we're thinking about a honeymoon to san francisco and the napa valley in late september. We're in our mid 40's (neither of our first marriage) and enjoy traveling, wine, siteseeing, walking, great dining but would also like to keep costs reasonable as we have multiples in college now!

Looking for great ideas, places to stay, must see places, etc..

THANKS

The San Francisco area would be a wonderful honeymoon spot. There is so much to do and see. In San Francisco, I would recommend using as much local transportation as possible, since driving is hazerdous and parking is outrageous. I would recommend the sights such as Fisherman's wharf, a boat tour to Alcatraz, etc.
One place you may want to consider is the Northern California coast, just above San Francisco. Point Reyes is a lovely area, and the Point Reyes lighthouse is a "don't miss". One of our favorite places is above the town of Gualala. It's a charming little town named Elk. It has breathtaking water views and is a cute little artsy town. One place that's wonderful to stay in is the Elk Cove Inn. (www.elkcoveinn.com). It has become a little more pricy since the last time we were there, but Elk has other accomodations as well.

One of our favorite spots is up the coast in gorgeous Mendocino. Here's my favorite accommodation:
http://oceanfrontmagic.com/cc.lasso#room

I think Sonoma Valley is a better choice for the wallet than Napa and prettier drives. The Camellia Inn in Healdsburg is quite reasonable and the town of Healdsburg is wonderful. You can walk to the square with all the nice restaurants, shops and MANY tasting rooms! Gorgeous area. You really need to book asap...September is a busy time in both valleys (the crush)
If you love to bike, Sonoma would appeal to me more than Napa, especially the Dry Creek and Russian River Valley areas. Congrats and enjoy! "Not our first" marriage has been a great experience for both of us, LOL!!

I just gave this hotel a shout-out in another post, but we stayed at the Best Western Tuscan Inn in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco and loved it. Clean, great location, pretty courtyard, free wine...and I think it was only $150 a night on New Years Eve, so you could probably get a great rate during a non-holiday week.

Entertaining yourself in SF is pretty cheap. Alcatraz is $25 per person on Blue and Gold Fleet, but you could spend half a day there. Watching the sea lions on the pier is free and fabulous. We rented a car (from Enterprise on Beach Street, very friendly) and drove to Sonoma for wine tastings -- stopped at two wineries so we didn't get too tipsy or empty ourt wallets. Just some thoughts!!

How long?

W/ 2 weeks I'd do maybe 5 days in SF, 3 or 4 days in Sonoma County and 4 days here http://www.littleriverinn.com/