Napa Valley is the most recognizable name in wine production in the USA. And with over 400 wineries to choose from, plus grape-loads of other activities, you may find it hard to plan a Napa Valley vacation. With a plan, and a large chunk of money, you can have a great romantic getaway to this adult playground. This Napa Valley vacation itinerary for couples will take you to wineries and other relaxing destinations as you explore this classy and relaxing romantic destination.
When To Visit Napa Valley
Napa Valley is actually located in a climate zone similar to that of southern France or Italy, hence the wine growing. Which means that it is typically sunny and has minimal rain. So visiting the Napa Valley year round can be a treat. However, there are two seasons that stand out.
First, the March-early June time is beautiful (it’s when we’ve visited both times). You’ll get the beautiful sunshine and be treated to an additional flower show as the spring blooms emerge. Also, the temperatures are mild.
Second, is the fall when you may get to experience the harvest. In August-October you’ll see vines loaded with grapes ready to get plucked. You may even get to see some of the vineyards in action on a winery tour harvesting or grape crushing. However, this is also the most popular tourist season as well.
In the summer, temperatures are regularly in the 90s throughout the day. And lots of wineries have outdoor tasting areas or outdoor sections of the tour so staying in the air conditioning may be a challenging.
In the winter, you’ll find cooler temperatures but cheaper prices. This is a great time to visit if you are looking to experience the quieter side of Napa. However, some wineries do have limited hours in the off-season so beware of that when planning your Napa Valley vacation.
Getting There and Around
First, take a look at the map above. I bet you didn’t realize how much distance the Napa and Sonoma Valleys covered (Spoiler alert: we’re sending you to the Sonoma Valley on your final day of this itinerary). Did you think that all of these wineries were in the town of Napa, because we sure did. When people talk about “Napa” they are typically talking about Napa Valley. Sure, there is the town of Napa and there are some winery tasting rooms in the downtown area. However, a majority of the beautiful rolling hills and sweeping vineyards are in the “Napa Valley” not the town of Napa. Plus, add into this the Sonoma Valley, the Napa Valley’s quiet sister, and you have a lot of drive time ahead of you.
So when visiting the Napa Valley, we think it is important to have a vehicle of your own to get around. Sure, there are taxis and ride shares. However, with so many people over indulging, the wait times and surge pricing can be atrocious. So if you’re sober, the best option is to drive yourself about. However, keep in mind that traffic in both regions can get intense. There is one main road traveling the length of both wine valleys and on busy weekends you can be waiting for long periods of time.
We’ll talk more about options for getting around when you are NOT sober in the wine tasting days below.
If you need to fly into the area, the San Francisco airport will likely be the best option for you as they have the largest number of flights. It takes about an hour to get from the airport to the town of Napa. The Oakland airport is slightly closer but may be more expensive/less convenient for you. The Sacramento airport is also an hour away.
How Many Days Should You Spend In The Napa Valley?
Honestly, after a few days all the wine starts tasting the same. At least according to us casual wine drinkers. So for you casual wine drinkers looking for a romantic Napa Valley vacation, we think 3 days is perfect. And while this fits nicely into a lovely 3-day weekend, beware that many places price surge on Fridays and Saturdays. So if you can fit this 3-day Napa Valley vacation into a few off-days, you may save a bit of money.
Napa Valley Itinerary
Day 1 – Napa Valley Wine tasting
Spend your first day exploring Napa Valley **you guessed it** wine tasting in Napa Valley. While you may have plans to taste at every winery in Napa Valley, allow me to tell you that will not be happening (over 400 wineries remember).
Most wineries are open for tastings between 10AM-5PM. And most wineries recommend at least one hour for each tasting. However, 2-4 wine tasting each day are the max recommended. This is in part due to the drive time between wineries, the fact that most wineries require reservations, and the fact that this is a classy place folks (no black out drunks allowed). So two tastings allow you to include a leisurely breakfast, lunch and dinner. Four tastings, allow you to try a lot of wine. You take your pick.
