Why should we stay more than 1 or 2 days in Napa?
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
MAKING NAPA YOUR CENTRAL GETAWAY:
For those who visit Napa overnight, or for two nights at most, we always here the refrain on their way out the door: “If I had known that we could do so much here I would have stayed longer!” We try to warn people all the time: “One or two nights in Napa is just barely scraping the surface. You should give yourself three to four nights at a minimum.”
Why? Start with wineries. With over 400 to choose from you can imagine the diversity of experience. From wine cave visits, to barrel tasting, to food and wine pairing tastings, as well as all the varietals from each region in Napa producing a different flavor, one or two days is just skimming the surface.
There are picnic wineries, view wineries, wine-making wineries where you are the winemaker, experimental wineries, green eco-conscious wineries. Then there are all the art wineries, the art preserves, and the spectacular drives through the Valley. And not just one valley, but many within driving distance of Napa (Sonoma, Russian River, Chiles, and Anderson to name a few).
Then there is the coastline along Bodega Bay, visiting Point Reyes and Tomales Bay, and driving along the coast of Northern California, all of which can be done in one day while you stay in Napa. Of course, there is also the cheese factory, the olive oil tasting, the Bale Grist Mill where they still produce flour for you to purchase.
We haven’t even talked about restaurants yet, both those in Napa proper as well as all of those throughout the Valley. From fine dining, to the local burger joint; from French, to Italian, to Steak, to Sushi, to Creole, to Spanish, to California Fresh, to Fish, to Vegetarian, to Ribs, to Seafood.
And what about a spa day? Either an in-room massage, or a mud bath, or a volcanic ash bath, a facial, pedicure, or manicure to start your day? Don’t forget the horseback riding, riding a bicycle through St. Helena and the vineyards, hiking up Mt. St. Helena, and visiting the animal preserve. For golfers there are four main courses we recommend in the Valley: Chardonnay, Eagle Vines, Vintner’s, and Silverado are all very near Napa and provide various levels of course expertise.
If visiting San Francisco is part of your plan, then make it a day trip out of Napa. You can drive into the City in 1 hour, 15 minutes, with no traffic, or take the Vallejo Ferry (a 30 minute drive from the Inn), with a 1-hour ride on the boat into San Francisco (and they drop you off in the heart of all the tourist action at Fisherman’s Wharf). Imagine, you go into the City for the day and then return to the quiet of the Napa Valley to sleep in the heart of the wine country.
Don’t get us wrong. As former residents of San Francisco we know what the City has to offer and we encourage our guests to visit. Now that we live in Napa, though, we understand all that the Valley has to offer and see how anyone could make Napa their central hub and make day trips all over the Bay Area.
We do have our limitations, though, as much as we would like to believe your stay in Napa could provide you with access to all of Northern California. For those who have not been here before, Mendocino (to the North) and Monterey (to the South) are too far away for day trips. Those are at least three to four hours in one direction to either location. That would also be the same for Lake Tahoe (to the East) and Yosemite (to the South-East), two other great places to visit, and even further away. We don’t recommend you try any of those in one day.