Where to stay in Brindisi

Brindisi is the port city next to the airport, about 5 km away, useful for a night before an early flight or a ferry, and about 40 km from both Lecce and Ostuni. Lecce, the baroque city in the middle of the Salento, puts both coasts in day-trip range: Gallipoli is about 41 km away, Otranto about 48 km and San Cataldo beach about 13 km.

Ostuni is the white hill town above the olive plain north-west of Brindisi, about 39 km from the airport, with its coast at Villanova about 7 km away. On the Adriatic side, Otranto is a walled harbour town with a bay for swimming and Santa Maria di Leuca about 48 km south. On the Ionian side, Gallipoli keeps its old town on an island, with the Purità beach under its walls and Baia Verde about 7 km away.

Lecce is closing its historic centre to unauthorised vehicles step by step. The zone around Porta Napoli has run round the clock since July 2025, and since 1 January 2026 accommodation owners in the centre have needed new transit authorisations, so confirm with the host how the car reaches the door. Outside the centre, SGM's red-zone bays cost EUR 1.50 an hour, Monday to Saturday from 09:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 21:00, and its park and ride at the Ex Foro Boario and Largo Cimitero costs EUR 2 a day with the bus into town.

Gallipoli's whole old town is a camera zone in 2026, from 11:00 to midnight in April, May and October and from 11:00 to 03:00 from June to September; hotels inside register guests through the comune's portal to drop off and collect luggage. Its May 2025 parking order charges EUR 1.50 an hour in the centre and EUR 6 a day at the stadium car park. Otranto switches on its seasonal gates in the evening from 15 June to 15 September, Via Cappuccini from 20:00 and Via San Francesco di Paola from 18:00, and charges for parking from April to October.

In Ostuni the comune issues ZTL permits to residents and to owners or tenants of property inside the zone, while hotels get them only for loading goods, so plan to park outside the old town. The Brindisi comune's ZTL page gives no zones or hours. Entering any ZTL without authorisation costs EUR 83 to 332, and the fine goes to the rental company.

The roads between these towns are free state roads, since the A14 motorway ends at Taranto. For the roads, the port and the summer rules on the coast, GetCar's guide Driving in Brindisi: the Airport, the Toll-Free Salento Roads, the Port and the Greek Ferries, Lecce's ZTL and Parking, the Summer Coast Rules and the Buses covers the driving side.

Each comune sets its own imposta di soggiorno under Legislative Decree 23/2011, and the host collects it. Lecce charges short lets EUR 2.50 per person per night from April to October and EUR 1.50 from November to March, for up to seven nights, and B&Bs, holiday homes and room lets EUR 3 or EUR 2, for up to five, with children under 12 exempt. Ostuni charges EUR 2 per person per night in B&Bs, holiday homes and short lets, half from January to March, for up to five nights.

Otranto and Gallipoli charge only from April to October, for up to seven nights: EUR 1 a night in B&Bs and holiday homes, with Otranto at EUR 1.50 in July and August and Gallipoli EUR 0.50 lower in April, May and October. Brindisi charges for up to seven nights, with children under 14 exempt; its current rates were unverified as of September 2026.

Every licensed stay shows the national CIN outside the building and in every listing, and holiday homes and B&Bs in Puglia also carry the regional CIS, a 19-character code that must appear in every advert. At check-in every guest shows an identity document or passport, and the host registers each guest with the police within 24 hours. A 2024 Interior Ministry circular, upheld by the Council of State in November 2025, requires the host to verify the guest in person or by a video link at the door.

The calendar changes the tax. From November to March, Otranto and Gallipoli charge none, Lecce's lower rates apply, and Ostuni charges half from January to March. Summer restricts cars more on the coast: Gallipoli's old-town zone runs to 03:00 from June to September, Otranto's evening gates run from mid June to mid September, and at Villanova, Ostuni's coast, the seafront road was pedestrian on summer evenings in 2025.

For an early flight or a ferry, a night in Brindisi keeps the airport about 5 km away, with the STP bus to the station and the port. For a stay inside an old town, send the host the plate and ask how guests reach the door before booking.

A night by the airport or the ferries: Brindisi.

A city base for both coasts: Lecce.

A white hill town in the north: Ostuni.

An Adriatic harbour town with a swimming bay: Otranto.

An island old town and Ionian beaches: Gallipoli.