How to get from Bari to Matera
Bari to Matera by FAL train, FlixBus, car or day-trip coach: journey times, fares, the Sunday rail gap, the Sassi ZTL and parking, plus Naples and Lecce.
Matera is about 65 to 68 km inland from Bari, roughly an hour by road. You have four ways to make the trip: the narrow-gauge FAL train from Bari, which takes roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours and does not run on Sundays or holidays; a bus such as FlixBus, from about 1 hour 5 minutes; a car, which you have to park outside the Sassi; or a day-trip coach that handles the transport for you. Matera has no Trenitalia mainline station.
For a day trip with no planning, the From Bari: Excursion to Matera by Bus costs $37 per person for a round-trip coach with a Casa Grotta museum ticket, or $84 with a guided walk, and gives you about four hours in Matera. For a longer stay or a night in the Sassi, the train or a bus is cheaper and leaves your timing free.
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Bari to Matera by train: the FAL line
The train to Matera is run by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL), a regional railway, on a narrow-gauge line that ends in Matera. It is a separate company from Trenitalia, so you buy FAL tickets from FAL: at the station, in the FAL app, or with Tap&Go, the contactless system FAL launched in May 2026 that lets you pay with a bank card or phone at the turnstiles and on its buses. In Bari, FAL trains leave from FAL’s own Bari Centrale station area on Corso Italia.
Allow roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours. Journey times vary by service, and published figures disagree, so check the FAL timetable or app for your day. The line runs through Altamura and serves two stations in Matera: Matera Centrale, an underground station opened in 1986, and Matera Sud.
On the 2026 fare table, Bari to Matera Centrale falls in the 70 km band at about EUR 6.20 one way, and Matera Sud in the 80 km band at about EUR 7.10. Confirm the fare when you buy, because it comes from a zone matrix.
Three things catch visitors out:
- Sundays and holidays: FAL rail service is suspended on Sundays and public holidays. FAL runs a replacement bus timetable on those days, which is a different schedule from the trains.
- Works and changes: FAL closed the line between Bari Centrale and Gravina from 22 June to 30 August 2026 for works and reopened it on 31 August with the normal timetable. From 12 October 2026, until further notice, two early trains between Altamura and Matera Sud are replaced by buses. Check FAL’s service notices before you travel.
- Replacement buses do not always stop outside the FAL station. In Bari they can call at the FS bus terminal on Via Capruzzi; in Matera at Matera Sud, Matera Centrale or Villa Longo.
Only folding bicycles in a bag (up to 70 x 50 x 30 cm) are allowed on board. FAL’s toll-free number is 800 050 500.
Bari to Matera by bus, and from Bari Airport
The bus is often quicker than the train. FlixBus lists Bari to Matera from 1 hour 5 minutes over 64 km, with at least one trip a day, and fares started at about EUR 10 in October 2026; prices and frequency change daily, so check the date you want. In Bari the FlixBus stop is FS Park on Via Capruzzi, about a 5-minute walk from Bari Centrale through an underpass. In Matera buses stop on Via Don Luigi Sturzo, by the Chiesa di San Paolo.
From Bari Airport, FlixBus lists a direct bus to Matera from 1 hour 35 minutes (86 km), from about EUR 9, leaving from the bus parking at the arrivals terminal on Viale Enzo Ferrari and arriving at the same Via Don Luigi Sturzo stop. Older guides also mention a Pugliairbus airport shuttle to Matera. Its current timetable and fare could not be confirmed, so check with Aeroporti di Puglia before you plan around it.
Buses have two advantages for visitors: the FAL Sunday rail suspension does not apply to them, and from the airport they save you a change in Bari. The trade is frequency: FlixBus lists as few as one trip a day on the route, so a missed bus can mean a long wait. Check that your bus runs on your date, Sundays included. Book the return when you book the outward trip if you are on a day trip.
Driving from Bari, the ZTL and parking
By car, Bari Centrale to central Matera is about 68 km and about an hour without traffic; Bari Airport is about 65 km and an hour. Allow an extra 15 to 30 minutes for traffic and finding a parking space.
