Honeymoon ideas for late May ~ Wine Country?

[turtledazzle]

Hi all,

We''re getting married this May (May 20th -- eek, not so far away!), but we''ve been so busy with life and all of the other planning that we really haven''t planned out a honeymoon. We''ve talked about a lot of different places, and one of those ideas is going to the Wine Country. We have been talking about going to Napa and Sonoma for a few years now, but have just never made it there yet. Neither of us has ever been there.

What do you all think of going to Napa and Sonoma for a honeymoon? We want to have a relaxing, romantic honeymoon. We''ve thought about going to Europe (I''ve never been), but there''s not much time to plan and I don''t want to go somewhere where I''d want to spend all of my time sightseeing b/c I know I''ll not get a chance to go back for a while. I know we''re going to want some relaxation time after all of this wedding planning.


What''s the weather like in Wine Country in late May? Anyone have any recommendations for where to stay, eat, do? I''ve looked on VRBO and there seem to be a number of different towns, but I''m not familiar with the area/geography. Would staying directly in Napa (or Sonoma) be better than staying in one of the smaller towns? I''ve heard that traffic in the area can be a nightmare ~ will that be as much of a problem in May and during the week? (I figure maybe we can the weekend days in San Francisco -- I haven''t been there since I was young and the FI has only been for conferences in recent times, so we''d probably enjoy seeing a bit of the city.)

Any advice is greatly appreciated! And if you have other recommendations for late May honeymoon spots, we''re all ears!

Thanks in advance!

 

[cara]

Date: 1/9/2007 3:31:57 PM
Author:turtledazzle
Hi all,


We''re getting married this May (May 20th -- eek, not so far away!), but we''ve been so busy with life and all of the other planning that we really haven''t planned out a honeymoon. We''ve talked about a lot of different places, and one of those ideas is going to the Wine Country. We have been talking about going to Napa and Sonoma for a few years now, but have just never made it there yet. Neither of us has ever been there.


What do you all think of going to Napa and Sonoma for a honeymoon? We want to have a relaxing, romantic honeymoon. We''ve thought about going to Europe (I''ve never been), but there''s not much time to plan and I don''t want to go somewhere where I''d want to spend all of my time sightseeing b/c I know I''ll not get a chance to go back for a while. I know we''re going to want some relaxation time after all of this wedding planning.



What''s the weather like in Wine Country in late May? Anyone have any recommendations for where to stay, eat, do? I''ve looked on VRBO and there seem to be a number of different towns, but I''m not familiar with the area/geography. Would staying directly in Napa (or Sonoma) be better than staying in one of the smaller towns? I''ve heard that traffic in the area can be a nightmare ~ will that be as much of a problem in May and during the week? (I figure maybe we can the weekend days in San Francisco -- I haven''t been there since I was young and the FI has only been for conferences in recent times, so we''d probably enjoy seeing a bit of the city.)


Any advice is greatly appreciated! And if you have other recommendations for late May honeymoon spots, we''re all ears!


Thanks in advance!

Should be standard N. Cal. fabulous! OK, we had a really odd year in 2006 and there was actually some rain in May. But normally it stops raining in April and doesn''t rain again until Oct-Nov. So weather should be some version of perfect, traffic is really bad on weekends, but even then if you do the opposite of what other people do (ie. drive north to south instead of the reverse) it should be tolerable. I would spend some time in Napa Valley and some in Sonoma, as they have very different feel, with Napa more opulant and Sonoma a bit more country/laid back, and if you can afford it, stay in town near the various squares so you can walk home from dinner after eating at any number of fabulous restaurants. A B&B off the beaten path would also be great. I would move around every 2-3 days as all the towns are pretty small. Healdsburg is also quite cute. Dont know how long you have, but you could also spend a weekend up in Mendocino, which is north of wine country proper (though they still make wine up there) and on the coast. It is this cute little New England style town that Murder She Write was filmed in. They have fabulous B&Bs and it fits your relaxing requirement perfectly. Weather there will be MUCH milder, it is on the coast and probably 60 during the day, often foggy, but absolutely stunning. And the drive there in an experience in itself.

 

[turtledazzle]

Cara ~

Thanks so much for the reply and the information. Good to know that the weather should be great. I''m not yet sure how long we''ll have to honeymoon, but thanks for the Mendocino recommendation as well.

Moving around every 2-3 days does sound like a good idea (will look into it), but if we do a VRBO rental we may end up staying in the same place for a week to get better pricing (and ''cause some only like to do full-week rentals). If we end up staying put, is there a nice place that is convenient to both Sonoma and Napa, or someplace so nice that it would be more preferable for a long-term stay? There seem to be a number of romantic-looking options on the Russian River (some near Healdsburg that you mention).

I also just realized that the weekend after our wedding (when we''ll presumably be on our honeymoon) is Memorial Day weekend. Hmmm, guess that would make the crowds and hotel occupancy higher thank normal ...

 

[appletini]

Turtle,

Last May at the same time I had my honeymoon in Napa Valley. DH and I loved it and had the best time. The weather is gorgeous, warm, sunny, no humidity, and cool at night.

We stayed at the Inn at Southbridge in St. Helena and its very centrally located and they have yummy cookies everynight and great complimentary continental breakfast. I would say a must eat (and drink--they have an awesome bar) is the Martini House, but also Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen (great rabbit tostada, quail and duck), and Taylor's Refresher has yummy burgers for lunch.

Other must things to do...the cakebread food and wine pairing at 11am on Fridays (maybe Thursdays too), it was so yummy and Ed the guide is great. The Napa Wine Comapny in Oakville b/c they have a lot of boutique wines and its very laid back. For big bucks wine Duckhorn and Stags Leap Cellar ...do the premuim flights b/c those aren't available at home. And tell them to tell everyone that they are on their honeymoon, we got several complimentary tastings b/c of that, and most importantly share tastings b/c drinking from 10am-4pm and then again at dinner is a lot! Oh and you or your FI like ports, definitely Pager Port Works!

Let me know if you have any questions, etc....I also took another trip with my best friend in August to Napa Valley and Sonoma county to plan her wedding. She is getting married at Auberge Du Soleil....oh defintiely go there for dinner too or at least happy hour on the terrace. Her wedding is memorial weekend...so we'll be there at the same time.

 

[gongjoo143]

Hi there,

I got married at a winery in Sonoma in June ''06. Great weather during May/June. We visited Napa and Sonoma and loved both.

I have a lot of info about Sonoma on our wedding website (wineries, restaurants, tourism) if you want to take a look.
www.jen-andy.com

Hope this helps!

 

[turtledazzle]

appletini ~

Thanks for all the wonderful, detailed info! Sounds like you had a great honeymoon!

gongjoo143 ~

What a gorgeous couple you are. Thanks for the link to your website -- great details and design!

I love PS!!!!!

Now, let''s see if I can convince the FI of this plan

Whether we make it there for the honeymoon or not, we''ll definitely be going there someday in the near future because I have wanted to go for such a long time!