Logistics on Travelling from Oakland to Napa/Sonoma Valley

Flying to Oak Friday morning and leaving Monday night. Friday night/Saturday all day activities pre-booked - Napa Valley.

Need to figure out which day to visit SFO - Friday via Ferry or BART and then back to OAK air to pick-up rental car and drive out to American Canyon/Napa or Monday after droping rental car ?

I would like to know how much would trip from OAK to American Canyon take on Friday afternoon ? How about from SFO ? Suggested Routes ?

Does anyone know if OAK offers luggage storage option (will need either on Friday or Monday) ? Had anyone checked in luggage in the morning for an evening departure flight on southwest airlines (will try to contact airlines directly too) ?

Also, does anyone has experience touring Napa/Sonoma or SFO on

Mondays ? Would many places in Napa/Sonoma be closed ? Should we just

head for some lake or beach area ?

Thank you everyone !

Logistics on Travelling from Oakland to Napa/Sonoma Valley

Hi there, It sounds like you guys are not too interested in visiting SanFrancisco since all your planning has been in wine country.

In order to clear up some possible confusion SFO is the SanFrancisco airport which is NOT where you would likely find any thing interesting to see. As far as I know ,since 9/11 the airports do not want people to leave luggage in lockers. YOu could go into the city when you arrive and rent a car in the city which you can then drop off at the Oakland airport at the end of you rtrip but it would depend on what time you actually arrive an dwhat tiem you need to be at you rfinal Fri destination.

I think personally, that SanFrancisco deserves more time so you should just skip it this trip and maybe visit Berkely instead.

Logistics on Travelling from Oakland to Napa/Sonoma Valley

I%26#39;ll agree with riffsmom on this one. Besides, if you%26#39;re going to Napa, I don%26#39;t see any point in going to SFO. Napa has great food, wine, lovely landscape... and SF International Airport has nothing to offer travelers other than the usual dreary, airport environs. I can%26#39;t imagine anyone making a special side trip from Napa just to go there.

The city of San Francisco, however... that%26#39;s a completely different proposition.

If you are travelling this coming Friday you will be there over Labor Day Weekend, and traffic will be very heavy. That trip to American Canyon from OAK could take a few hours.

I think your abbreviation ';SFO'; is intended to mean San Francisco and not the airport although this is the airport code. There is a ferry from Vallejo - near American Canyon - that travels across the Bay to SF. That is an easy and fun trip. Try www,baylinkferry.com. It would allow you to stay in American Canyon as your home base which is what I think you are expressing.

I have never experienced Napa/Sonoma businesses being closed on Mondays - or any days. This shouldn%26#39;t be a problem.

Have a fun trip!

Thank you all. I did mean The city of San Francisco when I said SFO. And we are going Sept 15th (not labor weekend).

Well, I have been to SFO few times before so 1 day to get the higlights again - would be enough.

If you go to the city of San Francisco, and not SFO, the usual highlights would be a trip to Alcatraz, a ride on a cable car, a stop at Lombard Street and meandering through Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf.

I would really encourage you to simply use the initials ';SF.'; It%26#39;s shorter, easier for those of you who do not want to write out San Francisco, and not nearly so confusing as SFO, which is an airport.

No one asks about SJC or OAK when they refer to San Jose or Oakland, they simply write ';San Jose'; or ';Oakland.'; I don%26#39;t post to the Chicago site using ORD when I mean the city of Chicago. It%26#39;s plain silly, and confusing. On this travel site, people ask questions about things to do at SFO, because people sometimes have long layovers, stays at airport hotels in preparation for early morning flights and thus are looking for information. Using SFO when you mean the city merely confuses things.

You didn%26#39;t mention Sunday. If you have no plans on Sunday, I might suggest departing Napa on Sunday afternoon and booking a hotel near Oakland Airport. On Monday morning, you can easily check out of your hotel, but stow your luggage there until departure time. Then, take a BART ride to San Francisco for the day. You can either use your rental car to drive to the BART station, or return your car and use airport shuttle or AC Transit to BART.

If you are a baseball fan, the Oakland A%26#39;s are having a game on Sunday, September 17th vs. Chicago White Sox with a first pitch at 1:05. They are giving away Poker Sets to the first 10,000 fans. The Coliseum is very close to the airport and their hotels.

Thank you, all ! I didn%26#39;t mean to confuse anyone abbreviating San Francisco as SFO but point taken, yep I was lazy. ORD is not Chicago :)

We are arriving into Oakland early morning and will hit the route. May stop in Berkley area for breakfast.

We are booked to Santa Rosa hotel thru priceline for Friday night so I think we would be visiting Santa Rosa - Sonoma area that day. So far I picked Matanzas Creek Winery as one of the stops (recommended in Sonoma forum). Really, really want to do Bodego Bay and/or Muir Woods but that would have been a big stretch considering friday traffic ): so maybe next time. We are driving into Napa valley that night back and forth plus next morning - (priceline oops on my part).

Sunday/Monday - most likely will stay in SF surrounding areas like Oakland or nearby and use BART to go to SF. Have to visit Chinatown and eat dim sum. Only did it once before in Chicago Chinatown and it was fun. Will go to Y Ben per SF forum recommendations.

A lot of things still open. Just had not had a chance to plan this trip as well as I should have..

If dim sum is one of your goals, consider East Ocean in Alameda (next door to Oakland), Tin%26#39;s or Jade Villa in Oakland Chinatown. Easier to get to than venturing all the way into SF Chinatown and most likely less expensive.

If you stay in Oakland, I would strongly recommend visiting the Oakland Museum. It%26#39;s beautiful.

Enjoy your trip!

I think it%26#39;s not a bad idea to stay in the East Bay to avoid the traffic into SF.

So, here%26#39;s some suggestions for cities to stay in: Oakland%26#39;s Jack London Square, Emeryville, or Berkeley.

Jack London Square in Oakland is a pretty place, nice to walk around and ... right on the water. I%26#39;ve stayed at the Waterfront Hotel, but there are others in the area. You could walk several blocks up to the 12th Street BART station by day or take a shuttle and cab it back from the station at night (my recommendation and I would personally do this for safety)

Berkeley - You can walk to the Berkeley BART station and have a bit of a neighborhood to enjoy as well.

Emeryville: Well, about the only thing to say about it is it%26#39;s convenient for places you go via car because of its proximity to freeways and parking will likely be free. You would have to drive to the BART station, however, another parking problem.

I would recommend having dim sum in SF Chinatown. You%26#39;ve come all this way, you might as well. Plus, you%26#39;re going to be in SF anyway. Just get there early -- arrive past 11 a.m. and you might as well consign yourself to a long wait. Ideal would be to show up 10:30-10:45 ish and watch the crowds grow from your seat.