Some advice needed from those who know San Francisco

[uktog]

These boards have just been so great as I have planned my trips this year. Now - and I'm not sure this is the right board so apologies if the post is in the wrong place - I need some specific advice.

The day before we cruise from San Francisco, I want to organise a private trip for my husband out to Napa Valley to include Mondavi wineries as its his birthday. I have been searching for people that can do that for me - transportation, picnic etc. I have come across one organisation (Vinovantours) - has anyone heard of them and are there others you would recommend that I could contact also by email (time differences and phone bills make that the best route)

I am also looking for a reliable business (could be the same one as takes us to Napa Valley) to collect us from the airport the day before and take us to the Tuscan Inn, to take us to the ship from the Tuscan in on cruise day and take us to the airport on the last day. Any idea who and what costs - if he is good DH might even get a limo paid for him!!!!!!

Its only 200 days to go - I get excited early on these things and wnat everything all planned!

Thanks

AJ

[Lois R]

UK....I can't help you with the specifics.....but just wanted to say what a nice thing you are doing:) ....what a wonderful gift!!! I have been to SF twice....once a land vacation and last year on a cruise.

It is one of my favorite cities in the world.......and I hope you and hubby have a wonderful time:D

[MaryEllen1952]

You should be able to find companies by searching on the web. California is heavily regulated in everything including tourist services so you shouldn't have a problem finding a reputable company. You might even contact the individual vinters (such as Mondavi) and they can probably refer you to someone.

[jezzdogg]

What about renting a car for the day and driving up there, you can also stop a the Coppola wineries, which is beautiful. One the second floor they save some of the items from various films of his (godfather,etc). Also this way you can stop for a lovely lunch. We did this and had a great time

 

For all you San Franciscoian's

How is the HYatt Regency on the Embarcedero. Just got this hotel of f of Priceline for 77 dollars for the two niights before our cruise in April.

[MaryEllen1952]

That price for the Hyatt anywhere in S.F. is CHEAP! The average room rate is normally $150+ for a decent hotel - nothing outstanding so that is a very good buy. And it is within walking distance of the Embarcadero and shops. The revolving restaurant on top of the Hyatt has breaktaking views! Be careful if you rent a car in S.F. as parking is horrible & expensive! Many places charge $20/day for parking lots.

[uktog]

Thanks for all the advice. I know I would not hire a car, two reasons, one I saw the SF traffic 10 years ago and two, I need to taste the wine DH is buying to take on board - quality control and all that!! I plan to suggest he can chose 6 bottles of his favourites and he can have them in the restuarant or enjoy them watching the world go by in the cabin or whatever. I wont mind paying the corkage as I know he will ahve what he really wants then.

 

Lois - I have to spoil him - after all he is giving me the cruise as a belated birthday present

[ocngypz]

Try the SFO Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

[IggleDoer]

Try www.Bauerslimo.com . They probably can either do it all, or steer you in the right direction. They Hyatt Regency Embarcadero is a really cool looking hotel. The rooms are a little small but it is a neat experience. It is not far from the cruise pier.

 

:)

[jezzdogg]

Than's you have put my mind at ease about the hotel. Last time we wre there we stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Union Square. The arranged for the rent=a car for the day(very reasonable...had it delivered to us at the hotel and we dropped it off just a couple of blocks from the hotel at the end of the day when we were done using it.) Think it cost us for the day around 25 dollars.

Just went on line around an hour ago, have been looking for air from NY to SFO and rates have been around 250-325pp nonstop, less if we wanted to fly into Oakland. Anyway, up pops a fare on Continental for EWR to SFO non-stop for 156pp complete. Thought, I would get one of those messages sorry that fare is not available, but no within minutes Continental had sent me my e-ticket and confirmation. Paid 313.80 for the two of us, and best yet from Newark which is now always the highest airport to leave from in NY, but the closest to us.

[new_cruiser]

I have stayed at that Hyatt for a business meeting. I like the location which is reasonably close to Bart or Cable cars. It is a typical Hyatt Regency and very nice. I took the short walk to Chinatown for dinner a couple of times and there are some nice places on Market Street to grab lunch. That is a great price.

 

The Hyatt has a rental car desk in the hotel - so you can arrange pick-up and drop off right there if you want to get a car for the day. It was either Avis or Budget, but I can't recall which. I used them for one way rentals so I could drive to and from the meeting without paying the $30 a day the hotel wanted for parking. The hours the desk is open are limited, but if you want to drop off after hours you can give the car to the valet and do the return at the desk in the morning without any charge for parking. (You do get charged for the extra time on the car - I'm not sure if there is a way to avoid that with a drop box. I was busy with meetings and didn't investigate.)

[Nancyquilts]

We use a limo service out of Sonoma County (next door to Napa). I could give you Lon's phone number. I'm not sure my addy shows up, but it's nparmelee2001@yahoo.com. Nancy

[wvufan]

Jezzdogg, tell me more! We are flying to SF in September, and Newark would be convenient for us too. I checked their website right after I saw your post, and it was over $300 round trip. We are experienced cruisers, but new to figuring out how to get best air fares.

