Why I love Vieste

1. I have a soft spot for places in the middle of nowhere. 

Look where I live, after all. Vieste isn’t perhaps in the middle of nowhere but it’s an extra hour’s drive from most places. Whether you drive on the windy cost road from Mattinata with specatacular coast views too stunning not to stop and admire, take the other road along the coast through Foce Varano and Rodi Garganico, at one point straight with the sea on your left before encountering the usual windy road to Peschici or optimistically take the high road which abruptly stops in the middle of Foresta Umbra as if it had changed its mind at the last minute and sends you down to the usual windy road to Peschici, you will still require patience to reach Vieste.

Don’t be surprised if you get stuck behind a slow-moving motorohome, you’re not the only one who thinks that Vieste is worth it. And anyway, if you weren’t behind a slow-moving motorhome you’d be behind the slow-moving local bus, a slow-moving coach of tourists, an slow-moving ice-cream delivery van, a slow-moving undefined lorry, or if you’re really lucky, a slow-moving caravan. The best things in life require patience and effort. This also means you cannot base in Vieste to visit the rest of Puglia from there. Places like Alberobello, Bari and Ostuni are too far away to day trip.

2. Enormous and beautiful beaches

Vieste has a splendid sandy beach to the north and a splendid sandy beach to the south. Actually this might not be geographically precise but you get the idea. They say that mammals are subject to ‘imprinting’  So maybe one of the reasons I love Vieste is because as a small child I was sent to my grandparents’ caravan in a place called ‘Sand Bay’. For me a ‘proper’ beach is just like ‘Sand Bay’ or better still, the two beaches of Vieste. A large bay (coves are nice but can get claustrophobic with more than a dozen people, or even with any other people for that matter), with a headland at either end, at least a kilometre but better three of firm walkable golden sand and plenty and I mean plenty of space between the back of the beach and the waves. 

The Scialara or Pizzomunno beach in Vieste is spectacular. 

Three kilometers of space with a view of Vieste. After several stays near Scialara, this year, due to a last minute decision we were near Lungomare Europa and discovered that beach to be great too, especially from the middle towards the San Lorenzo end. We always visit Vieste in September or May so crowding is not a problem. The only problem can be that the Lidos are in a hurry to close mid-September even if there are still people hoping for a sun-lounger. The sand is golden. For white sand in Puglia you need to head for the Salento area where you will find lots of small coves with a slender strip of white sand and transparent water and plenty of competition for it all. In Vieste, the seawater is transparent and clear if the sea is calm, so especially likely in the morning in my September experiences. I’m not a good swimmer but I swim in the sea in Vieste, the sea bottom falls away gradually and there are no strong currents so when the sea is calm I feel safe and although I an never out of my depth, it’s fantastic. Other good beaches if you’ve got a car and want a change of scene are Portonuovo and Mannacora.

 

3.  Vieste town is beautiful. 

Somebody I encouraged to visit Vieste on a forum actually went, and said that Vieste reminded her of Amalfi coast villages before they were ruined by overtourism. I can’t comment because I’ve never risked visiting Costiera Amalfitana because I don’t think I could cope with the people and even out of season the prices and logistics put me off. The old town of Vieste is all creamy white stone buildings, narrow streets, steps up and down, spectacular views of other bits of Vieste and the coast, a few touristy shops but absolutely without overdoing it. A place to wander up and down and then to come down to the Marina Piccola and sit on a bench and people watch and wander round to the harbour and if you’re lucky glimpse some dolphins in the distance. Clean, loads of restaurants, gelaterie, pizzeria/paposcerie.

The surroundings of Vieste are pleasing to the eye. The Gargano peninsula is green and sparsely inhabited. Nehind the beaches there are no high-rise eyesores. Behind the Lungomare Mattei area (Scialara) there are mostly one or two storey tourist villages or apartment buildings, loads of trees and gardens and in the other direction once you’re past the large car park there are just a couple of low rise tourist villages and a few old villas.

4. Food. 

Everywhere in Puglia food is a motivation. Restaurants, no doubt, but I’m not talking about restaurants here. I mean the raw material. The market in the big car park near the stadium where first thing in the morning you can find local producers of fruit, vegetables whatever is in season in the back of an Ape, this September we gorged on prickly pears and figs and plums, dairy products – cacioricotta and caciocavallo and goat ricotta in particular, fish, along with more ‘professional’ food stalls. Just nearby is Pescheria Troiano where there’s always a good selection of fresh fish at fair prices. And the butcher’s where we bought lamb which was delicious. The speciality of Vieste is Paposcia. We ate a good paposcia at Taverna del Faro in Marina Piccola but the best was undoubtedly at Da Enzo.

5. Reasonably priced accommodation. 

I think Vieste is unbeatable in Italy. Many apartments/bungalows include lido facilities in the price. Most aren’t luxurious, but if you want practical clean basic accommodation in a green garden or park area within walking distance of your own sun-lounger this is the place to come.

6. Nature

Gargano in general escaped the aggressive tourist developments which ruined a lot of the coast of Italy. The Gargano was a late developer and by the time tourism took off in the area some lessons had been learned. Vieste town has developed inland without destroying the beauty of the coast and much of the Gargano area is still agricultural or forest. If you love nature you can hike along the coast, visit the smaller coves you can only reach on foot or from the sea, visit the Foresta Umbra.

7. Walking

Walk along the beach, or along the promenade in both directions you can walk for kilometers and kilometers. 

8. Safe

Vieste feels safe. Your biggest risk is getting fined if you don’t pay for parking or finding your car has been taken away because you didn’t park correctly – it’s the only place I’ve ever seen the car removal truck hanging around every evening waiting for the vigili urbani to call it! 

9. Relaxation

Vieste is a place to relax, enjoy the beach, the sea, the fresh air. Yes, you can visit some other beaches or go for a drive along the coast road south or Vieste, you can explore Foresta Umbra or go to Peschici, but it’s not a place to use as a base to visit Puglia. It’s a slow travel destination. Is that maybe why I like it so much?