Napa Valley Day Trip: A Napa Valley Day Trip from San Francisco
Staying in San Francisco for several days on vacation? Or, perhaps you are fortunate enough to live in that beautiful city by the Bay. What better way to spend the day than to drive to the Napa Valley Wine Country.
If you are vacationing in San Francisco, you are probably staying at a hotel and will want to enjoy a leisurely breakfast before you set out for the Napa Valley. A departure time around 10:00AM is ideal, which should give you time for a leisurely breakfast at your hotel before departure.
Rush hour traffic has thinned out in San Francisco by mid-morning, and you should have an easy drive north into Wine Country. At that time, it should take a little more than 90 minutes to get to the Wine Country once you leave San Francisco. If you delay your trip until after 2:00PM, give yourself an extra hour to get to Napa Valley because of increased traffic.
You have a choice of taking either the Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge on your way to the Napa Valley. The route we suggest here takes you via the Golden Gate Bridge heading north. This is a much more scenic route and will get you to your first destination in wine country, Calistoga, in about the same time as the Bay Bridge route.
It’s best to ask at your hotel for directions to the Golden Gate Bridge—if you are staying near Fisherman’s Warf, for example, you should be at the bridge in about 10 minutes. If you are staying in Union Square or the Financial district, the drive to the Golden Gate should take you about 20 minutes. If your hotel has a concierge, be sure to ask them for a map and the best way to get to the Bridge.
On your way back to San Francisco, we suggest an option for returning via the Bay Bridge. We will also give you an option for going directly to either San Francisco Airport or Oakland Airport just in case you have a late flight that evening.
As you leave San Francisco, it may very well be foggy as you near the Golden Gate. Not to worry. Chances are excellent that the fog will disappear within five minutes after crossing the bridge. Indeed, there is usually a wide difference in temperatures between San Francisco and the Napa Valley, especially in the summer. From June – September, summer months, it can be foggy and 60 degrees in San Francisco, yet sunny and 90 degrees in the Wine Country. Indeed, if you are coming to visit between April and October, you are almost certain to a sunny and warm day in the wine country. For detailed Napa Valley weather information, click here.
