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San Francisco has amazing landscapes, landmarks, sports teams, and well as first-rate museums. Plus, San Francisco is one of America’s most iconic cities, rich in history and culture. The first time I visited the city, I was blown away by all of the city’s breathtaking sights, sounds, and heavenly food aromas. However, there is one adventure that I think every tourist should witness while in the great “City by the Bay.” That adventure is none other than taking a wine tour of some of the world’s most renowned wineries in both Sonoma and Napa Valley. Not only will you find the wine tasting enjoyable, but you will also discover the area’s jaw-dropping scenery. To embark on such an incredible journey while in the San Francisco area, I recommend following the steps below to plan your unforgettable adventure properly.
Select Your Wine Tasting Company
There are multiple tour companies in the San Francisco Bay area that offer wine tasting tours. A simple Google search will turn up many tour companies, but a huge google listing can be overwhelming. So, to limit the number of hours you spend looking for a tour in this manner, I recommend that you start your search by going to tripadvisor.com or viator.com to begin your search. From those two sites, you should quickly get a feel for how much a typical wine tour will cost, how long it will last, the number of wineries the tour will visit, and finally, you can read reviews from past clients. After reading all the reviews and the tour descriptions, you should be able to select a tour that appeals to you. Always remember to check and make sure that the company you are thinking about choosing has tour space available on the dates you plan to visit. If you plan to visit the Bay Area on the weekend, I recommend not waiting until the last minute to book your tour. Lastly, if you are thinking about arranging a group tour, TripAdvisor has the names of multiple wine-touring companies that can accommodate a group reservation.
My wife and I booked our tour through Delta Vacations, and we ended up with Green Dream Tours as our tour company. We were totally impressed with our tour guide’s historical knowledge of the area, professionalism, sense of humor, and cool tunes he played on the way back to San Francisco. Plus, Green Dream Tours even picked us up and dropped us off at our Wharf Area hotel.
Select Your Wine Tasting Hotel
Since wine tasting is one of your primary reasons for visiting the Bay Area, I recommend that you strategically select your hotel. So, do a map reconnaissance on a platform such as Google Maps to get a good lay of the land. From my own experience, I wanted to be near the Wharf, but I truly wanted to be close to popular tour pick-up points so that we did not have to walk far to catch a cab or Uber to the tour’s pick-up location. Therefore, we choose the Marriot Fisherman’s Wharf as our hotel of choice. The location was perfect, considering we wanted to walk to Fisherman’s Wharf and a personal favorite—Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. I love their ice cream. As an added vacation bonus, it was Fleet Week, and we were able to eat our ice cream and later watch the Blue Angles Air Show from Maritime Garden, which is across the street from the Ghirardelli Square Complex. That was so much fun! Overall, choosing a hotel around the Fisherman’s Wharf area has many great attractions, so I highly recommend that general vicinity.
Make Wine Tasting Memorable
In closing, planning a memorable trip to the iconic city of San Francisco can produce memories that will last a lifetime. Just remember to perform your research well in advance and plan your days very carefully. Let a trusted friend know that you are planning such a wonderful trip, and hopefully, your friend will decide to travel with you. You could possibly turn the entire adventure into a couple’s trip. In my opinion, groups seem to have more fun. Well, enjoy your trip to the Bay area. If you are looking for a trip planner—I’m available. If you have any questions, drop me a line.
Places to visit in San Francisco.
1. Fisherman’s Wharf
2. Alcatraz
3. Cable Cars
4. Lombard Street
5. Golden Gate Bridge
6. Muir Woods