 

Any help from Jezzdogg or others much appreciated.

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[winewanderer]

Hi AJ,

 

I live in wine country, although not in Napa, I live in the "other" wine area, Sonoma County. Although I'm not too knowledgeable about limo service in the area, I see the following companies on the road a lot. Check http://www.pureluxury.com and http://www.californiawinetours.com. I believe they also do airport transfers. It's going to cost a pretty penny.

 

If you do an internet search with "california wine tours" you'll see many companies offering this service.

 

Just a suggestion but you may want to allow for more than one day of wine tasting. You really can't fit too much in. Bear in mind most wineries are open roughly 11am-4:30pm.

 

You might do a tour at one or two, you'll need lunch, etc. Most people find they can only fit in 3 or 4 wineries.

 

Also, I didn't quite understand if you'd be travelling down to SF from wine country (this would also go for the drive up) on cruise day but make sure the limo service schedules to drive you around commute traffic, because it's hiddeous here. On the drive into SF leave wine country after 10:00am. On the way up you'll be fine, the only thing you want to make sure of is that you don't wait until 4:30pm to leave Napa. There is basically one road in, one road out and it's jammed with tasters and people getting off of work. What a nightmare.

 

Good luck.

[Chick's pal]

This thread caught my eye because I lived in the SF area for many years.

 

While I don't have any specific tour agencies to recommend, my advice would be to phone the concierge of your hotel and ask these questions. I make alot of executive travel arrangements and I have always relied on hotel concierge staff to help me with advance work like this. They are a super resource and can help you decide if this is the best way to go about things, and perhaps offer more advice than you ever thought you'd need.

 

Good luck and have fun. San Francisco is a true gem.

[sasset]

Flavia Limo (flavialimo.com) is great. You didn't say which airport you are using, but last year from Oakland International to Fisherman's Wharf (the Hotel Argonaut) was $125 round trip. San Francisco International is a little closer so it might be a little less. I'm sure it would be much less on a one way airport then to the ship the next day. We have not used her for tours, but her website says that they do those too.

 

Regards

[Blazerboy]

As another idea, once you find a car and driver, you might want to skip the picnic thing- why have lunch from S.F.(although we have GREAT food) brought with you in the car, when you could do one of two really fun things:

 

Option 1. Stop at Oakville Grocery (Oakville, CA- right on the main road through Napa Valley) or Dean & Deluca (St Helena- also on the main drag) and pick out some AMAZING gourmet goodies yourself. We've even picniced right in the Dean & Deluca parking lot! Picnic spots are harder to come by, but we've gone many times to the geyser park just North of Calistoga (Lots of spas- do you have time for a "mud bath for two?") and eaten our fresh bread, local farm cheese, white anchovies or whatever and local wine while watching the geyser go off. Alternately, V. Satui winery has picnic grounds at the winery, but you must buy your picnic luncheon from their store.

 

Option 2. Napa and Sonoma Valleys are known for FOOD too. Try a restaurant as a nice interlude between a few wineries. The Culinary Institue of America has a wonderful restaurant just North of St. Helena, and it's fun because you get an amazing meal prepared and served by the students. Tre Vigne is my favorite restaurant in St. Helena (and they make a killer olive oil!). Mustards is also well known (right there as well). The most romantic and extravagant that I've done is the restaurant at Auberge du Soleil on the Rutherford Trail- pricey, but lunch isn't so bad in terms of cost. The food is truly wonderful, and the views out over the valley will make you want to move here (happened to me in 1989!) Auberge gets my vote for most romantic! Thomas Keller's French Laundry is also here- haven't been yet, but probably the pinnacle of extravagant food!

 

Other than Mondavi, you might want to consider Domaine Chandon in Yountville. You come to Yountville before any of the other towns, and I would always rather taste champagne before noon versus a lot of other wines. :D The grounds are lovely- there's a restaurant there, too, which is highly rated. Also, Plumpjack is a wonderful vineyard- wines are pricey, but terrific. And Clos Pegase has, in addition to good wines, an amazing collection of art, and beautiful architecture.

 

All the above is in Napa Valley, and I'm sure you could look all of these places up on the web. One word about restaurants- reservations are the norm, and usually made weeks in advance for a weekend date. Also, any good driver should be able to have all these places "map-quested" before you arrive, so that you don't have to worry about directions!

 

Have fun!

[dakrewser]

You do know that the Mondavis no longer own Robert Mondavi, right? I believe it's part of Constellation brands who also own Almaden, Paul Masson, and Richard's Wild Irish Rose!

 

My advice is to avoid the pretentious Napa vally entirely. Go to Sonoma cty (THe Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys) or further west to the much more wild (i.e., not urban) coastal areas of Mendocino county.

 

Lot's of good information at

http://www.mendowine.com/ and

 

http://www.sonomavalleywine.com/index.html

 

Also look south of San Francisco at the Monterey county and Santa Cruz county wine areas (which can be coupled with a visit to the waterfront towns of Monterey and Santa Cruz!)

