There are no shortage of Napa Valley wine tours for couples. But the Napa Valley Wine Train is certainly the most unique. Originally a rail line built in 1864 to take visitors north to the resort town of Calistoga, the Wine Train is a three-hour, 36-mile round-trip journey from Downtown Napa to St. Helena and back.
Getting ready for our Napa Wine Train adventure, one of the best Napa Valley wine tours for couples.
The train has clearly been around for quite some time. In fact, I’ve wanted to do it since we moved to California nearly 12 years ago. Yet, we didn’t get a chance to do it until this past Christmas. Would it be worth all the hype and cost? Is it a fun experience? But maybe the biggest question of all, would Kevin stay awake? He is known to fall asleep in moving vehicles, and nod off after a half glass of wine (oh boy!).
Kevin, you better stay awake on this train. Otherwise, you’ll have a very expensive nap!
The good news is we all stayed awake! Even after driving 6 hours from LA without any sleep with screaming twins in the back. The joys of parenthood, right? After that ride, we definitely could use some wine. And the Napa Wine Train is well worth the splurge. We’ll take you on our latest adventure, which turned out to be pretty much our favorite activity on our 2-week California road trip. Follow our journey along our latest adventure.
Napa Wine Train: What to Expect Upon Arrival
The Napa Wine Train check-in station. This is certainly the fanciest train station we’ve been in.
Before planning your Napa Wine Train adventure, you’ll need a reservation. COVID variant cases were spiking when we visited over the holidays so the train wasn’t at full capacity. With that said, the earlier you can book, the better. I’m talking at least 3 months in advance. And if you’re looking for a 2-person table in the famed Vista Dome Car (surrounded by glass windows), you should book even earlier.
We made reservations about 2 months in advance, but dome seating was already all sold out! But don’t let that deter you. Here is an insider tip: arrive early for check in and ask if there are any last minute cancellations. We’re told it often happens and we lucked out and were able to upgrade to Vista Dome seating! I was so excited!
Where Should I Sit on the Napa Wine Train?
There are several train ride options, but we went with the Gourmet Express, a 3-hour train ride that departs daily at 11:30 AM from downtown Napa, Calif.
Truth be told, I was completely overwhelmed by the options on where to sit. You really can’t go wrong with any of them, but there are some benefits with some sections over the others. If you’re okay with splurging, we recommend the vista dome car (starting at $280 per person for lunch). The benefits of the vista dome car are many. First, it’s a more private experience where only people with dome reservations get those seats. There is also a slightly different menu and you get a glass of sparkling wine included. But the main reason? It’s that view! The vista dome has windows all around you and truly feels special.
Enjoying the vista dome car.
If you’re passing on the vista dome, there are 2 options for the main dining car: the early meal or the later meal option. Both the early and later seating option cost the same (starting at $175 per person). After making friends with many of the train staff, we learned the second best seating option was the later dining option. Why is this? The later diners will get a “bonus” course while they wait for their meal. The regular dining car has a slightly different menu than the higher-end Vista Dome car. But the menus were pretty similar.
The lounge area where the late diners wait before their meal in the main dining car on the Napa Wine Train.
The main dining car on the Gourmet Express Napa Wine Train.
Best Napa Valley Wine Tours for Couples: Arrival For Your Tour
They recommend you arrive about 1 hour ahead of your check-in time in order to not miss your train. There was no missing this train on my schedule. Our arrival time was 10:30 AM, but I had us ready to go by 8 AM! If you’re crazy, eager like me, one of the best places to go to kill time is Model Bakery at Napa’s Oxbow Market, located right across the street from the Napa Wine Train Station.
Lounging inside the Oxbow Market in downtown Napa.
Be prepared to wait in a line. This place is booming even at 8 AM. What is so special about Model Bakery? Cue Oprah. She famously touted their English muffins that she has flown in whenever she has a craving, and paying $40 a dozen. In fact, the woman in front of us ordered 4 dozen (taking all the bagged muffins). No, it wasn’t Oprah! But let me add, this woman had zero guilt about wiping out the supply. It doesn’t sound very Oprah-like, just saying. Luckily, the bakery had 4 single muffins left back in the kitchen so we got to try them.
Was the muffin worth the hype? It was fine. But Kevin said he’d be just as happy with the store-bought Thomas’ Original English muffins. Maybe we should suggest this to Oprah when we see her next.
All Aboard: Inside the Napa Wine Train Experience
You won’t want to fill up too much on breakfast since the train car has a full, multi-course dinner. In the Vista Dome, you’ll start off with a glass of sparkling wine (yes please!), freshly baked bread and a choice of your first course. Typically, the first course has 3 different selections. We suggest ordering different dishes to sample as much as possible, but their basil ricotta ravioli is without a doubt a must order (and the most popular dish on the menu).
Enjoying the ravioli, sparkling wine and bread. The workout can wait until we’re home, right?
The second course is spaced out perfectly, which is either a soup of the day, tomato soup on our ride, or a beet salad. Kevin loved his tomato soup since it was such a chilly day. While I enjoyed the fresh flavors of the salad.
Tomato soup on a cold Napa Valley day.
The total train ride is a 36-mile round-trip journey from Downtown Napa to St. Helena and back. Along the ride, you’ll pass along some of the wineries that have put Napa on the map like Robert Mondavi, V. Sattui and the sprawling castle of Castello Di Amorosa. It was so much fun watching the world pass us by, following along on the wine train map. If there isn’t a map on your table, it’s well worth asking for.
What else was missing at this point? Wine of course. We are in Napa and this is the wine train. We ended up ordering a bottle of the Hands of Time Chardonnay, which was recommended by our server and paired with the ravioli. We found the prices of the wine to be surprisingly affordable (for such a pricey excursion). We weren’t driving and 2 glasses of wine was nearly the cost of some bottles. So we figured, let’s go for it. I know, we’re going wild!
At this point, we were at the turnaround spot and it was already time for the main course. The day was just flying by! In the Vista Dome, we had 4 different options to choose from including a pasta dish, seafood, chicken or beef tenderloin. We already had the pasta so ended up going with the chicken and beef. Both were cooked perfectly.
Post Dinner: What to Do on the Napa Wine Train?
After the dishes from the main course were cleared, our server said we were free to relax or explore the train. We decided to check out the rest of the train to help our food settle before having dessert. And talk about a fun idea! We were able to check out the kitchen and tour the entire train. One of the best spots? Head all the way to the last car where you can go outside and watch the beauty of Napa pass by as you ride the rails. Just hang on!
Having so much fun on the Napa Wine Train. We couldn’t help but smile.
Wrapping Things Up: All Good Things Come to An End
The final course was about to be served as we zipped along the tracks back to the Napa Valley Wine Train station. For dessert, we ended up having 2 options. Of course, we had to order both. I had the creme brûlée while Kevin enjoyed the chocolate parfait. I was able to snap a photo, but they didn’t last very long.
What an incredible day out on the train. After thinking of doing this for the past decade, I can say that it was well worth the wait. Talk about a romantic day in the Napa Valley. Here is to many more adventures ahead!
Looking for other ideas of things to do in California wine country? Check out all our wine country adventures here, including our previous travels through Sonoma and Northern California. Have a few more days to explore? We highly recommend a trip to Napa and reading our guide on how to spoil yourself silly. Going to San Francisco? And on the hunt for something a little romantic? In that case, be sure to check out the top 5 unique and cheap things to do on a date in San Francisco.
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