09 Sep 2019
Oakland Airport is smaller and easier to navigate than the SF, so we appreciated that! Long walks required, note that if mobility is an issue. You can shuttlebus to car rental. If you drive to Napa/Sonoma, it’s faster to have $5s & $1s going thru tollgate. Rental cars w/tollpass not worth the extra charge (we paid $7.50), unless you visit SF a lot. Major traffic slow-downs in rush hour; CA people plan around that traffic.
It’s easy to find your way w/Google or Waze, but there are a lot of very curvy roads, so you can’t maintain a nice 70 most of the time!
We visited friends in Sebastopol, so day-trips included Bodega Bay, Healdsburg, some fantastic creameries (local cheese is WOW), and the Ridge and MacRostie wineries (both wow as well!).
Your experience enjoyment will likely depend on allowing plenty of time to drive, time to linger & enjoy your food/wine, and a willingness to go to a few places that are very family driven—friendly and knowledgeable—such as the creameries.
I would NOT plan a 7-stops-a-day, quick tour of everything. Take your time, enjoy the ambience and take notes for the next trip there. Loved it!