Napa from San Francisco

Has anyone taken a tour from San Fransico to Napa that they recommend. Just worried about getting back to the ship in time. I've researched tours online but the distance from the cruise pier to the tour is a concern too. We are not interested in renting a car and doing it ourselves. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Has anyone taken a tour from San Fransico to Napa that they recommend. Just worried about getting back to the ship in time. I've researched tours online but the distance from the cruise pier to the tour is a concern too. We are not interested in renting a car and doing it ourselves. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If the ship offers a tour to Napa I'd feel confident that I would be back in time. We have vacationed in Napa and Sonoma several times, so we didn't feel the experience offered on a tour would be that enjoyable. Most of the tour time is spent travelling on the bus and back. Plus, hitting a winery with that many people at once isn't the best way to experience a tasting. That's just my opinion, because we do not like crowds. I was cruising with my daughter and granddaughter when we were in SF. It was their first time there...so little time to see everything! It was very easy to rent a car: the car rental agency was a short walk from the pier (and a quick cab trip if it's raining, which it was when we left). We immediately left the city and drove up to Muir Woods and had sandwiches in their giftshop/cafe for lunch. We drove back to the city and drove to the Painted Ladies (row of Victorian Houses seen in movies and TV shows like Full House). Then we drove down Snake Hill, parked and walked down it. We drove to Chinatown and planned to park and walk around BUT I didn't count on how much it costs to park your car there. We were seeing prices of $45 to $75 for a couple of hours, so we skipped that. We turned the car in and walked back to the ship via Pier 39, stopping to watch the seals and eat clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It was a great day!

If the ship offers a tour to Napa I'd feel confident that I would be back in time. We have vacationed in Napa and Sonoma several times, so we didn't feel the experience offered on a tour would be that enjoyable. Most of the tour time is spent travelling on the bus and back. Plus, hitting a winery with that many people at once isn't the best way to experience a tasting. That's just my opinion, because we do not like crowds. I was cruising with my daughter and granddaughter when we were in SF. It was their first time there...so little time to see everything! It was very easy to rent a car: the car rental agency was a short walk from the pier (and a quick cab trip if it's raining, which it was when we left). We immediately left the city and drove up to Muir Woods and had sandwiches in their giftshop/cafe for lunch. We drove back to the city and drove to the Painted Ladies (row of Victorian Houses seen in movies and TV shows like Full House). Then we drove down Snake Hill, parked and walked down it. We drove to Chinatown and planned to park and walk around BUT I didn't count on how much it costs to park your car there. We were seeing prices of $45 to $75 for a couple of hours, so we skipped that. We turned the car in and walked back to the ship via Pier 39, stopping to watch the seals and eat clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It was a great day![/quote

 

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip with your family. We included many of your suggestions when we went to San Francisco in the past. We really want to go to Napa and found a private tour to Napa that was highly recommended so we will avoid the bus crowds. Thanks for your input.

When I did a land vacation in San Francisco, I used Extranomical Tours, and they did a fabulous job. They limited the number of people to a van so it wasn't a huge tour bus. Very little crowds at the selected wineries. I did a combo Muir woods and wine country tour with drop off in Sausalito, taking the ferry back to San Francisco.

The main problem I see is that the pick up time (a Fisherman's wharf location is available) but the time is really early. And it's a full day. So, it may not work.

They do however, arrange private tours. You may be able to get a number of people on your roll call to sign up but I imagine it would be expensive if you didn't get 10-12 people. You can ask for a quote.

http://www.extranomical.com/HTML_PAGES/WINE_TRIP.htm

If the ship offers a tour to Napa I'd feel confident that I would be back in time. We have vacationed in Napa and Sonoma several times, so we didn't feel the experience offered on a tour would be that enjoyable. Most of the tour time is spent travelling on the bus and back. Plus, hitting a winery with that many people at once isn't the best way to experience a tasting. That's just my opinion, because we do not like crowds. I was cruising with my daughter and granddaughter when we were in SF. It was their first time there...so little time to see everything! It was very easy to rent a car: the car rental agency was a short walk from the pier (and a quick cab trip if it's raining, which it was when we left). We immediately left the city and drove up to Muir Woods and had sandwiches in their giftshop/cafe for lunch. We drove back to the city and drove to the Painted Ladies (row of Victorian Houses seen in movies and TV shows like Full House). Then we drove down Snake Hill, parked and walked down it. We drove to Chinatown and planned to park and walk around BUT I didn't count on how much it costs to park your car there. We were seeing prices of $45 to $75 for a couple of hours, so we skipped that. We turned the car in and walked back to the ship via Pier 39, stopping to watch the seals and eat clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It was a great day![/quote

 

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip with your family. We included many of your suggestions when we went to San Francisco in the past. We really want to go to Napa and found a private tour to Napa that was highly recommended so we will avoid the bus crowds. Thanks for your input.

I'm trying to convince my husband to do the Pacific Coastal (he didn't go with us before), and I'm making a little progress, though it won't be for 2015. Maybe May 2016. I'm interested in the tour you found. Can you give me the information (name of company or website) of the one you are using? It sounds a lot more appealing going with just a small group...as long as the time constraints are addressed.

As a resident of the Bay Area, and the Sonoma/Napa wine country, I can't recommend a tour to Napa unless you are in port longer than the standard 8 hours. From the pier to the nearest Napa winery is a solid 90 minutes, probably more, depending on traffic. And the traffic can be very heavy in the Napa area, particularly on weekends, and on the way back. Sonoma wineries are somewhat closer, so if the tour advertises Sonoma wineries I would look more favorably on those.

