We are traveling to wine country next month. For Napa Valley, we are staying in Calistoga. What do you recommend as a good "base camp" for exploring Sonoma Valley?

Thanks in advance!

Sonoma, itself, is a lovely little town and where I stay. Plenty of restaurants and shops and the plaza for strolling. And Sonoma Historic State Park in the center, with mission, barracks, Vallejo home and more.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=479

There are accommodations for every budget and the only reason I can think to not stay there would be if you prefer being out of town or at a spa.

My last visit:
http://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/road...ay-in-sonoma-1

On or near the Plaza ...

https://sonomaplaza.com/

I prefer Healdsburg to Sonoma--I like the mix of restaurants better in H'burg, plus it's closer to the wineries we favor in the Dry Creek AVA.

Either Sonoma (town) or Healdsburg would be great. I take weekends to the Sonoma Valley maybe 3 or 4 times a year and usually stay in one or the other. If you do choose Sonoma -- on or near the Square for sure.

Santa Rosa is a lovely larger city with a great variety of places to stay at all price points. You are in the middle of all with the Ocean to the West & the Valleys to the East,

Stewbear, I'm sure Santa Rosa is a lovely place to live, nicer than most places, but for a visit, with all the charming small towns in the area, Sebastopol is another that comes to mind, I can't imagine choosing Santa Rosa. To me, it's a place to get past to the others. Absolutely no offense intended.

No Problem I was only thinking of room costs & it's central location. AS a retired peddler who's territory covered Northern California & Nevada I spent lots of time in Sonoma county including Santa Rosa. I especially liked the downtown area where much is still recognizable as the setting of what I feel is Hitchcock's best "Shadow of a Doubt. Then it is a short trip to the coast & Bodega Bay another Hitch location with "The Birds" filmed there.
Now if wineries is the main purpose you can not beat Sonoma it's self a place I still enjoy but strictly as a day trip since I no longer have a expense account to pay the high hotel prices.

There's a great small inexpensive motel in Boyes Hot Springs, just outside Somona, a couple of blocks from the very posh Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, called the Sonoma Creek Inn, I think the best deal in the area, $79 queen in March and a very pleasant place to stay. http://sonomacreekinn.com/

Actually, the North Main Street part of Sebastopol is really nice these days, for tourists as well as locals.

Edit - I should have added - nice shopping, wine bars, breweries, restaurants, bakeries, even a hotel (although I'm not sure it's open for business yet).

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/S...ds-4947159.php

The cool new development in Sebastopol is The Barlow, a huge mixed use complex housing a market, shops, restaurants, a hotel...

Speaking of Santa Rosa, Zazu Kitchen relocated to the Barlow from there.

We split our time between Sonoma and Healdsburg, and loved it. We stayed at Cottage Inn and Spa in Sonoma and H2Hotel in Healdsburg.

Santa Rosa is pretty nice, we ended up there last trip since the Best Western in Healdsburg we wanted to stay at had their hot water out and did not know when the plumber would get there to fix it, stayed at nice Courtyard, since I could not afford the nicer hotels and neither of us cared for B&Bs.

I too prefer Healdsburg. Better restaurants than in Santa Rosa. I suggest you check out vacation rentals by owner for places to stay. Plenty around Healdsburg. Much more fun than a hotel, more room, and the ability to fix yourself a snack, enjoy a garden and privacy. www.vrbo.com/healdsburg Just remember that vacation rentals within the Healdsburg city limits are not permitted. You can find them but book at your own risk. Lots of VRBO rentals to chose from just outside of town, however. Personally I find Sebastopol boring with little to do either in the town or surrounding areas.