Getting Around Napa: The Best Driving and Concierge Options for Wine-Tasting Adventures
02 June 2011
Can’t find a designated driver and don't want to listen to your intoxicated friends sing and talk wine while you soberly sip and spit your way around the Valley? How about hiring a car and driver — or better yet, take the Ferry to Vallejo, and get picked up and squired about by a Napa Valley insider? Here are our top picks of the four-wheel-concierges that do a whole lot more than just drive:
Squire Liveryis a one-car, one-driver, concierge service and my top pick. Kent Higginbotham, the owner and driver, has deep family roots in the Valley and is welcomed like a family member and friend wherever he goes. He drives a Mercedes, doesn’t wear a tie and knows all of the off-the-beaten path wineries for your day in the Valley.
Perata Luxury Car Services is a bitlarger than Squire Livery, but still family-owned and operated and provides a specialized and intimate wine country experience. First recommended to me by Fontanella Family Winery, Nick Perata has a few different vehicles (all new, classy, and high-end) and offers an insider tour planned the way you want it or with his well-informed favorites.
Napa TAC is another highly-personalized, well-connected service that can plan everything for you, take you to spots of your choosing, or do a blend of the two designed just for your group. Again, no limos, so you get to ignore all those “busses and limos by appointment only” signs if you want to be spontaneous.
Napa Valley Tours (NVT) is the company to call if you’re looking for limos, party busses and a driver in the usual chauffeur attire but with insider connections. A perfect option for really big groups and people who enjoy being seen in limousines.
If you want to be picked up in SF and are looking for a personal and high-end experience, I recommend Max Napa Tours. For a less expensive alternative, there is a lot of buzz around local services that provide a driver for your car like Designated Drivers, who are insured and will pick you up at your hotel and usher you about in your own car or your rental.