Closest Airport to Napa Valley Wineries & Tips For Getting There
Are you planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to California’s renowned wine country? If so, one of the first things you need to know is the best way to get there. To help, I have created the ultimate guide to the closest airports to Napa Valley Wineries.
Tip, the closest airport is Sonoma County Airport – Charles M. Schultz (STS). However, it may not be the most convenient or best option for you. There are 8 airports to choose from, including one that many people do not know about. It will depend on where you are flying from and your budget on which airport you should choose for your trip to wine country.
I live about an hour from Napa Valley and have tons of experience flying in and out of the Bay Area airports. Also, Napa is one of my favorite destinations to visit. My husband and I (and sometimes even our dogs) go to wine country as often as we can.
Continue reading to learn the closest airport to the Napa Valley wineries and the best tips for getting there. You will be sipping delicious vino on Napa’s hillside in no time!
Short on time? 🍷 You can book a wine tasting tour that starts as soon as you touch down in northern California. This is the one that I recommend from the airport.
8 Closest Airports to Napa Valley Wineries
- Sonoma County Airport – Charles M. Schultz (STS)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Oakland International Airport (OAK)
- JSX (Oakland & Concord)
- Sacramento International Airport (SAC)
- San Jose International Airport (SJC)
- Napa County Airport (APC) Private Airport
- Buchanan Field Airport (CCR) Private Airport
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1. Sonoma County Airport – Charles M. Schultz (STS)
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 46 miles, travel time is approximately a 1 hour drive without traffic.
Sonoma County Airport is the closest airport to Napa Valley Wineries that offers flights from commercial airlines. If you can find a nonstop flight into Sonoma County Airport then this is the airport that I recommend for you to fly into.
It is a small airport in Santa Rosa, CA, so you don’t have to be bothered by the chaotic and busy international airports like SFO. Also, Sonoma County Airport is only about an hour’s drive to downtown Napa Valley.
Another perk of flying in and out of Sonoma County Airport is that the car rental is located on-site, which makes for an easy pickup and drop off.
You can find nonstop flights from San Diego, Burbank, Los Angeles, Reno, Orange County, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, Phoneix, and San Francisco.
Pro Tip: Buy as much wine as you want, and don’t pay to ship it! Alaska Airlines offers a “Wine Flies Free” program on travel from Sonoma County.
🚙 Car rental: Sonoma County Airport offers five car rental companies at their location.
How to Get From Sonoma County Airport to Napa Valley
Car rental is a popular option and public transport is available from Mendocino Transit Authority on the 65 bus. Or you can pre-book a private shuttle or request a shared car with Uber or Lyft.
2. San Francisco International Airport
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 59 miles, travel time is approximately a 1 hour and 10-minute drive without traffic. If you are traveling during rush hour, be prepared for traffic in the Bay Area.
San Francisco International Airport is the most common airport to fly into when visiting Napa Valley. It is a major gateway from destinations all over the United States and internationally. It is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area and will most likely provide you with the most options and flexibility of flights.
As one of the most frequented airports in California, SFO provides direct flights to 86 cities throughout the U.S. on 12 domestic airlines and more than 50 international cities on 45 international carriers.
If you can avoid SFO, I would. It’s busy and there is usually a lot of traffic getting in and out of the airport.
🚙 Car Rental: Renting a car from San Francisco International Airport is super convenient and easy to do. The car rental center is located at a central location, and you can access the airport terminals by taking the AirTrain from the rental car center. The AirTrain operates 24 hours every day.
How to Get to Napa Valley from SFO
You can get to downtown Napa from San Francisco via car, train, bus, ferry, Uber/Lyft, and private transfer.
When I have friends meeting us in Napa Valley, I recommend they rent a car or book a private transfer in advance. This is who I usually book with for airport transfers, and they haven’t failed me yet! A private transfer will cost you somewhere around $200 to $250 to downtown Napa one way.
You can take public transportation with a combination of BART and by bus, it would be your cheapest option to get to Napa Valley. However, it does require extra planning and travel time. It would take you at least 3 hours to get there.
Another option is to take a ferry from the Ferry Building in San Francisco to the Vallejo Bay Ferry. From there you will take the bus to Napa Valley.
Uber and Lyft are available at the San Francisco International Airport. I do not recommend relying on a shared car from San Francisco to Napa Valley. Most drivers will not want to drive that far out of the city. Also, with price surges, you never know how much you are going to pay.
Tip: There is no Amtrak in San Francisco, you will need to take a bus first to Oakland or Emeryville.
Is There a Shuttle from San Francisco Airport to Napa?
I wish there was, that would be incredibly helpful. Unfortunately, there is not a shuttle from San Francisco airport to Napa.