You cannot drive into the Sassi. The Comune runs a limited traffic zone (ZTL) with gates at Via D’Addozio, into Sasso Barisano, and Via Bruno Buozzi, into Sasso Caveoso. Under Ordinance 147/2025 the gates are active every day from 10:00 to midnight between 1 July and 15 September, and from 10:00 to 20:30 between 16 September and 30 June. Only vehicles with a permit may pass while the gates are on.
If your hotel is inside the Sassi, ask it to register your plate on the Comune’s platform before you arrive. Drivers with a disabled badge who are not on the permit list must phone 800 091 980 before entering. The Comune’s ZTL office (Polizia Locale, tel. 0835 241335) issues passes and temporary permits.
For everyone else, park outside the ZTL and walk in. The Comune publishes no single parking tariff, and car park names and prices vary between sources, so check the rates where you park. The streets of the Civita and the lanes down into the Sassi are walkable only on foot in any case.
From Naples, Lecce and Rome
Matera is a long way from Naples and Rome, and a day trip from either is a hard day.
- Naples: about 243 km, roughly 3 hours 20 minutes by car without traffic. Marino Autolinee buses take roughly 4 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours 15 minutes, about three times a day, to and from Via Don Luigi Sturzo; timetable sites disagree, so confirm with the company. One private option, From Naples: Matera & Santa Maria de Idris Church Visit, drives you one way from Naples to Matera for $730 for up to two people, with about an hour of free time on arrival; it has no reviews yet and excludes church tickets.
- Lecce: about 177 km, roughly 2 hours 40 minutes by car. From Brindisi/Lecce: Matera’s UNESCO Treasures Day Trip costs $152 per person with hotel pickups, a guided walk with a certified local guide and an aperitivo; the listing gives 2 hours 15 minutes each way from Lecce and 1 hour 45 minutes from Brindisi. It is rated 4.6 from 12 reviews.
- Rome: about 446 km, roughly 5 hours 20 minutes by car without stops. No direct train serves Matera, and bus times from Rome are much longer than the drive; check FlixBus and Itabus for current departures, or break the trip in Bari or Naples.
A day-trip coach from Bari, the no-hassle option
If you have one day and do not want to deal with timetables, a coach from Bari solves the logistics. The $37 coach excursion leaves from the Piazzale Cristoforo Colombo car park, gives you about four hours in Matera, leaves Matera at 3:00 p.m. and is due back in Bari about 4:00 p.m. The $37 fare is the transport, a Casa Grotta museum ticket, a digital brochure and an audio guide in five languages. The $84 fare adds a guided walk of about 1.5 hours. It is rated 4.2 from 200 reviews (our breakdown).
Two things to know: a few reviewers found the coach drop-off a long walk from the old town, and some trips started late. If you want a smaller group, the Bari: Matera Day Trip costs $163 per person in a minivan of up to 8, with about two hours in the Sassi with a tour leader and a cave house visit by audio guide. Our Matera tour from Bari page compares all the Bari day trips, and the Matera and Alberobello page covers tours that add the trulli.
Which way to choose
| Option | Journey | Cost | Sundays | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAL train | About 1 h 20 min to 2 h | About EUR 6.20 one way to Matera Centrale | No trains; replacement buses | A stay of a night or more, Monday to Saturday |
| FlixBus | From 1 h 5 min (airport from 1 h 35 min) | From about EUR 10 (airport about EUR 9), varies daily | Check the date | Arriving at Bari Airport |
| Car | About 1 h, plus parking | Fuel, tolls and parking | Yes | Touring Basilicata and Puglia; park outside the ZTL |
| Coach day trip | About 1 h each way | $37, or $84 with a guide | Check the date | One day, no planning |
Whichever way you arrive, the Sassi are a walking town of steep steps and stone lanes, so bring shoes with grip. Once you are there, our one-day Matera guide plans the hours, and check availability if the coach from Bari suits your day.
Book Your Walk Through the Sassi
Two hours with a licensed guide, a cave house and a rock-cut church, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour.
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