Napa Valley Wine Train Review

Food, wine, and perfect service. What more you need

Overall it was a really disappointing experience.

When I called the Napa Wine Train to make a reservation the guy I spoke to recommended the Napa's First Wine Tour and talked me out of picking a different option. We arrived to get on the train and instead they put us on a bus where we sat for 25 minutes. Raymond Winery was great, I've been there before, but it seemed like they were dragging the tour out to fill up the hour tasting that they promised. We then got on the same bus and drove another 15 minutes to the train where we had a decent lunch and headed back to the station.

I was really unhappy with the fact that I paid $180 a person to ride a train and taste wine, and instead we spent half the time on a bus which neither the person I talked to nor the website said anything about. I felt like the guy who sold me on that tour conned me because they wanted to fill up all the tours. I definitely would not recommend the wine train, you can get a lot more for your money going wine tasting on your own. The only reason I gave it two stars is because the lady who guided us on the bus and winery was really nice and entertaining.

Food was tasty as long as you dont mind luke warm soup and, meat and coffee. Overall it was not awful just for the price its not worth it. A pretty route and a tour of the vineyard was cool but easily can be done in a car for 90% less than you pay here.

It was okay - check in the block.... Would not do it again.

We did the "murder mystery" train on our 2017 vacation. Wonderful, fun experience.

Great day on the legacy tour! Food on board was amazing! Mondavi, Krug and V. Sattui vineyards were great! A must do in Napa.

Did the quattro legends tour in mid-oct and it was super. The train is fabulous, and it was very cool to stop right at the wineries! The views were magnificant...the food was excellent, and the staff were all helpful and friendly. As others have commented, it is pricey, but the quality of the restored train and the exemplary service were worth it!

We also took advantage of the transfers from san fransisco. That went very smoothly and the directions provided for the ports on either side of the bay were perfect. The only small complaint... more like a suggestion...is that more direction is provided once you get off the transfer bus at the station to find your way to the appropriate train. Apparently our transfer was running late and our train was waiting....but we didn't know that until they shooed us to the train. Clear signage or staff meeting the shuttle would have helped.

Horrible experience. Never again. Waste of money.

Loved everything! Can't wait to ride again. Perfect for a date, or with family...an experience to remember and talk about with your friends for years to come. Try it, love it.

Very boring. Food was good but really not worth the amount we paid. I let them know on my reservation that it was out anniversary and they never acknowledged it. Save your money and go to a winery.

The view is wine valley California better than orient express seeing Malaysia, Thai farm land or pollution. Not quite a view compare to California. Orient express is more of historical brand but it was India wilderness scenery. That is long gone if you take train from Malaysia. It is not the right scene anymore.

Great food, great wine, moving scenery... Beautiful

Pricey but worth it! The train cars are each different and the wood work and glass work are amazing! They have a full kitchen on the train and all the food is fresh and so good! Then going to the wineries is an amazing experience on its own. This is a must do if you are in Napa!

What a fabulous experience! We took this trip to celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary, and what a memorable day it turned out to be!

Food was amazing, service was great and it was just the right amount of time sightseeing.

Don't go.. just because it is listed in places to see.. literally whole to your pocket.. price starts at 299 per person

I would gladly spend the money again. Everything was absolutely awesome. Make sure to book private seating though. Otherwise you are going to sit across from strangers.

The winner train is amazing. I highly recommend the Vista Dome car. Great food, great wine, great views!

The ride up to the end was smooth and fun and we ate on the other side of the track on the way back. My food was wonderful and I highly recommend it!

Very worthwhile Napa Valley Winery Wine Tasting Tour
Have wine and introduction
Special guide
Finally, you will be sent to the train to enjoy the meal.
The fee includes fare, guided tours, wine tasting, tickets, meals, and no tips.

Best for an afternoon trip out and back. It s a long ride, you ll probably appreciate the distraction of having a meal, although the quality is debatable: points for making complex dishes on a train, but there s a certain degree of commoditization to making meals on a train.

I just only chased the train in October 2018 but never drink wine and never will.

Can't recommend this enough. Did the legacy day tour and was the most memorable experience of Napa valley. Great tours of the Wineries and an amazing service from the train staff. A must if this is your first visit to Napa.

A great experience for food and wine in a truly luxurious setting

Always a fine dining experience whether for lunch or dinner. Depending on the time of year, daylight and the observation car dining may not meet your sightseeing experience, however, with family and friends that shouldn't matter. I have never been disappointed either for dining out with family and friends, but also as a gift! Well worth the time to check this out!

By far the BEST way to visit wineries in the valley. They pick you up at your hotel in return you there safely after the tour

We rode this dinner train 18 years ago and our expectations were exceeded. The dome car was a great experience and the food and service was really top rate.

Used a certificate from Costco. Seems touristy, but it was a cool experience. Worth.

If you are going to Napa, this is an experience not to be missed. Try a winery tour or the Vista Dome.

My spouse and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Vista Dome car on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Our server, Gerald was excellent. We highly recommend the Vista Dome experience.

