-century Romanesque church in the heart of the old town. Visit outside service times.
• Viewpoints. From the upper lanes the view runs over the olive groves to the sea. I have not checked a specific list of viewing points, so just follow the lanes uphill and to the edge of the old town.
• Museo di civiltà preclassiche della Murgia meridionale. It is at Via Cattedrale 15, in the old town, and its star is Delia, a woman who died about 28,000 years ago while pregnant, according to the museum site. Hours and ticket prices are not published on the pages I could read: phone +39 0831 336383 before you plan around it.
• Lunch. Piazza Sant'Oronzo has restaurants with local dishes.

If you would rather see several villages in one trip, read our villages of Brindisi province guide, and for the wider picture day trips from Brindisi.

Getting back to Brindisi

This is the part to plan before you leave. The last trains and the last bus down from the old town are what decide your day, and I cannot give you reliable last times: they change with the season, the day of the week and holidays. What I suggest:

• Look up the return trains from Ostuni to Brindisi the night before, and note the last two, not only the last.
• Check the STP bus times from Ostuni centre to the station in the same PDF, and add a margin: be at the stop at least 30 minutes before the bus you need.
• Aim to be back at Ostuni station well before the last train, not at the last minute.
• If you do miss the bus, call a taxi from the centre rather than walking down in the dark.

Trains between Ostuni and Brindisi run in both directions through the day, so a mid-afternoon return leaves a comfortable margin. The Saturday market in Ostuni can slow the bus, according to a traveller, so allow extra time on Saturdays.

A half-day plan

• Morning: walk to Brindisi station, regional train to Ostuni, STP bus up to the centre.
• Late morning: cathedral, lanes and viewpoints, then the museum if it is open that day.
• Lunch: something local around Piazza Sant'Oronzo.
• Afternoon: a last walk, then the bus back to the station and a train to Brindisi with time in hand.

With a car the day is easier, but you then have to deal with parking at the edge of the old town: see our driving and parking guide. For a longer plan that includes Ostuni, see the 7-day Puglia itinerary from Brindisi.

Leave the car out of it

BDS House is a short walk from Brindisi station, so a trip to Ostuni starts at our door with no car, no parking and no stress about a rental. You come back to a full kitchen and two private rooftop terraces, with room for up to six guests. If you arrive by plane, the airport is 10 minutes by car (see airport to city centre), and our Brindisi as a base for Puglia guide explains why this works. Guests who book direct find a Puglia welcome box prepared by my father. Check your dates.