# Grotte di Castellana and Ostuni from Bari: guided caves, lunch in a cave oven and the white city The full itinerary of the Grotte di Castellana to the Grotta Bianca, Ostuni-style cooking beside the cathedral and the afternoon in the alleys of Ostuni. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/apulia/itria-valley/itineraries/castellana-caves-ostuni-day-from-bari · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 08:30 · Salida: 45 min by car (Buy the full route online the day before) - 09:30 · Guided visit to the Grotte di Castellana (Full route with the Grotta Bianca · €25 at the ticket office) · Grotte di Castellana, From €25 adult, at the ticket office - 1 h by car, 53 km - 13:30 · Osteria del Tempo Perso (Booking; closed on Mondays · park below and walk up) · Osteria del Tempo Perso, €€€ - 8 min on foot - 16:00 · Ostuni, the White Town: walled old town and cathedral (From the cathedral to the wall) - 18:30 · Vuelta (In Bari around 19:45) A day of contrasts less than an hour from Bari: the morning underground, in the Grotte di Castellana, and the afternoon at the top of Ostuni, the white city, with lunch in between in an old oven dug into the rock. It is a plan that stands up to any weather, because inside the caves it is 16.5 °C all year, and it works on a Sunday. ## Getting there from Spain By plane and car. There are direct flights to Bari from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville. Hire a car at the airport and sleep in Bari: the caves are about 46 minutes away. Ostuni is also about 25 km from Brindisi airport, if you arrive there with a connection. ## The day, hour by hour 8:30 · Leave Bari. About 46 minutes by car to Castellana Grotte. Buy the ticket online the day before: on the same day it is no longer sold online, only at the ticket office and until the sittings are full. 9:30 · Grotte di Castellana. Choose the full itinerary: 3 km in about 100 minutes with a guide, from the Grave, the chasm by which you enter, to the Grotta Bianca, the white cave of calcite crystals. It costs €25 at the ticket office, €22 for ages 6 to 14. Bring shoes with grip and something with long sleeves. Pushchairs do not go in: they lend baby carriers free. 13:30 · Lunch at the Osteria del Tempo Perso. Drive to Ostuni, park below, outside the wall, and walk up to the cathedral: the osteria is a few metres away. Eat in the old 16th-century oven or in the granary, with a tegamino of cardoncelli mushrooms in a bread crust, orecchiette with turnip tops or fava purée with chicory. Book; the table is cancelled after 20 minutes' delay. It does not admit dogs or children under 6. 16:00 · Ostuni, the white city. From the Gothic cathedral, go down without a map through the whitewashed alleys to the wall, and look from there across the plain of olive trees that reaches the sea. 18:30 · Return to Bari. A little over an hour by car. ## With children The caves work very well with children: there is a family ticket online and under-5s go in free; with little ones, choose the partial itinerary, of 50 minutes. The Osteria del Tempo Perso admits children only from age 6: with smaller ones, eat somewhere else in Ostuni or take a picnic. ## Cómo llegar ### By car It is the way for this plan: 46 minutes from Bari to the caves and the rest along valley roads to Ostuni. ### By plane Direct flight to Bari from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Seville, and a hire car at the airport. ## Consejos ### Buy the day before Online you pay a fee, but you secure a sitting. ### Go up to Ostuni with time to spare From the car park there are slopes, and the osteria does not wait more than 20 minutes. ### Wrap up a little Inside the caves it is 16.5 °C in August too. ## Un consejo más ### If it is very hot This is the plan for August days: the morning at 16.5 °C and Ostuni as the evening falls. ## Cuándo no ir Monday, if you want to eat at the Osteria del Tempo Perso: it is its closing day. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Bari to the Grotte di Castellana? About 46 minutes by car, about 42 km. ### How long does the cave visit last? About 100 minutes for the full itinerary and about 50 for the partial one. ### How much does the day cost? About €70 to €100 per person with admission to the caves and lunch, without the car. ### Can it be done in winter? Yes. The caves are visited all year and the osteria is open every day except Monday.