This experience was great! The food was amazing and they don t skimp on the wine portions at the wineries either. The only thing I would prefer is more of a tour of the wineries themselves instead of sipping in one spot. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

The hop train is a fantastic experience! We all had a great time! The appetizers were delicious. Highly recommended for sure. I will absolutely be sending guests to enjoy this experience.

Delicious wines and such a picturesque train ride!.

We had the dinner train which was nice but it was already dark so missed the scenery.

The food and staff were all very nice, so my review isn't a criticism of the people, but the outing itself. The one we booked was 3 hours on the train, traveling really, really, really slowly alongside the road where the cars and even bicyclists were going faster than we were. It felt like we traveled a distance that would take about 20 minutes in a car each way with a long stop at the turn-back point where we waited for guests to get off and catch a wine tour bus. Perhaps there are other train outings they offer where you hop off and on at wineries or go see a site that might be more fun, but to just sit on a train and go that slow alongside a road whose sights are part of the daily drive just didn't feel like anything special to me. In addition to not seeing anything more than the view from the road, we also crept by the back of many poorly maintained houses and stores which felt very awkward and almost as if we were gawking and invading their privacy from the comforts of our luxury vantage point. If I were giving a suggestion to the company, I would suggest not trying to make this into an expensive 3 hour tour because it is not worth what we paid to eat lunch and travel a few miles on a train. It either needs to go much further and see more actual "scenery", be a hop-on/hop-off tour that is a fun way to get around with live explanations of the area, or be much shorter, quicker and cheaper so it won't feel like too much money for what was received. I really believe this outing needs to be revamped but I appreciated the staff and feel they did their very best with what they were assigned to do.

Super fun day. Service was great. Food was surprisingly good. Don't be scared of the fish course. They did it well.

Amazing time this past weekend with friends. Will definitely be back next year.

Wow; very, very nice. Food and wine: excellent! ! Train staff: outstanding! ! Napa Valley, enough said.

A must have romantic experience aboard the Napa train...certainly exceeded our expectations!!! The food was phenomenal, the service extraordinary and the staff was really pampering. The Silverado car was the best car in the train, open windows to take in the breeze and only 1 party every 4 tables making it private, scenic and worth every penny spent. All the other cars were super crowded.
We were celebrating our 9th anniversary and the whole experience was enhanced by Susie and Lexie who took great care of us throughout the ride.
You can add winery tours to the lunch package if needed, but for us just the train + wine + lunch experience took us on cloud 9...perfect for our 9th anniversary celebration!!

Vintage train
Great wine
Great food

Amazing experience and the food was great. We had a a very relaxed and fun trip and will be returning.

We had a wonderful trip on the wine train, from the moment we stepped on the train through the end.

THIS TOUR IS A MUST! The wine train had the most attentive staff and you felt like you were on a first class trip through Napa Valley. Additionally, the train travels slowly so you are able to see both sides of the tracks and all the different wineries. The food was absolutely fantastic, the prime rib was made to order and some of the best prime rib I have ever had! Tasha, at the dessert car, was super helpful in explaining to us the different wineries and what to expect when we got there. Once we arrived at the train station, a brand new luxury bus took us to our wineries. Pam was our tour guide that day and she was extremely kind, offering to help us take pictures and explaining the scenery as we drove through. Each winery had such a personalized tour and wine tasting. I recommend this tour to everyone, well worth the upgrade to Ambassador class.

It's was a field trips for us there! First time and it was nice and slow ride it's worth it.

Loved it the scenery was beautiful lunch also great.worth doing

My wife and I rode the train this past weekend. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect going in to it but was disappointed to realize the train essentially parallels the main highway. Up the road for 10-12 miles. Stop. Switch the engine to the other end and drive back on same path. The "sites" aren't really anything you can't see from driving your own vehicle. The allure comes from the Pullman cars used and the nostalgic atmosphere. The lunch meal was good but several issues marred the experience for us.

First of all, there was a mix up in scheduling. The train tried to blame our lodging that scheduled the trip, but the train staff are in fact to blame. Turns out there were two people with the same name on the train (this was their explanation). The "other" me called and tried to add a couple to their reservation and somehow in doing so, they cancelled my reservation. When we checked in, they reinstated the reservation after some confusion on their part.

Upon boarding, we were seated in one of the appetizer cars right next to the drink/bar station. The staff seemed overwhelmed and disjointed. One of the servers poured our "complimentary" glass of champagne (paid for in price of trip). The bottle ran out during my pour with literally an inch of liquid in the glass and the server said she would be back with more. She never returned. I assume she forgot because everyone was so busy, but she walked past our table at least 10 times getting everyone else's drinks. I let the glass sit hoping she would notice but she never returned. In fact, no one returned. None of the servers checked on us for 40 minutes. 40. Just before leaving the car for the dining car, one of them asked if we needed anything to drink. We figured water (which we hadn't even gotten at that point) was plenty challenging for them at that point. During those 40 minutes we got the listen to the bartender complain about the train's driver. "Who is driving today? Because they suck!" Direct quote. There were numerous other examples of distracting and detracting behavior.

