Napa Valley/Redwoods & San Francisco
 

My husband and I are going to California for 5 days and 6 nights at the end of August. We'll be there to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary, as well as a friends wedding in San Francisco on the 2nd to last day of our trip. We would love any recommendations for affordable/cute/nice places to stay, as well as suggestions for how to spend our time in Napa, as well as visiting the Redwoods...we will be renting a car (until we get to San Fran...) We'd like to go to some nice wineries - and we love to hike and spend time outdoors! Thank you in advance for your responses!!!

I didn't go to Napa, my wife and I honeymooned in the Sonoma Valley for 3 days and the locals said that Sonoma is more laid back. Napa is too commercial for them. We toured Benzinger, Ferrier, Jacuzzi, Blackstone and the GB winery. All were great. We hit several small towns like Sebastapol, Sonoma and Santa Rosa. We had a blast. We spent 2 days in San Fransisco and hit the shops on Canal Street and walked Lombard Street. We spent a day in the Union Square area and we will be planning a returning trip.

Wonderful - do you have any recommendations for where to stay in Sonoma? :)

i can suggest the vitners inn in santa rosa. and in downtown sonoma, mesa is a nice little mexican place.

Muir Woods is en route from Napa to San Fran. The park is beautiful. While there may be taller trees in other parks, none are in a nicer setting.

We've decided on Vitner's Inn for Sonoma and the Parc 55 for San Francisco - any restaurant recommendations?

Darn...I waited too long, the Vintner's Inn is not available all 3 nights? Any recommendations for the 3 night?

Parc 55 isn't exactly "romantic". The location isn't all that great either.

Try the Hotel Vitale or some other boutique hotel.

Personally I'd visit Armstrong Woods state park in Guerneville (near Healdsburg) rather than Muir Woods. Its less touristy and more beautiful. If you stay in Healdsburg there are lots of B&B's, motels, hotels and private vacation rentals. I'd skip Napa.....way too touristy. Check this board for comments about Healdsburg. Its adorable. Great restaurants, shops and wine tasting.

we drove to downtown sonoma, (almost 40 min, but closer if you're already at certain vineyards) and had a super cute mexican place, mesa. the girl and fig, and a place called willy's came reccomended as well. the vitners inn has a restaraunt on the property. i don't know how affiliated it is with the inn, but we had a drink at the bar, and it seemed nice. enjoy the homemade cookies the inn gives you at turndown. ;-)

also...we went to the armstrong redwood reserve, when we were still at the hotel in napa (marriot) and it was wonderful.