Planning a trip to Napa Valley can be a daunting task with so many great wineries to visit, fantastic restaurants to choose from and taking in all of the beautiful sights the Napa Valley has to offer. Living and working in Napa Valley has its advantages besides being one of the most beautiful places in the world to live, we have learned how to navigate our day and way through the Valley. We will give you some tips to take the stress out of your planning and enjoying your vacation in Napa.
1. Pick the wineries you want to visit. We always recommend one of the historic wineries of the Napa Valley as a starting point. This gives you an overview of the history of the Valley and great prospective on its growth. 2016 is a great year to visit Napa Valley as we are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Judgement of Paris. Pick a couple of small producers, think ten thousand cases or less, as your next visits. These small family producers are the heart and soul of Napa Valley. Lastly we recommend a tasting room with a picnic spot. The goal of your vacation is to relax and nothing is more relaxing than wine, cheese and a view!
2. Pick the restaurants where you want to eat. Eating at the restaurants in Napa Valley can be very expensive and one meal could blow your budget for the day, so we recommend viewing online menus if possible. If a restaurant is out of your budget for dinner, see if they serve lunch as a viable option. If your bucket list restaurant doesn’t fit your budget don’t fret there are many excellent choices at every price range. Lastly, plan for lunch. With all of the wine you will be tasting you will need food to get you through the day and into the night.
3. Plan your activities away from wine & food. There are too many beautiful sights to be inside at a tasting room or even one of the many beautiful dining rooms all of the time. Pick one or two outdoor activities; hot air ballooning, river kayaking, hiking or bike riding through the valley are all on the top of the list and a few will help you burn some calories!
4. Plan your route. The most important tip we can give you is plan your route for each day. The goal of your vacation in Napa is to relax and nothing ruins that like worrying whether you can make your next tasting appointment or your 6PM dinner reservation in Yountville. Grab a Napa Valley Winery Map and plot out each winery, restaurant & activity you want to do and we recommend grouping them together by proximity if at all possible. There are multiple events every weekend from February to November and traffic can sometimes be a nightmare.
5. Make reservations, make reservations, make reservations!. Make reservations with the tasting rooms, restaurants and activity spots you want to visit. Each week brings new groups of people and different events to Napa Valley whether it be a wine auction, music festival or holiday weekend and reservations fill up quick. Trust us we’ve often went to our favorite restaurant on a Tuesday night only to find out it is booked for an event.
6. Lastly plan on how you are going to get around the Valley. There are many options on how to get around the Valley now that Uber/Lyft and other ride sharing companies have entered Napa. Plan time in your day for these companies to pick up from your current location & travel to your next destination. We recommend planning on 2-3 tasting per day to be able to enjoy the winery, take a tour if offered and not have to race to each destination. We want your visit Napa Valley to be enjoyable and relaxing, Cheers!
crozenapavalley 