Sonoma Valley, along with its neighbor, Napa Valley, are a large part of California's celebrated wine country, located roughly an hour to ninety minutes north of San Francisco. Always a favorite with honeymooners and couples wanting a relaxing getaway, the mix of beautiful scenery, charming inns, intimate restaurants and all that wine is a recipe guaranteed to produce romance. When is the best time to go' In the summer you will encounter heavy traffic, intense heat and lots of tourists, but have beautiful weather. Conventional wisdom dictates that fall is the best time to visit, as the grapes are being harvested and the wineries are in full-swing. True, and if crowds and premium prices don't bother you, it is the best time to go. Spring offers fields of blooming flowers, is quite beautiful, and some places still offer off-season rates. Although you are more likely to encounter rain beginning late November, the Wine Country is a great place to spend the holidays, as is evidenced by its popularity at this time. The reason this area is popular year-round is due to the wealth of full-service, pampering spas and quaint bed and breakfast inns, and activities that can only be experienced during one season of the year. If you can't make it for the activity of the fall, you can still catch some of the harvest festivals, which last through December. Besides being perfect for growing grapes (and olives), the countryside offers another feature which is a favorite of tourists: natural hot springs. Calistoga, at the northern tip of Napa Valley, is the historic home of the mineral and mud baths, but many world-class spas have been built all over the area, and have expanded services that range from aromatherapy massages to Ayurvedic healing treatments. Hot-air ballooning over the countryside is another popular activity with outfitters everywhere, as is biking. Napa is where most of the action is; but if you like to be a little more removed from the blatant commerce, stay in Sonoma. There are just as many wineries - they just aren't on as grand a scale. (Compare and contrast how things are done at Robert Mondavi, where everything is computerized, to some of the boutique wineries found in Sonoma.) And don't sweat the accommodations - there are some amazing properties in Sonoma that can pamper you past your wildest dreams, if that is what you are looking for.
This is the closest large commercial airport to Sonoma, being about 60 miles and an hour to an hour and a half away, depending on where in Sonoma you are staying.