3. Oakland International Airport
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 50 miles travel time is approximately a 1 hour drive to Napa Valley, without traffic.
SFO may be the largest airport in the Bay area, but Oakland International Airport is my preferred airport to travel in and out of.
Oakland airport is a similar distance from Napa as San Francisco’s airport. However, leaving from Oakland you avoid a lot of the city and bridge traffic.
Also, it is a smaller airport that I have found to be more efficient, less delays, and actually cheaper than SFO.
Another perk to flying from Oakland International Airport to Napa Valley is there are a lot of budget airlines. Southwest is the largest airline at Oakland International and accounts for the majority of the passenger traffic.
🚙 Car Rental: The car rental center is a 5-minute drive from the airport. A Rental Car Shuttle operates 24 hours a day and provides transportation to terminals and the car center every 10 minutes or less.
How to Get to Napa Valley from Oakland
Similar to San Francisco, there are numerous ways to get to downtown Napa from the Oakland airport.
Renting a car is my reccomendation, you will take I-80 East from Oakland towards Vallejo, continue on I-80 East, and then merge onto CA-37 West towards Napa.
For a budget-friendly option, you can take public transit. Take BART from Oakland to the Richmond BART Station. Transfer to the Vine Transit or AC Transit bus to Napa Valley. Vine Transit offers direct service from the El Cerrito del Norte BART station to Napa. Be mindful that public transit could take three hours or more to get there.
You could pre-book a shuttle service, I suggest this one. This is the company that I typically use. Lastly, there is Uber and Lyft available in the Bay Area. However, I do not recommend it to get to Napa Valley from the airport.
4. JetSuiteX – Oakland or Concord
🍷 The JSX Oakland distance from downtown Napa: is 51 miles, and the travel time is approximately a 1-hour drive to Napa Valley without traffic.
🍷 The JSX Concord distance from downtown Napa: is 35 miles, and the travel time is approximately a 40-minute drive to Napa Valley without traffic.
Many people traveling to Napa Valley do not know that JetSuiteX is also available and could be a convenient option when flying into the Bay Area. We have flown with JetSuiteX in the past, and during peak travel season have even found tickets cheaper than flying basic economy.
Enjoy the luxury of flying with JetSuiteX from their private terminal near Oakland International Airport or lounge at Buchanan Field in Concord.
JSX is a hop-on jet service that provides lavish flights at an affordable price. Also, a massive perk of flying with JSX is you only need to arrive 20 minutes before your flight. You avoid the hassle of crowds and lines from the airport.
✈️ JSX Flys From the Following Destinations:
Austin, Burbank, Concord, Dallas-Love Field, Houston-Hobby, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Monterey/Carmel, Oakland, Orange County, Phoenix, Reno/Tahoe, and San Diego
🚙 Car Rental:
Car Rentals are partnered with JSX and can be available on arrival at Oakland with a prior reservation and are onsite at the Concord location.
Other forms of transportation: Pre-book a private shuttle or request a shared car.
Other Airports Close to Napa Valley
5. Sacramento International Airport
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 63 miles, travel time is approximately a 1 hour and 20-minute drive without traffic.
Don’t overlook Sacramento International Airport, it is a lot closer to Napa Valley than you may expect. It is about the same driving time as San Francisco and Oakland International Airport. It’s also a less busy airport and a great alternative to avoid the traffic at SFO.
The Sacramento International Airport services 12 airlines that offer nonstop and direct flights throughout the US and connecting flights around the world. Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier, followed by American, Delta, and United.
🚙 Car Rental: The car rental center is located on the airport’s property. A shuttle to the car rental is provided at each terminal, and pick-ups are every 10 minutes.
How to Get From Sacramento International Airport to Napa Valley
If you decide to rent a car, from the airport you will take Interstate 5 South to Interstate 80 West towards San Francisco. Then, take the CA-12 West exit toward Napa/Sonoma. Follow CA-12 West to Napa Valley.
There are also numerous shuttle or private car services that you can book advance. They will wait for you outside the airport and personally drive you to Napa Valley.
Public transit does not offer a direct route to Napa Valley, but you can use a combination of public transportation options to get to Napa Valley.
You can take the Yolobus Route 42A from the airport to Downtown Sacramento. From there, take the Capitol Corridor train to the Martinez Amtrak station. Finally, take the Vine Transit bus from the Martinez Amtrak station to Napa Valley.
Uber and Lyft are also available, but I do not recommend relying on a shared car to get to Napa Valley.
6. San Jose International Airport
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 85 miles, travel time is approximately a 2-hour drive without traffic.
