sunlover

Heading to Napa for first time to celebrate my birthday! hubby will be in San Fran earlier that week for work and I plan to fly out Sept 29th and then we will stay in Napa and have all day Thurs, Fri, and Sat. (flying back to FLA on Sunday).

We like wine but are by no means connisseurs and we are not foodies. Love to sight see and and looking for a Napa experience without breaking bank. Here is what I have so far:

Possibly staying at McClelland Priest B&B. We wanted to stay in downtown Napa so that we could walk to restaurants at night and a lot of places are already booked. Our price range is about $250/night so if you have other suggestions let me know, this was one of the few places I found that had availability for Thur, Fri, and Sat. nights

Thinking of doing Wine Shuttle all day one day to cut down on the driving - any thoughts on this? Supposedly it is a small bus/van that holds up to 5 couples so small intimate group and they go to 4 wineries that day. then back to towna nd walk to dinner in the evening. Somewhere reasonalbe, good dinner but remember not a foodie . . .

Day 2 Strike out on our own in rental car to see 2 or 3 wineries that are on my must see list- Cakebread, and the castle one, not sure what else. May also stop this day for other "sights" besides wioneries if feasible, someone mentioned the PEtrified Forest to me? Comemnts welcome here. Then back to town and walk to dinner somewhere again.

Day 3 See wsome of the sites in downtown Napa - Oxbow Market - in town tasiting rooms etc. and do the wine train. Not sure if want to do lunch or dinner. I hear that at lunch you see better scenerey?

Thoughts on things we are missing? Things we should change add?

Another question from a female - what should I pack based on weather? I see it is still decently warm there that tiem of year maybe low 80's? Doe sit get a lot colder at night? Will I need to bring long sleeves and sweater for evening? Keep in mind we live in FL where it is stil in the 90's that tiem of year and even at night it doesn't get cool so shorts are pretty much the norm day and night up till about Thanksgiving . . .

elnap29

We always get a little breeze around 4:30 PM in Napa, and end of Sept. might get a little chilly in the evening (or not...it's unpredictable), so bring a sweater or light jacket. Layers are always a good idea. We don't have the humidity that Florida has, so our warm days will feel different.

McClelland Priest is nice, people seem to like it. You can walk to downtown restaurants. If you're not a big foodie but still want really good, fresh food that won't break the bank, I'd recommend Pearl. Pearl is about 3 blocks from your B&B, open for lunch and dinner. Fantastic soups, fresh everything, excellent. But if you want a hamburger you could try Grace's Table (fresh vegetable dishes, too) or Norman Rose Tavern, both places about 1 - 2 blocks away. OR, although on the foodie radar but very good and reasonable with outdoor courtyard dining, try Celadon, about 2-3 blocks east of your B&B.

Our favorites of all these are Pearl and Celadon. Both are consistently excellent.

Celeste, the B&B owner, will be very helpful regarding where to eat and activities to try.

elnap29

Did you also try Avia Hotel in Napa? A newcomer, well-located downtown.

StuDudley

I think for one of your days, you should explore a little outside of the Napa Valley.

I would head north on either the Silverado Trail or on 29/128 - whichever route you spent the least amount of time on for your first two days. The Silverado Trail is more scenic, IMO.

Then continue north over the mountains on the pretty 128 and into the beautiful Alexander Valley. Stop at a few wineries there (Hanna is nice) if you didn't get winery-ed out on the prior 2 days. Continue in the 128 to where it dead-ends, and take a left & follow the road into Healdsburg - my favorite city in the Wine Country. Spend a couple of hours wandering around town - and admiring the town square. Perhaps an outdoor lunch at Oakville Grocery would be right up-your-alley (nice sandwiches, deli food).

Then find your way over to Dry Creek Valley road & head north through my favorite winegrowing area (Dry Creek Valley). Make it to Ferrari-Carano & visit the beautiful gardens & winery. Then head back south on Dry Creek Rd, & then west on Yoakim Bridge Rd to West Dry Creek Rd. Turn right & head north till the road stops, reverse the car, & follow West Dry Creek Rd till it ends at Madona Manor. Perhaps stop along the way at Lambert Bridge or Preston wineries. At Madrona Manor (hotel/restaurant) visit this fabulous Queen Anne Victorian mansion. Nice gardens too. This entire Dry Creek Valley Winegrowing region is beautiful.

After Madrona Manor, head east to 101 & make your way through Santa Rosa (ugly here) to Hwy 12 and through the Valley of the Moon to Kenwood, cute Glen Ellen, then finally to the town of Sonoma for a quick look/see. Then back to Napa.

Full, but rewarding day. Get an early start.

Stu Dudley

sunlover

thanks so much for info! I had already heard about Avia and looked them up but sadly they were booked Fri and Sat. which is the problem I was continually runnign into. The only one sI saw with availability were Old World Inn, churchill Manor and McClelland Priest to me McClelland Priest looked ot be the best choice of the 3 but I could be wrong.

Also I may not have mentioned this but even though this is my first trip to Napa, I have been to SF several times for work and have done a daytrip to Sonoma before as well as toured the bay area Sausalito etc. so I am ok with being concentrated strictly on Napa, it realy is only 3 days . . .

Any comments on the wine shuttle? I read they pick better wioneries but i don't want to be cattle call visiting the tourist traps so I would like input o this. Also any must sees besides Cakebread and the castle?

StuDudley

So - you've already visited Healdsburg, and the Alexander & Dry Creek Valleys - or just the town of Sonoma?? If you are not a foodie or wine connisseur, you may get a little bored with the Napa area for 3 full days. The city of Napa is OK - but not as exciting as San Francisco nor as charming as Healdsburg, IMO.

Many of us locals actually prefer the Sonoma winegrowing region over the Napa winegrowing region.

Stu Dudley

elnap29

Your 3 days in Napa Valley will be lovely. Don't worry about your choice of B&B. You'll be comfortable and the location is convenient for you. Just ate at Celadon last night and it is just 2 blocks away. It is located on the river which has a pleasant walking path.

A picnic is always my favorite Napa Valley experience that won't break the bank. You can picnic on the lovely grounds of Peju Winery, Rutherford Hill Winery and others.

You can do olive oil tastings at Olivio on Main St.in St. Helena, at St. Helena Olive Oil Co. in Rutherford (right on the highway), and at the Oxbow in Napa. But the best deal with no glamour is the century-old Napa Valley Olive Oil Co. on Charter Oak St. in St. Helena. Definitely Old World and much less expensive than the rest, if you don't care about a fancy bottle.

Go ahead and book your wine shuttle. My niece and her husband just did this (with Platypus Tours) and loved it!

You might be interested in a tour of di Rosa Art Preserve (reservations needed). There is usually a nice art collection to see at Hess Winery (pretty drive up the mountain, too), at Mumm Winery, Clos Pegase, and others. If you are familiar with Hundertwasser's artwork, then you would absolutely love visitng Quixote Winery, which was designed by him and is like walking into one of his paintings. (These tours are private, call ahead, $25).

Lots, lots, lots to do, but you don't have to decide until you get here. However, on Labor Day weekend you will definitely want to get dinner reservations ahead unless you want to eat at 11PM! Some reservations can be made through opentable.com but not all.

elnap29

Oops. Just mixed up your dates with another OP. But Saturday is especially difficult for dinner reservations, so you might want to book ahead, just to be safe.

jemom

ttt