Which Towns for Napa Sonoma Trip?
 

The more research I do, the more confused I get regarding which towns to stay in while visiting Napa Sonoma. We have 5 nights. Thus far I've read great things about Calistoga, Healdsburg, Yountville.

Can anyone help me distinguish where I want to stay? I thought I'd chosen Calistoga for 2 nights and Healdsburg for 3, but now I'm thinking that I need to change one of those to be further south, like perhaps Calistoga to Glen Ellen or something else.

Thoughts?

If you chose the Healdsburg area, I can recommend the Chateau Souverain Winery for a great lunch. The wine tasting is free if you eat in the restauant and their food is very good with exceptional views.

Here's what I can tell you. Calistoga is a town meaning it has a main street
with many places to stay scattered up and down the street. This same street runs from Hwy 29 to the Silverado Trail, both of which have many wineries along the way. Calistoga will be busy if you are there during the summer or on a weekend. If you plan to stay in Calistoga and want something a bit removed from all the hubbub, make sure your inn or b&b is just that. Yountville is south of Calistoga and a smaller town. While it might have a main street, IMO, it has a vastly different feel. This is more a place of inns,restaurants..that will be your surrounding "culture". It is quieter than Calistoga however also very close to HWY 29. While this will also give you ready access to the Napa wineries you can also reach some of the closer Sonoma wineries. Glen Ellen is small,quaint and has some good inns and eating places. This will give you closer access to the Sonoma wineries as well as the town of Sonoma. I'd opt for Glen Ellen myself just for the relaxation of it all. Healdsburg is my favorite of them all. This is a small town which still has some of that feel with a lovely town square around which there are many shops, some tasting rooms and places to eat. The wineries will include the Russian River Valley and the Dry Creek areas. I also think you can get a better sense of working vineyards on this side. There are some very good B&Bs in Healdsburg. BTW-if you want to see some great sights other than wineries, I recommend(while in Napa or Sonoma) to reserve a date at the Di Rosa Preserve. This is a 2 hour tour of a vast collection of bay area created modern art. Tours are docent led and $10/person. The grounds of the preserve are lovely and at one time were vineyards. The preserve has a website.

If you like modern art, I agree, the Di Rosa is fabulous. I'm a big fan of Calistoga vacations but, if you don't like heat, forget it. It is often the hottest town in the area in the summer. I live in SF and I try to get there at least once every summer for 2 days. The spas are nice and there are great places to eat. You can park your car when you get there and walk everywhere. Very relaxing!

We stayed in St. Helena. Sorta in the middle of things and did day trips around Napa, Sonoma and Russian River wineries. Every thing is close and can ealsily be toured in a day.

Enjoy . . Rich