Green Dream Tours — Local services in San Francisco

Waited a few days after returning from San Francisco to write up this review to be absolutely sure that all the delicious wine we tasted during our first adventure from Wine Country was gone from my system, and I would prepare a review completely sober and without bias. Whelp, I can say without wearing wine-colored glasses, that Green Dream Tours was definitely the highlight of our trip! If you are debating which tour service to use for visiting Wine Country, congratulations, you were lucky to find Green Dream Tours!

We opted to arrange a private tour over a span of two days. Worked directly with the owner, Elie, to plan our first trip to Napa (spouse and I only) and Sonoma (with the whole family). Elie maintained constant communication leading up to our trip and helped us to plan an unforgettable trip taking into account our specific preferences. We also opted for an early morning hot air balloon ride in Napa that Elie helped book, and also coordinated driving VERY early (approx 4:30AM pick up) to pick us up from our hotel in San Francisco (we stayed at Hotel Nikko which was also wonderful) and drive us to our air balloon flight. Elie took our requests for wineries and helped to plan a flexible itinerary that enabled us to visit several wineries (Far Niente, Chateau Montelena, Domaine Carneros) while also incorporating other highlights that were much appreciated (i.e. photos in front of the famous Welcome to Napa sign, quick stop at the Bouchon Bakery). Elie also turned out to be an exceptional photographer, and the vehicle (a Tesla sedan) was very classy and clean, and the tidbits of information that Elie shared with us through our trip were interesting and straight to the point.

Ron was our driver during our family trip to Sonoma and did an equally impressive and professional job with transporting us along a customized tour that we planned out with Elie, participating in wine/food tastings and making a stop through Sonoma square and having lunch at the amazing Girl and the Fig restaurant. Green Dream Tours really helped to streamline the process of making reservations at the various wineries and restaurants, taking the headache out of planning and traveling so we could focus on making incredible memories. Elie also went above and beyond by connecting us with a subcontractor last minute after we mentioned to him in passing that we also happened to be looking for transport to assist us on another day to visit Muir Woods and Sausalito (Ernesto, our driver for that day, was also flawless with his service and with providing a luxurious SUV to travel in).

5 stars and moons, pop the champagne, high fives all around, stick a fork in it, we thoroughly enjoyed the adventures we had with Green Dream Tours, would do it again in a heartbeat, and we highly recommend their...

This was a great experience right from the start. Green Dream Tours had excellent communication from the initial purchase to the day of our tour. Our driver was slightly late and they called to let us know right away. We were picked up directly from our hotel, also a great part of the experience, by our driver and guide for the day. Robin was extremely knowledgeable both about San Francisco as well as wine making and wines of the region. On our way out of San Francisco he took us along a very scenic route on our way to our first stop, the Golden Gate Bridge. A quick stop at the bridge for some photos and we were on our way to the first winery. Ru Vango an excellent boutique winery with a fantastic tasting area and a lovely outdoor seating area with couches and fire pits. This is definitely a go to spot for as good an experience as the wine. We were off to our next stop, Oxbow Market in Napa for lunch. A spot with a number of excellent food vendors and shops. Another perfect spot to stop and walk around. Back on the bus and off to Peter Cellars, another small boutique winery with a feel of tasting in the winemakers backyard. With tables set under the olive trees and 3 dogs wandering the property (the label for the wine has a dog paw on it) it is a very welcoming experience for a winery that feels very private. Our last stop was Homewood Winery, a very informative stop in our tour and again some excellent wines. The tasting room was perfect for our group and the sampling was amazing as we ran through a number of vintages and varietals. We headed back to San Francisco and to top off our tour, Robin played “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, to a silent bus. The timing was...

We recently used Green Dream Tours for a three-winery tour of Napa. The tour was small (~10 people), which was nice. The tour picked us up at our hotel and we stopped at three wineries picked by the company. The selection was very nice and of course the wine was delicious. We had never been to Napa, and if you fall into this category then this would be a great starter tour for you.

One thing we didn't much care for was when the tour stopped for lunch at a local market. We would have much preferred to have lunch at one of the Napa wineries. Another thing we would have enjoyed is if the schedule permitted us to stay an extra 20-30 minutes after the tasting and have a glass of something we tasted. The tour as currently structured does not allow for that.

Our guide, Alberto, was knowledgeable about the wines and the area and did a great job overall. Sometimes he got off topic, for example by talking for about 10-15 minutes about Silicon Valley, but we did not mind too much.

Next time I anticipate we will use a private tour so we can choose our own wineries and spend more time at the ones we enjoy. But, the Napa group tour is still a 5 star experience that...