[Blazerboy]

You do know that the Mondavis no longer own Robert Mondavi, right?

 

I'm imagining they're going to see the winery, rather than hang out with the clan!:D

 

Dakrewser is right, sort of. If you had a few more days to explore, or a week or two, he recommends some great spots. (I just spent a great weekend in the Russian River Wine area of Sonoma County) But don't be thrown by the "pretentious" label. Napa is worth seeing, as are the other areas. For those not from here, though, the wineries that you've heard about and the pictures you've seen are mostly of Napa. Sort of like going to Paris, and skipping the Right Bank. Is the Left Bank worth seeing, of course!, but don't skip the Right Bank, just because it's more popular/well known. Are there some snobs in Napa? Undoubtedly. But all of my friends- a virtual United Nations of types- all really enjoyed their visit to Napa when we toured them around. Sometimes when you're a tourist, ya' just have to be a tourist.

[jezzdogg]

What are the dates in Sept. that you need the airfare, how many, etc. Will help if possible

Norma

[kit9172]

Can you recommend a couple of good restaurants in Sonoma. Six of us will be in SF and we are doing a day trip to your area. Thanks for any help.

[Nancyquilts]

Sonoma Restaurants - Depot Hotel (my favorite), Swiss Hotel, Amigos for good Mexican food, Golden Spring for Chinese. Nancy

[wvufan]

Hi Norma:) ,

 

It would just be the two of us. We are planning on flying out to SF or Oakland on Monday the 12th and returning on Tuesday the 27th.

 

We actually have a bit of flexibility, as our kid lives in New Brunswick NJ, so we could visit them and fly out of Newark (closest), Philly or JFK if we had to. We live in Vienna, WV, which is about 2 hours from the Columbus Ohio airport and a little over an hour from Charleston WV. We had originally thought about flying from Newark, and a few quick looks at some websites all ended up about $300 round trip(some aren't posting rates yet for those dates). So, we decided to see what it would be to fly from Charleston via Independence Air, and it was about the same. It really would be easier to leave from Charleston. Ideally, we would take a cheap flight on Independence to Dulles and then whatever carrier (including Indendence, SW, etc.) might get us to SF or Oakland. However, if it would save enough money, we can drive to NJ, visit the kids, and leave from that area. We have recently suffered sticker shock :eek: after booking some of our Alaska excursions, so we need all the help we can get! ;)

 

Thank you so much for your time and effort!

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[Lois R]

What a great thread this has turned out to be.

 

Andrew, may I throw out a few other wineries? When I was in SF in 1998 I went to Viansa (marvelous), Trefethon, Cline, Coppola, and then stopped in a store where they made cheese:D It was very neat!

Had lunch at a place called "Pacific Blues Cafe" in Yountville. I had a fabulous week in your part of the country.

[niborHS]

As a cruiser and a wine person, I can comment somewhat. Mondavi wines are still good, but the things you buy at the vineyard may not be drinkable yet. I agree that the Niebam-Coppola vineyard it very nice to see, and they have some great wines, everything from their $10 Rosso to their Rubicon is great. Sattui has some good wines, but you have to be pushy to get to taste the better wines when you visit the vineyard. I also agree that lunch at Tres Vigne would be great, or even getting the picnic from Dean and DeLuca, which of course is a NY favorite. Although I guess to those in CA, Napa vs. SOnoma must be like my preference of North Fork to South Fork, but I prefer the wines from Nappa. Also, if you can get some Overture from Opus One, you'll get a great value on something you can only buy from the vineyard. Now, if you only want to buy wine to bring on the ship, you can go to The Wine Stop in Burlingame, a short hop from the SF Airport. They have a great selection of CA wines.

[new_cruiser]

I usually find myself more in the mood for a picnic rather than a sit-down lunch when wine tasting. I've used the Dean and Deluca store that Blazerboy mentions. It has a great selection of goodies. I recall stopping at a winery that had pleasant picnic facilities and allowed bringing the food in. Unfortunately I can't remember which one but a good driver should know.

 

If you haven't toured many wineries, the tours of some of the big ones in Napa are interesting and I agree with Blazerboy about the "sometimes ... ya' just have to be a tourist". Also, it allows a stop at the spas in Calistoga for a mud bath while you let your taste buds get ready for the next round of tasting. (If you want to do that it is another thing where it would be wise to get the concierge to set up a reservation.)

 

Having already experienced the big showy wineries, I now enjoy visiting the smaller ones - where the person serving you in the tasting room may also be the wine maker and in some cases the tasting room is the winery. My favorite is now going up to the Amador County wineries. That is farther from San Francisco but I love the small wineries there and it is less crowded. Even on the weekends when they are having an event like the Wine Festival, we haven't had problems with traffic. Zinfindels are big in the area and they do a lot of Italian wines - sangivese and barbara. Not much merlot - they say the climate isn't that suitable. I'm still working my way through trying out the wineries there but so far Story is one of my favorites. Last October we got a great deal from Terre Rouge on some library wines they were clearing out to make room for the new bottles.

 

http://www.amadorwine.com/