If you are not doing a tour that includes lunch, stop at a market or bakery in the morning and pick up snacks for lunch if you plan on visiting three or more wineries in your day.
Budget Friendly Options
Next you need to pick how you will get around. If you have a designated driver or if you are going to be just trying wines (not drinking the full pours offered in the tastings), you can drive. This is the least expensive way to get around. Navigating the Napa Valley is easy. A majority of the wineries are all on one road. I’ve explored Napa this way and our driver just took sips of the tastings the passengers purchased. I wound up in a tree but our car did not.
If you still wanted to explore wineries but don’t have a designated driver and don’t want to hire a driver, you could find a few wineries that are close and walk between them. There is even a walking trail called the Napa Valley Vine Trial that connects Napa to Yountville. This provides you with a safe way to walk between wineries, avoiding the highway.
For either of these budget friendly options for drinking in Napa Valley, you will need to make your own reservations for wine tastings.
Safe Options For People Drinking Wine
If you are planning on drinking all of the wine offered to you in 3 or more tastings, you’ll NEED a driver. If you’re visiting fewer, you may still need a driver. There are two options for drivers.
First, you can hire a driver. Most have a minimum of 6 hours, with additional fees for additional hours. Some drivers are insured to drive your vehicle, these drivers are cheaper (as they don’t come with a car). Other drivers come with a car with fancier cars costing more money. Some driver services will offer, for free or for a fee, to make you an itinerary and reservations. Other services will have you make your own reservations.
Second, you can take the Napa Valley wine train. This did not sound like our cup of tea – or glass of wine as the case would be. However, this may be an option for you. The wine train allows you to see the sights of the Napa Valley from a beautiful train that serves wine. This is the most expensive option and you don’t really get to experience the wineries. However, you still get to see the sights and this is clearly and Instagram lovers dream come true (based on the ladies taking photos everywhere). There are several different tours you can choose from, some do or don’t include wine tastings but wine is also on sale on the train.
Lastly, you can do a wine tour. We did this on our most recent Napa Valley visit. The tour made all of the tasting reservations for us and our driver drove us around with a small group. This cost us $150/person and did not include the tasting fees. We enjoyed getting to meet people on this tour but we weren’t able to choose our wineries we visited.
Our Wine Tasting Recommendations
We’d love to tell you exactly which wineries to visit at what times. But did I mention the 400+ wineries? So we don’t want to have you miss out on a great stop just because we didn’t visit it. However, we have a few that we have visited and would go back to. Honestly, each winery has probably crafted a wine that should suit you (don’t be afraid to tell the staff what wine you normally like – they want to sell you a bottle) and each winery has made a beautiful tasting experience for you. The best advice we can give is find wineries that fit your budget. Alternatively, you could put all the wineries in a jar and draw a few at random 😉
First, V. Sattui is my all time favorite. We’ve done tastings and tours there and they are wonderful. I love the family feel of the place and the wine is, by far, our favorite. (Though we were bummed to feel a bit rushed when we recently visited on a busy Saturday)
Next, we loved Madonna Estate. Again, the family feel was great and it extended to the guests. I felt like we got a really customized experience, rather than a standard tasting menu.
Day 2 – Relaxing
Spend your morning relaxing by the pool. Most Napa Valley accommodations have a pool. If this is enough for you, this will be the least expensive time you spend in Napa. However, if you are interested in a spa day for this romantic Napa Vally vacation, check out one of the hot springs in Calistoga. Different options are available here from bathing in a roadside motel pool to a full spa treatment.
For lunch, stop at Gott’s Roadside Diner. This is a California chain, but the St. Helena stop is the original and is a must-try when visiting Napa Valley.
Do a tasting and tour combination in the afternoon. Most people come to Napa Valley to drink wine but we think you should include at least one tour (which generally costs extra) in your Napa Valley itinerary. That way you can say you learned something on your tour.
We think that Castello di Amorosa is probably the best place to do a tasting/tour combination. That’s because it is a 13th century replica castle. I’ve done the tour and it is amazing and I learned so much, not just about wine but about the castle.
