How to Reach Matera from Bari

This year my kids were sick and missed the school trip to Matera. They were really upset, so I promised to take them myself.

Matera is the city of the Sassi. It's a place that can deeply fascinate or leave you puzzled. I'm telling you this as someone who's visited many times and truly knows it.

The Sassi are ancient homes carved into tuff rock, nestled in limestone. This porous, easy-to-work material allowed residents to shape houses, alleys, and stairs into a real vertical maze over time.

I love Matera, but it also gives me a certain romantic melancholy. Thinking that these Sassi were caves where entire families--often with ten or more children--lived in extreme poverty, sharing a single space with mules, donkeys, and chickens, makes you reflect. Matera is this: extraordinary beauty born paradoxically from misery.

I always drive from Bari to Matera, taking the Statale 96 Barese. It's a very scenic road, passing through wheat fields, olive groves, and dry stone walls, with farms and agritourisms producing local zero-kilometer products.

To stop for lunch at a farm, you need to leave the main road and head into the countryside. I get car sick, so I prefer to stay on the SS96. It's a four-lane road, smooth, gently climbing to the Murge plateau, without hairpin turns.

The drive takes about 55-65 minutes. Traffic is mainly at Bari's exit (Modugno area) and Matera's entrance. Watch out for speed cameras: there are several on the SS96, both fixed and mobile, especially between Modugno, Altamura, and the access ramps to Matera Nord and Matera Centro, with speed limits often changing between 90, 110, and sometimes 70 km/h.

Arriving from Matera Centro, you reach the "Piano," the city's high and modern part. I park at the multi-story parking on Via Cesare Firrao, which is underground and paid. Other public parking in the center fills up quickly.

From there, I walk about 300 meters to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, right in the ZTL, where one of the most beautiful panoramic balconies is located. From here, you overlook the Gravina and see the Sassi from above, resting on the slope.

But this time, I wanted to take the kids into the heart of the Sassi, to truly feel the soul of this unique place.

The Sassi are in a ZTL (restricted traffic zone), and the most convenient way to get closer is by using Miccolis buses or those from Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL), which go to Piazza Matteotti, at the pedestrian area's entrance. From there, you walk about 400-500 meters following the signs.

In contrast, companies like Flixbus or Itabus stop at the Bus Terminal on Via Don Luigi Sturzo, about 3 km from the center.

If you want to plan a day in Matera starting from Bari, I recommend taking the bus early in the morning from Via Capruzzi 236 (new Bari Centrale Bus Terminal). There are several options: Miccolis at 7:30 or FAL replacement buses at 7:42 and 8:02.

If you prefer a paper ticket, buy it at the station. For FAL, use the machines or the dedicated station counter (next to the FS station). For Miccolis, find authorized sellers near the stop.

But if you want to skip lines and secure a seat, the Miccolis digital ticket is the easiest.

We chose the Miccolis bus and finished the trip in about 65 minutes.

The kids wanted the train to feel freer to move around. But it wasn't the best choice here.

The Bari-Matera train isn't run by Trenitalia but by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane. It departs from a separate station (on Corso Italia) and takes longer: between 1 hour 30 and 1 hour 50 minutes.

Plus, some trains require changes or carriages split at Altamura. If you're not careful, you might end up heading to Gravina in Puglia.

Considering all options, I chose the bus to avoid complications.

And it was the right choice.

We had a lot of fun, even when we got lost in the Sassi alleys. The kids practically disappeared among stairs, roofs, and passages, where a house's roof often becomes the street above.

But maybe that's the moment I remember most from the day.

And, all in all, it was enough to avoid them asking to cross the famous Tibetan bridge over the Gravina. I had done it once before. It's thrilling, but I wasn't up for it again.