One or Two days in Wine Country?

My fiancee and I are planning a trip to San Francisco and we%26#39;re planning on spending some time in Wine Country. We bought the Go San Francisco card because it looked like a great deal on all the things to do in the city--however, I%26#39;m not sure if I want to get the Wine Country Explorer Pass and spend two days in Wine Country or if I should just take the wine country tour offered with the Go San Francisco Card. Would one day in the wine country via bus be too much effort or should we stay overnight and rent a car?

One or Two days in Wine Country?

Peach-

Almost 99.9% of all the visitors to Napa drive cars. Very few folks do bus tours.

Bus tours will give you a ';canned'; view of Napa-- you will never experience the warmth and friendliness of the locals. You%26#39;ll just go from one large winery (that takes busses) to another, cattle car fashion. I don%26#39;t recommend it, unless you really enjoy bus tours.

Driving a car around the valley for a few days is an entirely different experience. It allows you to discover new spots, change your schedule at whim, and spend some extra time talking with tasting room staff (or owners) at the wineries you really enjoy.

As regards the wine country explorer pass, there are a number of wineries that do not charge for tastings, so save your money unless all of your favorites are on this pass. You can also share tastings between the two of you when you do pay-- limiting your alcohol consumption (good when driving), and saving money, while still tasting lots of wines.

If you stay locally, many of the B%26amp;Bs/Inns have free tasting passes to a number of wineries. They%26#39;ll be happy to help you plan a day of wine tasting.

-Russ Herschelmann

Innkeeper

Napa Old World Inn

One or Two days in Wine Country?

I%26#39;d stay overnight and rent the car. Which region are you interested in? Both Sonoma and the Napa Valley are beautiful places to stay awhile. I could recommend some places to stay and eat for you if you would like.

When we know we will be visiting many different places, we prefer to share a tasting and we%26#39;re not against ';spitting'; when we know we will be sampling many different wines within a short period of time. Cheers and enjoy your trip! :)

I%26#39;d recommend renting a car and driving. There is a good location downtown SF for car rentals. My wife and I recently spent 4 full days in Napa. That was just about right. We rented a car and stayed at the Best Western Elm House in Napa (great little hotel!).

Thanks for the tips. I will probably get the go san francisco card and rent a car like you suggested. Thanks for the help. Copia and a few of the wineries I like are offered on that one anyway.

Thank you for the help!