Hey guys! If you follow me on Instagram, you saw I recently came back from California for a quick getaway with my husband. My husband was there for a work trip and I decided to join him late in the week. This was our first trip away from our baby and it was a much needed vacation. Napa had always been a place we wanted to visit and I’m so glad we were able to check it out. I wanted to share this travel guide for a day trip to Napa. I’m also including the recs I received on Instagram that we didn’t get to check out.
Napa is a short 50 mile ride from downtown San Francisco, and since we left early on a Friday morning traffic was not bad at all. We ended up renting a car but I know there are tour buses and private car services you can get as well. We only stayed for one night and knew we weren’t going to get too crazy so driving was the best option for us.
October is the most popular time to visit and I can tell why, the weather was GORGEOUS! It was in the 80s during the day and during the night, a refreshing mid 50s. Since we booked this trip 4 weeks in advance and at a really popular time, the places to stay were limited. There are SO many gorgeous hotels, airbnbs and B&B but a lot of it was full or super expensive. Almost all the hotels available were double the price and in the $500s and above.
WHERE TO STAY
We got lucky and found a cottage at the Silverado Resort. It’s about 15 mins away from all the wineries and it was such a gorgeous resort! Our cottage came with a king size bed, fireplace, and full kitchen as well as free parking! The resort had other amenities like golf carts, golfing, bikes, swimming pools, etc.!
Had we booked ahead of time, we probably would’ve stayed in Yountville. It’s such a cute little town and so walkable! Some hotels that were recommended in that area were: Villagio, Vintage House and Hotel Yountville.
WHERE TO EAT
I was so overwhelmed with all of the recommendations I received but so thankful for them! I wish I had time to check them all out. I thought I’d share where we went along with the other places that where recommended.
Bouchon– Highly recommended! We made a reservation for lunch because dinner was booked. It was SO delicious.
Bistro Jeanty– Also a French restaurant and we went here for dinner. I had the most amazing sole filet and French onion soup.
La Calenda– Came here for drinks before dinner but it’s a Mexican restaurant.
Napa General Store– Had a delicious brunch- breakfast pizza and Bloody Mary!
The first three restaurants were in Yountville and the last one was in downtown Napa. Below are the other restaurants recommended.
- Basalt
- Farmstead
- Bottega
- Mustards
- Bouchon Bakery
- Angele
- Napkins
WINERIES
If you’re going for the day, I think it’s totally possible to visit 3 wineries during your trip. We ended up going to two because it was so crazy busy and we didn’t make reservations. A lot of the places have tastings where you can walk up to but some places are reservation only. Make sure you do your research and book ahead of time!
We visited Domaine Chandon, which is in Yountville and super close to the hotels and restaurants I listed. If you’re not familiar with Domaine Chandon, they specialize in Sparkling Wine. We did a walk up tasting (no reservation needed) and they started at $25 -35 per flight. They also had apps you could order. More elaborate tastings can be reserved online!
V. Sattui is the second winery we went to. We did a reserve tasting for $40 and we scheduled it a day in advance. This winery is super popular and I thought it was interesting that they don’t sell the wine anywhere else besides on site or if you’re a wine club member. They also have a large market where you can buy a bunch of apps and fresh cheeses and sausage.
Other wineries that were highly recommended:
- Alpha Omega
- Del Dotto
- Domaine Caneros
- Gloria Ferrer
- Prisoner Winery
- Frog’s Leap
- Francis Coppola
- Cakebread
- Duckhorn
- Robert Mondavi
It was a quick trip but so much fun! Sonoma was also recommended but we ended up choosing Napa. We were so glad we chose Napa because Sonoma sadly had to evacuate because of the fires, but hope to visit sometime.
We also got to do a lot of things in San Francisco like shopping, eating, walking and visiting the Golden Gate Bridge. If you have any Napa recs leave them below! Would love to visit again in the future.
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