SF-Wine Country Itinerary Split
 

We would like to go to the Wine Country for 5 days in August for a mini honeymoon, and I haven't been able to determine what is the appropriate location split for our trip.

I have read some posts that say that 5 days in the wine county is too long, so maybe consider splitting it with a couple of days in SF.

I'm open to splitting it to two places - maybe two nights in SF and three in either Napa or Sonoma (which one would you prefer?), but I don't want to be packing, unpacking and checking out every other day.

We want to spend some time in the wine country, and maybe the coast. We havent bought the tickets yet so we are still open as to where we will be flying into and out of. Thanks.

Where are you flying FROM?????

Five days in the wine country is absolutely not too long. We just spend 8 days there in March. Would have liked to stay there two weeks.

Oh forgot the detail - we're flying from Detroit.

Are you interested mostly in visiting wineries, or in nice little towns? If you're really interested in multiple winery visits, then 5 days probably isn't too long (it would be for me -- I like wine, but winery visits do nada for me -- once we've seen the towns, we want to get back to the "big city"). A lot of people on this board recommend Healdsburg (in Sonoma) as a good base.

Five days is definitely not too long - and there are plenty of day trips you could easily take to the redwoods or the beach so that you would not have to spend all your time tasting wine.

Check out this current trip report about Sonoma:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35134830

I personally have only stayed in the Napa area, but Sonoma is wonderful, too, and many prefer it.

Have a wonderful time - the perfect place for a honeymoon IMO!

If you split it, in addition to wine country yes you could stay in SF or you could bypass the big city altogether and stay near the beach for a few days. Our beaches are more for walking than for swimming. There are little towns in Marin County or south of SF (but not far from the airport) like Half Moon Bay.

I am interested in wineries, but not for the entire trip. Maybe one day of tasting, then the next day for sight seeing - we like both big cities and small towns. But specifically in this trip, we're looking for pretty little towns. Beach area would be an option as well.

Yes I have heard about Healdsburg, and we're considering the Healdsburg Inn (I have read some good report on them here) for a couple of nights, but havent decided on the other three. We also prefer red wine - is there an area clusttered with red-wine specialty wineries?

LC-I read your report already ;-) thanks.

Oops! Not my report but Dukey's. Wish it had been mine, though . . .

By the way, you will be in Cabernet Sauvignon country, along with many other lovely red wines.

My two favorite wineries in the Napa area are Artesa and Chimney Rock.

For a beautiful sparkling wine tasting, try Domaine Carneros (Taittinger) on the road between Napa and Sonoma. Beautiful setting and wonderful wines (especially with the cheese plate).

Lc-that's probably our problem, we havent found the right kind of Cabernet Sauvignon ;-) I am sure this trip will take care of it!

ttt

The Rutherford area in Napa Valley is known for producing fabulous red wines.

Wherever you stay, a drive to the town of Sonoma, Napa Valley, and Healdsburg is easy.

<i>Wherever you stay, a drive to the town of Sonoma, Napa Valley, and Healdsburg is easy.</i>

As long as the drive is BEFORE you taste too many wines :)

That's right - thanks for the recommendations!