Things to Know Before Visiting Sonoma County

When visiting a place you aren't familiar with it's nice to get a little advice from the locals. Here are a few things you don't necessarily find on the travel web sites.

Getting Around

Sonoma County is big. It's bigger than the state of Rhode Island (okay, a lot of things are). It can be a couple hours drive from one side of the county to the other.

Roads are sometimes narrow and often full of curves, but mostly they are poorly maintained. There can be lots of traffic especially on the main roads U.S 101 and State Highway 12 along with Highway 1 along the coast. U.S. 101 is the main commuter road. Traffic and poorly maintained roads are a main gripe of the locals.

But getting around is still best done by car. You can stay in one of the small town like Sonoma or Healdsburg and walk to everything and maybe Uber or join a small tour group to a couple spots out of town, but you'll miss a lot of scenery.

There is an airport near Santa Rosa served by some West Coast cities. It's much more convenient, but more expensive than flying into Oakland or San Francisco.

Walking downtown Healdsburg
image from pressdemocrat.com

Prices

Things cost more here and it all starts with land prices. Housing is expensive and it seems that drives everything else.

Sales tax is over 9% (it can vary by locality). There are tourist taxes on lodging. BTW if you ship wine home directly from a winery you do not have to pay CA sales tax.

Eating and Drinking

Restaurants are world-class. You probably won't find another rural-ish spot on the planet with so many great restaurants.

Taquerias and Mexican restaurants are everywhere. You're never far from a good burrito.

Along with the world-class wine and world-class food is world-class craft beer.

Yes, there seem to be wineries almost everywhere. Not all are open to the public and some require an appointment. Opening and closing times vary, tasting fees vary, policies on bringing in dogs or food vary. It's best to investigate and have a plan.

The Weather

The best description for the weather is variable. The day-to-day weather isn't that variable, but the day-to-night temp swings are noticeable. The microclimates really surprise people. It's not unusual for summer temps to be 30 degrees cooler at the coast than inland. Be prepared for different temperatures and winds in different locales. Hint: Bring a light jacket, sweater or sweatshirt.

Late-autumn through mid-spring the weather doesn't fluctuate so much, but this is the rainy season.  Summers are dry.

A marine layer of cool, moist air comes in off the cool ocean waters
and spreads inland on many summer evenings.

The People

The people are also "variable." Old hippies, tech workers, artists, health care professionals, gays, farmers, the large senior community all intermix just fine.