Napa Valley for Bachelorette

Hi Maria! I'm so jealous, Napa is my favorite place in the world! Sounds like it'll be such a fun trip! Is the AirBnB in downtown Napa or is it closer to the vineyards? When I was out there we did the Napa Wine Train and it was so much fun! If you get the chance, definitely check out Castello di Amorosa, such a cool castle! We have a guide for Napa Valley bachelorette parties that I'll link below, it has more recommendations for things to do while you're there! Napa Valley Bachelorette

That's so nice of you! I was just in Napa a few weekends ago, and I'm going next summer for my cousins bachelorette! Maybe I'll see you there

First, SFO to Napa easiest thing to do will be to get a rental car or a car service. If you're staying at an AirBnB you might want a rental car to get to restaurants and etc unless you are thinking of ubering everywhere (might be a good idea given the wine)

Speaking of car services, we used "Fine Wine Tours" for a driver for a day. It was a wonderful to have to go from winery to winery. I want to say it was around $50 an hour. You can uber everywhere, but you'll have to wait, worry about surges, coordinating people, and maybe multiple cars.

As for wineries, the stereotypical is Castello di Amorosa and Sterling Vineyards. The latter is very beautiful and has a short tram ride from the base/ ticker office, up to the top.

Other wineries that are "must visits" include Opus One ($50 per glass, they won't comp, super expensive but beautiful), Jarvis Estate (cool experience to tour the caves and taste about 10+ wines, runs about $80), Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (there's Stags' Leap and Stag's Leap so just make sure you book/ go to the right one) ($45 for a tasting, they have various areas including a private area), , Domaine Chandon (sparkling), Domaine Carneros (sparkling), MUMM (super pretty, there are private areas, sparkling, I think this is a must, especially given the occasion), Darioush, Duckhorn, HESS. These are all pretty well known. And I'm sure there are smaller vineyards you'll want to visit! Budget 90 minutes per winery, and add travel time between. You might add more for everyone since it could be like herding cats. haha.

I would recommend reservations for any and all of them, especially for large groups. Always ask if they will comp your tasting, but usually they want you to join a wine club (they will say buy a bottle or two and they'll comp it, but they mean specific bottles monthly).

Next, FOOD. We went to basalt, which is on the river, and good. Morimoto Sushi is delish but it's super $$$ and SO LOUD YOU CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING. There are a ton of places within walking distance of each other in Napa. Note that a lot of places don't allow overnight parking, so uber.

We didn't' get to it, but Sky and Vine rooftop Bar has a great view, good food, and awesome brunch. It's downtown too and I've heard a must do.

Lastly, excursions: there is a wine train, you can take it out and back and get dinner and wine, without stops, or there is supposed to be an option to stop. We opted not to do this. Instead, we went on a hot air balloon ride. There's a good 20 people to each balloon. SUPER FUN. I wouldn't pay for the brunch if you do it. You can also bike Napa, Golf, or visit Oxbow market which has cute shops and some food places.

I hope that helps!

For food, I would not miss R+D Kitchen in Yountville. Great atmosphere and fabulous food for a decent price. We also liked Evangeline in Calistoga and Cindy's Backsteet Kitchen is St Helena.

We love to visit Rombauer and Frank Family when we are there. I agree with MUMM. Tank in Calistoga is a really funky place in an old car garage. They have a speak easy in the back that is really cool. Always best to make reservations wherever you want to go.

We had a driver that we used all the time when we went there, but it looks like he is out of business I'm so bummed. He would set up the reservations and everything. Check and see if whomever you choose will offer that service, Makes it easier.

I have done the wine train in the private dining car for lunch and it was a good time. Kind of pricey, but the food and service as excellent.

This sounds amazing! I considered Napa, but went with Palm Springs because it's closer to 3 of my bridesmaids so they can drive. I've never been to Napa, but grew up in San Diego. We are renting a house too. I'm considering surprising the girls with either a private, in-home yoga session one morning or a chair massage place to come give massages during the day!

Love that idea! I'm sure a yoga session would be so much fun - you gave me another idea to consider! Hope you and your ladies have so much fun!

That all sound amazing! Thank you for sharing! We are staying at an AirBnB right in downtown Napa and can walk to a lot of the wine bars/restaurants. I'm sure the wine train is amazing - I'll have to ask the girls what they'd be interested in - I'm thinking a driver service (especially who makes reservations) would be ideal! Thanks for your advice - I really appreciate it

Thank you so much - I didn't even see the page on WeddingWire! I'll definitely be checking that out! We are staying in downtown Napa - in walking distance of several restaurants and wine bars so we are looking forward to not worrying about transportation for dinner/evening drinks! I saw photos of the castle - it looks amazing! Thanks for your advice! We are so excited!

This is all amazing! Thank you so much for the detailed response! I just looked at Fine Wine Tours and am definitely going to reach out to them - that would be PERFECT for our group - sounds like a reasonable price to build our own package too! Thank you for the winery recs! I'm planning to research those and send out a list to the group for their thoughts too. We're all about the views One of my bridesmaids mentioned the hot air balloon option and is going to check into it - I'm sure it would be AMAZING! Our AirBnB is in downtown Napa so we'll add the rooftop bar to our list too - sounds like so much fun!