Thank you all for your great suggestions. We would love to spend several days in Napa but at this time in our lives it is not feasible, so after a great deal of research and calling to speak with several vendors, we were able to get a tour with pick up and drop off at the pier with altered times that work for us, rather than the 9-5-5:30. That's the beauty of a private tour, and without the worry of driving and drinking. Fortunately our ship will be overnight in SF so we can get off as early as we want. The vendor did explain that the nearest Napa winery is a solid 90 minutes, probably more on the way back depending on traffic; thankfully it is a weekday. Leaving by 8:15-8:30a, we will be in Napa at 10a when the vineyards open. Our tour guide will make reservations ahead at our preferred spots. We are looking forward to taking in the beautiful California countryside as we are driven to and from. As we did when we toured Europe, we built in an earlier drop off time to allow for any unfortunate events that may come up. From everything I read, it will be well worth the drive. For those of you who may do this in 2016, I'll be happy to share my experiences in October after we return, so I can help others like you all have helped me.

I will be on Jewel of theSeas in May. They offered a train excursion through the Napa Valley that we are signed up for. I know it's not the same as touring wineries, but it suits what we were looking for. Our train excursion includes a multi course lunch with wine pairings. It sounds fun! The other day we are in San Francisco, we have a hop on, hop off pass so we can explore on our own.

As a resident of the Bay Area, and the Sonoma/Napa wine country, I can't recommend a tour to Napa unless you are in port longer than the standard 8 hours. From the pier to the nearest Napa winery is a solid 90 minutes, probably more, depending on traffic. And the traffic can be very heavy in the Napa area, particularly on weekends, and on the way back. Sonoma wineries are somewhat closer, so if the tour advertises Sonoma wineries I would look more favorably on those.

I have to agree. We have belonged to a lot of wine clubs and have toured many wineries in France and Italy. We live 20 minutes north of SF and Sonoma is closer and a nicer ride. The scenery is lovely and the wineries are nicer with kind and interested employees and of course great wine. We just cruised on Celebrity Equinox and I was surprised to see a favorite, Benziger (Mike Benziger was recently on the cover of Wine Spectator Magazine), served on board.

I will be on Jewel of theSeas in May. They offered a train excursion through the Napa Valley that we are signed up for. I know it's not the same as touring wineries, but it suits what we were looking for. Our train excursion includes a multi course lunch with wine pairings. It sounds fun! The other day we are in San Francisco, we have a hop on, hop off pass so we can explore on our own.

Did you end up doing the excursion? Did you enjoy it? Thanks, Jan

Yes, I did. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed it.

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Thank you all for your great suggestions. We would love to spend several days in Napa but at this time in our lives it is not feasible, so after a great deal of research and calling to speak with several vendors, we were able to get a tour with pick up and drop off at the pier with altered times that work for us, rather than the 9-5-5:30. That's the beauty of a private tour, and without the worry of driving and drinking. Fortunately our ship will be overnight in SF so we can get off as early as we want. The vendor did explain that the nearest Napa winery is a solid 90 minutes, probably more on the way back depending on traffic; thankfully it is a weekday. Leaving by 8:15-8:30a, we will be in Napa at 10a when the vineyards open. Our tour guide will make reservations ahead at our preferred spots. We are looking forward to taking in the beautiful California countryside as we are driven to and from. As we did when we toured Europe, we built in an earlier drop off time to allow for any unfortunate events that may come up. From everything I read, it will be well worth the drive. For those of you who may do this in 2016, I'll be happy to share my experiences in October after we return, so I can help others like you all have helped me.

Are you able to share the tour provider here? Will be in port in San Fran in Oct from 8am - 11pm and would like to find a tour from port to Napa. The ship tour would likely be very crowded and not the best wine tasting experience. Thanks in advance!

Or come to Sonoma and get some history with your wine - there are over 20 wine tasting rooms around our square plaza.

We returned from our California Coastal cruise which included an overnight in San Francisco. We toyed with booking the wine train through RCCL but decided we'd prefer a private tour. The price was very close for two people and the private tour was cheaper if you have 2 couples. We are so glad we made the choice we did since we talked to several people who were disappointed in the wine train. We spent our first day in San Francisco and the next day took a private tour with Max to Napa Valley.

We had been to SF, Alcatraz and Sonoma Valley previously and being from the Northeast, we really wanted to see Napa too. Max has been doing these tours for more than a decade and knows all the ins and outs of Sonoma and Napa as well as how to navigate the traffic.

Max was waiting for us at our scheduled 8:30 am tour time right at Pier 27 where our ship was docked. We left promptly and we beat all the 9a typical cruise tours. We arrived in Napa at 9:50 at Silver Oaks, the first of four vineyards. We chose 1 large vineyard and 3 smaller ones. Max made reservations ahead of time. We had a delicious lunch at a place he recommended after we visited 2 vineyards.

The entire day Max was very in tune with my request to be back at Pier 27 no later than 5p since everyone needed to be onboard by 5:30 and we wanted some wiggle room. We would highly recommend this tour.

We have used Terrific Tours for the Sonoma Valley and were extremely pleased with them. They do tours of the Napa Valley as well.

http://www.terrifictours.com/

We have used Terrific Tours for the Sonoma Valley and were extremely pleased with them. They do tours of the Napa Valley as well.

 

http://www.terrifictours.com/

Great to know that you enjoyed this tour. When I called Terrific Tours they would not flex the start or end time. Our challenge in planning our visit to Napa was that we needed an 8:30 a tour start and the lastest dropoff time of 5 p. Max was so flexible and offered a wealth of knowledge.

Great to know that you enjoyed this tour. When I called Terrific Tours they would not flex the start or end time. Our challenge in planning our visit to Napa was that we needed an 8:30 a tour start and the lastest dropoff time of 5 p. Max was so flexible and offered a wealth of knowledge.

Perhaps the reason we made out so well with Terrific Tours was that this was a private tour for 6 of us and we set the time for pick up and return.