Another airport you can fly to in the San Francisco Bay Area is San Jose International Airport. The San Jose Airport is the farthest airport from Napa Valley. However, it is still in a reasonable location for you to drive from. Also the airport offers many nonstop flights from various destinations.
Ten airlines are serviced from San Jose International Airport. The dominant carrier is Southwest Airlines, with Alaska Airlines as the second largest.
🚙 Car Rental: There is a car rental center located at the airport that offers 12 different companies. The Rental Car Center is located directly across from Terminal B, or there is a shuttle you can take from Terminal A.
How to Get From San Jose International Airport to Napa Valley
You can also get to Napa Valley from San Jose International Airport by train, bus, and shuttle service.
There is an Amtrak only 10 minutes away from the airport. It is about a 3 hour and 15-minute train ride from Santa Clara to downtown Napa.
7. Napa County Airport
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 9 miles, the travel time is approximately a 15 minute drive from Napa County Airport.
Napa County Airport is the “Skyport to the Wine Country” and the closest airport to the Napa Valley wineries. Only a 15-minute drive to downtown Napa, you can be off the plane and wine tasting at one of the many wineries in minutes. Almost too good to be true, but can you fly into Napa County Airport?
Yes, you can fly into Napa County Airport, but it is going to cost you. This airport only services charter flights and private aircraft. They do not allow commercial airlines in or out of Napa County Airport. You can fly directly to this airport if you have chartered a plane or pilot your own aircraft.
Another con from flying into Napa Valley Airport would be they do not have any car rental agencies available at the airport. So you would need to request a shared car or book a private transfer to your hotel.
✈️ What Airlines Fly to Napa County Airport: Since Napa County Airport is a small public airport that does not allow commercial airlines, you can consider charter options such as: Atlantic Aviation, Surf Air, Hopscotch Air, & Linear Air Taxi
🚙 Car Rental: There are no car rentals available at Napa County Airport. You can easily reserve a private transfer to have a car waiting for you. Or book an Uber or Lyft after you land.
8. Buchanan Field Airport
🍷 Distance from downtown Napa: 35 miles, travel time is approximately a 40 minute drive to Napa Valley, without traffic
After Napa County Airport, Buchanan Field Airport is the closest airport to the Napa Valley Wineries. Similar to Napa’s Airport, Buchanan only services charter flights and private aircraft. There is no commercial airline service into or out of the Buchanan Field Airport.
However, the main difference between Napa County Airport and Buchanan Field Airport is that JSX flies to Buchanan. So you can fly luxury at an affordable price and be under an hour’s drive away from the Napa Valley wineries.
✈️ What airlines fly to Buchanan Field Airport: JSX, Linear Air Taxi, and other chartered air crafts
🚙 Car rental: A car rental center is located onsite at the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord.
Other forms of transportation: Pre-book a private shuttle or request a shared car.
Wine Tasting Tour From San Francisco
This is the best option of tours from San Francisco to Napa Valley if you don’t have a lot of travel time and are planning on only spending a day in Napa.
Private Wine Tour from San Francisco to Napa and Sonoma
RATING: ⭐ 4.5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Tour Length: 8 hours | BOOK NOW
Booking a wine tour is like having your own personal designated driver. What I love about this tour is that you can customize your own wine tasting itinerary. They give a list of multiple fantastic wineries to choose from and you can plan to visit up to 5 wineries.
Also included, is a bottle of wine and a cruise along the Golden Gate Bridge for a photo op. I suggest this tour for larger groups, they can accommodate up to 7 people. This price does not include your actual wine tastings.
“This was an excellent experience for us Kyle our driver was the absolute BEST!! So helpful!! Highly recommend this they helped us with picking the wineries and schedules! Great choice! Thank you for everything!” – Rebecca H. (read more reviews)
🍷 You can book and find all of the details on this tour here
In Conclusion: Closest Airport to Napa Valley Wineries
As you now know, there are multiple different ways to get to Napa Valley. And that the closest airport to the Napa Valley wineries may not be the best option for you. Getting to Napa Valley requires a little extra planning, but once you arrive it is so worth it!
Related Posts: Napa Valley
Planning
- First Time to Napa Valley: Ultimate Guide + Tips
- Day Trip to Napa Valley, CA
- How Many Wineries Can You Visit in a Day in Napa Valley
- How Many Days Do You Need in Napa Valley?
Tours
Transportation
- Is There Uber in Napa: How to Get Around Napa Valley
- Closest Airport to Napa Valley Wineries & Top Tips for Getting There
Time of Year
- Napa Valley in October: Things to Do, What to Pack, & Events
- Napa Valley in November: Things to Do, What to Pack, & Events
