Wine, cheese, and beautiful views. What isn’t to love about Napa Valley? We just spent 4 days in Napa Valley and I absolutely loved it! Ahead of our trip I did a ton of research on what wineries to visit, how to get around, where to stay. It was overwhelming. Below is my 4 day Napa Valley Itinerary along with helpful tips about where to stay and how to get around.
Getting to Napa:
This was probably the post stressful part of planning a trip to Napa. We ultimately decided not to rent a car for our trip. It just didn’t seem practical since we knew we would be drinking at a bunch of wineries each day. However, the question was, how to get to Napa from SFO? The idea of leaving it to chance that a cab would take us all the way to our hotel in Napa or hoping an Uber would accept the ride stressed me out, but it is ultimately what we ended up doing.
I called a variety of car services and most of them don’t want to do airport transfers, booking ahead with a car service will probably cost you $300+. After talking with a few friends who recently visited Napa, I felt confident we would be able to get a ride. Sure enough SFO has a dedicated rideshare pick up spot and lots of Ubers and Lyfts hang out in the area, a car picked us up within 5 minutes, and the ride to Napa cost $90 there and $80 back. Depending on what time of day you get in this could be more. We landed at noon so there wasn’t much traffic and the ride wasn’t crazy expensive, it was about an hour to our hotel. But if you land during rush hour prepare for a much longer ride and a more expensive fee.
Where to Stay:
Napa Valley is made up of a bunch of different towns, all with their own unique draw. However, since we weren’t renting a car and it was our first time in Napa Valley, we decided to stay in the city of Napa, which is located at the very bottom of the valley. There is a large variety of hotels, from cute boutique inns to luxury resorts. The nice thing about being in downtown Napa was that we could walk to a bunch of restaurants and shops, and it was always super easy to get an Uber or Lyft. On the few days we were further north in the valley getting a rideshare was much harder because there were less drivers. If you do decide to stay in one of the towns in the northern part of the valley I would highly recommend renting a car.
We stayed at the Cambria. It was brand new and overall it was nice, clean, and convenient. They have a very sleek, modern lobby with a bar and their restaurant served an excellent breakfast. Other recommendations for where to stay in Napa:
The Meritage Resort and Spa if you’re looking for a luxurious, amenity full experience. We got a couple’s massage at the spa and would definitely consider staying there on our next trip to Napa.
The Archer Hotel: located right in the center of downtown. Stop by their rooftop bar, it is definitely the cool place to grab drinks in the evening.
Next time we go to Napa I think we will choose to stay further north, and therefore rent a car, so that we can be closer to some of the wineries and vineyards I want to visit. Some places I looked at and considered booking:
Castaligo stay at: The Francis House
Saint Helena stay at: The Alila Napa Valley
Yountville stay at: Hotel Yountville
4 Day Napa Itinerary:
You’re planning a trip to Napa so I assume you are a wine lover and want to check out a variety on wineries and vineyards.If you are feeling ambitious you could do up to 5 tastings a day. However, I wanted a more relaxed, leisurely trip so we did 3-4 tastings a day. I planned each day so that we were going to the furthest north vineyard first and then we would work our way back down the valley so that we ended the day fairly close to our hotel.
Make sure you book your reservations as soon as possible, a lot of places book up weeks in advance. Many wineries are available to book on Tock, it’s just like Open Table or Resy which are super common on the east coast. Visit each winery’s website to see what kind of tastings they offer, how long they take etc. Some places offer a tour and a tasting, I found you don’t need to do a tour at every spot but should do a couple. Tastings can get pricey, most start around $40 and can go up to $120 or $150 depending on the winery and the number of wines/ level of wine you’re tasting. Most will wave your tasting fee if you join their wine club, so if there are a few places you know you’re going to join their wine club definitely ask your serving during your tasting.
Day 1:
Only do one tasting on day one. By the time you arrive in San Francisco, get to Napa and check in it may be a bit late in the day.
12PM – 2PM Arrive in Napa and check into hotel
3:30PM – Napa- Tasting at Domaine Carneros: do a sparkling wine tasting and order a charcuterie board to graze on.
6PM – Dinner at Tarla Mediterranean Grill
8PM – Relax at your hotel, grab a drink at the bar, and go to bed early. Tomorrow will be a long day!
Day 2:
Spend day two in Castaligo and Saint Helena. I designed our schedule so that we started at the furthest away vineyard and finished at the vineyard closest to our hotel.
10AM – Castaligo – Tasting at Larkmead: this is a small, family owned vineyard with a ton of history!
11:30AM – Saint Helena – Tasting at Charles Krug: one of the oldest wineries in all of Napa. Their history is filled with family drama, but they make some amazing wine. We ordered several cases to send home. If you go on the weekend they have an outdoor patio and pizza oven!
1PM – Saint Helena – Tasting and Lunch at V. Sattui: do a premier tasting (either indoor or outdoor depending on the weather). After your tasting grab something to eat at the Artisan Deli and enjoy a picnic outside on the picnic grounds.
3:30PM – Saint Helena – Tasting and Cave Experience at Del Dotto Estates: this is one of the spots that it is really worth doing the tour!
5:30PM – Saint Helena – Drinks and Dinner at Farmstead: once you’re done wine tasting for the day you will need to definitely want a good meal. Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch serves incredible seasonal farm-to-table meals.
Day 3:
Today is less about the wine tasting and more about everything else Napa has to offer. There are amazing views, world class spas, and delicious food!
6AM – 9AM – Napa – Hot Air Balloon Ride: Book a Classic Balloon Flight Package. The ride itself is only about an hour. You’ll need to get there early, seeing the balloons get blown up is an amazing photo opp!
11AM – Rutherford – Tasting and Tour at Frog Leap: such a charming winery, small farm feels!
1PM – Estate Tasting at Far Niente: This place is so picturesque and they’re known for their cabernets!
3:30PM – Napa – Book a Massage at The Meritage Resort and Spa: there are tons of amazing treatment options, we got a couples massage and it was heavenly.
6:30PM – Napa – Drinks at Sky and Vine the rooftop bar at The Archer Hotel.
8PM – Napa – Dinner at Oenotri: amazing italian food just a short walk from The Archer.
Day 4:
Finally, for your last day in Napa really explore the city. Grab some bikes and go for a ride on the Napa Valley Vine Trail!
9AM – Napa – Pick up your bikes and head to the Napa Valley Vine Trail.
10AM – Napa – Ride to Yountville and get breakfast at Bouchon Bakery.
11AM – Napa – Visit Oxbow Market and bop around the shops on First St. There are lots of great tasting rooms right in downtown Napa. We did tastings at Alpha Omega and St. Clair Brown Winery. Highly recommend St. Clair Brown, it’s women owned, they do tastings right in their garden and everything in the garden is edible!
12PM – Napa – Check out of your hotel and get and get an Uber or Lyft back to San Francisco
We spent a day and a half in San Francisco before heading home. But we didn’t make any major plans. Just did some sightseeing and relaxed before our flight home. Planning a trip to Napa? Be sure to pin this guide!
Looking to plan a trip closer to home? Ready my 3 Day Itinerary to the White Mountains.