Day 3 – Sonoma Valley Wine tasting
Literally everything we said about a wine tasting day in the Napa Valley applies here, except do it in the Sonoma Valley. Honestly, we’d choose to have a driver this day over the Napa Valley day as these wineries tend to be more spread out. We liked the laid back feel of the Sonoma Valley a bit better than the Napa Valley. However, the wineries reflected that, both good and bad. So these wineries were on average cheaper. They also had less wow factor to them. But all still had good wine.
Take some time in the afternoon to explore downtown Sonoma. We personally liked this downtown more than Napa but you could choose to explore either.
Where To Stay When Visiting Napa and Sonoma
This Napa Valley vacation will take you to both the Napa Valley and the Sonoma Valley wine regions. And you’ll probably be spending a minimal amount of time in Napa (the city). So making sure you are centrally located is very important. Staying in the middle of the Napa Valley area is best. We stayed in St. Helena and loved that small town. However, Yountville or Oakville would also be great destinations. Glen Ellen, in Sonoma County, is a great place to stay to save some money. However, getting to the Napa Valley for days 1 and 2 will take you through winding hilly roads and increase your travel time by about a half hour. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the drive was fun and we liked the slower pace of the Sonoma Valley, but it is something to be aware of.
What to Budget For a Napa Valley Vacation
A Napa Valley vacation is not a budget friendly vacation. Our 3 days in the Napa valley cost the two of us $1530. Here is a breakdown of costs.
- Hotel – $690
- Food – $280
- Wine Tastings – $560
This is one of these most expensive vacations we’ve ever taken. Was it fun? Sure. Would we do it again? Not with that price tag.
Accommodations Budget
First, there are no budget accommodations in the Napa Valley. You can find cheap hotels in Santa Rosa, but that is still quite a drive so it’s not the best option. We paid $350/night for a Bed and Breakfast and that was one of the cheaper places we could find. Chain hotels still cost over $250/night and home rentals are even more expensive.
To save money on accommodations, book four or more months in advance. The cheaper accommodations go first so be the first to book to get the best deals.
Food Budget
Eating out in Napa is also pricy. We spent over $100 on each dinner for two. Thankfully, our Bed and Breakfast came with breakfast so we didn’t have to pay for that meal. For lunches, consider getting some snacks at a grocery store. This will help you to stay well-fed while saving money. Some wineries do have some snacks available for purchase. However, these snacks are marked up so consider packing your own picnics if you are driving yourself.
Activities Budget
Wineries are also expensive (as is doing anything else in the region). We spent over $500 for the two of us to go wine tasting for two days. This included a tour on one of those days. Most tastings cost between $35-50/person. However, tasting prices can rise to $150/person. Some wineries do waive these fees if you buy a bottle or join their wine club.
You can save money on Napa valley wine tastings/activities by buying a wine pass. The Priority Wine Pass will save you money on certain wineries by offering discounted tastings or discounted purchases. However, the pass is in itself expensive. So make sure you are going to use it enough to earn your money back.
What To Pack For Napa Valley
First, don’t pack too much. You’ll want to save room on your suitcase for the return trip for wine. So make sure to leave space for the return journey. If you want to pack your winery in your suitcase for the return journey, consider bringing some wine wraps to cushion your bottles.
Next, don’t pack any high heeled shoes ladies. Even if you are a pro at walking in them (which most people we saw were not). Napa Valley is, at its heart, a farming region. You’ll be traveling over uneven dirt and in areas where you stilettos should not go. Lots of areas have even had to lay down mats because people dressing for the gram tear up the soil. So flats only.
For what to wear, you should dress nicely put not too fancy. Jeans and a nice shirt work well for men. The same applies to women, though many folks (myself included) also wear casual dresses.
We hope this has helped you to plan your own getaway to the beautiful Napa Valley. While it is one of the priciest places to visit in the US, it is also stunning and full of things to do. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below and we’d be happy to get back to you.
