wine country-21st birthday
 

For a 21st birthday celebration would Napa Valley or Sonoma be better? There will be 6 people. We are taking our three young adults & my son's girlfriend. Dates are May 8-12. We arrive in the pm on Weds. & leave on Sun.(Mother's Day)in the afternoon from San Francisco. We also want to see some of SF. Plan on renting a limo for wine tasting, suggestions? Should we do the hot air balloon ride, if yes w/ whom? What about lodging, lunches, dinners, sightseeing in Napa, Sonoma & SF? We will need 2 rooms. We are hearing that Napa is too crowded even now, but aren't sure if Sonoma would be boring for the younger group. Any suggestions are appreciated. Adele

Don't know why you'd think Sonoma would be boring. If you're there to do wineries and eat well with a little shopping in between, both Valleys have that.Sonoma is just more spread out, less traffic, lots prettier and wines are equally good if not better.

The wine country doesn't seem like the most fun place to celebrate a 21st birthday (especially with your parents). Las Vegas or Tahoe would be preferable place to enjoy the hitting drinking and gambling age.<BR><BR>Napa and Sonoma always seem to be more of a romantic destination when I'm there.

Adele, I tend to agree with xx. Most 21 yr olds can't appreciate wine tastings. Since Napa and Sonoma are a good 1.5 hr drive from SF, it takes you a whole day to get there and back and do a few wineries. I don't think you'll have much traffic then. I think your 21 yr olds would love SF- Chinatown,the Wharf, shopping on Union St., Monterey or Sausalito. You could have that 21 bday party at the Top Of the Mark- that would be a blast!There's not much night life in Napa and Sonoma. Just some honest thoughts!

It depends on the personalities of the young adults you are with. If they like trying different wines, I don't think it is a waste of time just because they might not know too much about wine. Many adults visit the area and don't know much about wine! It is a good education. I recommend a tour at Mondavi--excellent tour. Visit Coppola (cool movie museum, beautiful ground, good wine). Some of the wineries are really beautiful--the buildings and the grounds. If you think they'd enjoy that, then go for it. If they need more entertainment than that, you might want to reconsider. For dinner, Tra Vigne in St. Helena (Napa area) was amazing. Best around. Mustard's Grill is also excellent. I've found that Sonoma is prettier to drive around--but that means the wineries are more spread out. And there are less restaurants around. For a short visit, I'd recommend Napa area (don't stay in the town of Napa itself though). You can always drive to part of Sonoma but use Napa as your home base. St. Helena or Yountville are nice areas to stay in, kind of central location in Napa. The Silverado Trail in Napa area is off the main road and more like Sonoma area in terms of rolling hills, etc. If you are into it, mud baths and spa stuff in Calistoga are a lot of fun. Doc Wilkinson's is great and has mid week specials. Lodging can be expensive. Have stayed at Vintage Inn in Yountville. Nice, but expensive. Friends have stayed at Hotel St. Helena and liked it, though it's more of a B&B.<BR><BR>As for including SF in your visit, I'd recommend doing wineries during the week as it'll be less crowed. Can drive directly to Napa area on Wed., spend Thursday and Friday wine touring and drive to SF on Sat. morning. Spend Sat. and Sun in SF. I've stayed at the Marriott in the Wharf area, right off of North Beach. It's not downtown and the Wharf area is touristy, but I've found good rates and thought it was easy to get around. You could also certainly do all four days in wine country which would be my preference. Two days each you won't see much of either place in my opinion! Have fun!