Once we moved to the dining car it did get better but our impression had already been created. The food was good, the waiter good, but we really just wanted to get back to the station and go exploring on our own at that point. We both agreed there is no reason to ever ride the train again even if the experience had been outstanding. Too touristy even for a tourist. Perhaps the dome car would be a better atmosphere but I can only comment on our particular trip.

Ok this was worth every penny!!!! The most romantic atmosphere! Definitely recommended to anyone. A one of a kind experience !

Took our granddaughter on the Santa Train and had a blast.A little pricey ,but we think it was worth it.

This was such a nice experience. Beautiful views, delicious gourmet food and excellent, friendly service on the Napa Wine Train.

Oh what fun!! Awe inspiring experience. Great ride !!

Its a train. It moves. It has drinkable wine thats marked up a tad too much. Its a train

Wasn t expecting much for the meals served on the train though actually were pretty good. The tour itself I found it very satisfying. The train is super classic as well!

Fantastic ride with delicious food! Highly recommend!

I was so much to see Napa Valley from a different perspective and the the winery tours and tastings were amazing!

Traditional train with elegant decorations. The entire process was smooth from check in to dessert. I was celebrating an anniversary and all those who helped us made it a point to congratulate us. They allow you to bring on your own bottle of wine for a $15 charge or they have a full service bar on board. Each person has a choice of a variety of entrees all included in the price. Both of ours, including dessert were great. Overall a wonderful first trip to Napa.

Very nice experience for the first time, I would go again, food was nice.

We had an awesome time - the Estate Tour was great and train experience was so fun.

I was actually surprised at how good the food was and loved the wineries and the experience provided at each. The staff was the best and most friendly group of people we could have asked for as well. We had a great time with Miguel our host, our hostess, and the great chef!

Amazing ride and fabulous food and wine. The staff are excellent! A definite must do if you are in Napa.

By far... The ABSOLUTELY BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!
My husband and I did the Lunch experience, and we loved loved loved it!!!
The food was beyond amazing! Absolutely exquisite!
The staff was very attentive and very nice!
Scenery was gorgeous, of course!
Would definitely recommend this place to anyone I know, and will definitely visit again.

The Wine Train experience was top notch and one we will never forget. We really enjoyed the Legacy tour and learning the history of the first winemakers in Napa valley. They all offered fantastic wine tasting experiences.

Fantastic way to see the Napa Valley in a first class retro train! Comments to the chef!

It was a great experience. The staff was very professional and friendly, and the food was great.

The Napa Valley Wine Tasting Train can taste the famous Napa red wine and the desserts on the train while enjoying the exquisite western food made by the Michelin-starred chef. While enjoying the beautiful scenery of the vineyard outside the car, you will feel refreshed and return for about three hours. A good place to relax and unwind, take some quality wines and go home slowly.

Although pricey, we did the 6 hour tour. The food on the train was better than expected, and the tours of the wineries were on point! So interesting finding out the history of wines and those particular wineries!

If you have never been to Napa area, then it's with checking out. Good food and a decent wine selection for a nice afternoon.

Pretty cool train ride up to St. Helena. Beef was so-so. No balsamic vinegar and olive oil for bread? C'mon this is a must option! As for the dessert... Not enough to say mmmm it compliments the wine and ends the date as a conversation piece.

Exceptional service dining car was beautiful! Very relaxing very enjoyable! Definitely splurge for the "legacy tour" is a must !

Train was late, feel bad for the workers, but perfect weather and great atmosphere.

Lovely luncheon day trip on the wine train. The food and wine was just delish!!

Vista Dome Train Car experience was very nice and as expected from website advertisements. The Vista Dome Car is beautifully designed. Everyone has a spectacular view of the Napa Valley.
Our wait staff was very friendly and accommodating to our requests.
It's a pleasant change from a traditional restaurant dining experience and one that my guest and I enjoyed.
The only con is that it travels through an industrial section of Napa before you get to see the expected wineries and those vistas are dissatisfying to start the scenic adventure. Additionally the aisles and passageways are very narrow. Overall an experience worth repeating.

Not so good. We had to seat with another couple. Nothing romantic kkkk. They had very poor wine options. The lunch was a rush.

Murder mystery: waste of $300

The only mystery is why one of my friends would want to do this. I took an afternoon tour 7 years ago and did not enjoy my time. Warned friends there are better things we could do. Nevertheless, they wanted to come.

Pros:
- The servers were efficient
- Getting off the train to end the evening

Cons:
- The meal itself should cost at most $60.
- Actors for the murder mystery were bad. They kept reading lines and it felt like the story didn't flow.
- Only 1 glass of wine was included.
- $250 on their site and $300 after taxes. This should be at MOST $150.
- 10 mins into the ride I realized we made a huge mistake.
- Some of the guests are brought into the show as characters which should be awesome. It was just awkward.

Save your time and money. Skip this event.