Things to do in Napa Valley

Napa Valley sits roughly an hour north of San Francisco by car, no direct train, and splits into two parallel routes: Highway 29, which strings together Napa, Yountville, St Helena and Calistoga and carries most of the traffic and tasting-room signage, and the quieter Silverado Trail on the valley's east side, favoured by drivers who want fewer stoplights and less summer-weekend congestion.

Tastings are paid, not a casual stroll: figure on roughly $35-75 for a standard tasting and $75-200+ for reserve experiences, averaging around $79, and reservations are increasingly expected rather than optional. Sonoma County lies over a mountain range to the west, with no direct fast road between the two, so most visitors pick one valley per day rather than combining them.