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I am considering going to Healdsburg this year. It will be my first.

I will be flying from the Southeast. Do most people fly into San Francisco and drive up to Santa Rosa? If so how long is the drive? I noticed there is an airport in Santa Rosa but nothing seem to get there easily.

thanks
Richard

Hi Richard, we're going this year, and it will be our first year to attend. So...my info is second hand. (So far.)
Our plan is to fly into SF, and drive up. Should take a couple of hours. The plus side is that you get to drive over the Golden Gate bridge.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Hello Richard,
There is an airport in Santa Rosa with connections to SFO or Oakland (OAK) but it's a small bumpy expensive commuter connection. There is a bus service from either airport to Santa Rosa for about $30 each way but then you are stuck with trying to get around Santa Rosa and the festival is between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. I would suggest that you rent a car at the airport and then you'll have it for wherever you want to go. It's a little over an hour drive to Santa Rosa from either airport, if it's not rush hour. Southwest flies into Oakland which is less busy and usually has lower fares. Have a good trip.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Took me three hours to get from SFO to Santa Rosa in 2007. That was mainly due to construction.
Its an hour just to get through San Fran from the airport to the bridge if you dont know your way and are doing it with out a GPS and have never done it before

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Lance is right. There's no easy or quick way through the city. If there is no construction and you don't hit commute traffic, it's not so bad. Once through the city, it's about half an hour/40 min to Santa Rosa depending on traffic.

Wow! They must have really sent you on a wild goose chase. The main freeway (US 101) runs right by SFO and it is the road that crosses the GGB.

Mike, not all freeways are created equal and thru the city of SF, 101 is not quite a freeway anyway unless your used to trafic lights on the freeway. Fortunately I get to avoid the city when I go to HB.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Yeah, somehow I ended up going through town. It was me. I was just lost. But that said, I think its easy to get lost in a big city. I guess my point would be to plan on it taking long than expected.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

By the way, the idea of flying into Oakland is a good one. It is far less crowded and complicated. You also, can avoid the city altogether. You would take the Richmond bridge across -much easier!

Just don't slow down in Richmond.

I drove down to Healdburg (about 3 hours) and thought I'd just get a hotel room. There were none left. Or in the next town. Or the next. I ended up in Fairfield. This time I'll either plan it as a one day trip or get a room in advance.

Darrin

The trip from Oakland is easier than the one from San Jose IMO. We've flown into both Oakland and San Jose, just depends on which airfare is less at the time for us. This year we've booked a non-stop flight Austin to San Jose on American for $99 each way non-stop. Pretty good deal.

We're looking forward to maybe an OLF getogether. Are there any formal plans for one?

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

We have tried most available airports and we prefer Sacremento. Its still a two hour drive but at least you are MOVING at 65 MPH instead of the 2 - 3 hour wacked out stop and go commute from Oakland or SF.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

As a local, I too would recommend OAK (assuming the same cost of flight). To the person who said the 101 is a freeway that goes all the way there, you don't know San Francisco very well. When the 101 hits the city it becomes just becomes surface streets (Van Ness, Lombard, etc.) If you are even near afternoon rush hour, this can be a very slow commute. Morning, heading North is not so bad.

Healdsberg, like the Marin peninsula that separates it from SF, has become a very upscale bedroom community. Cheap is not in their vocabulary. Nor can you find cheap nearby, as all you end up with is Calistoga, Napa, and the epitome of over priced swank.

To find a place that is not about "wine country tours" you have to go about an hour east of Santa Rosa to either Vallejo or Fairfield. These are both working class towns with zero pretension. If you have a car, the drive west on 37 and north on 101 is actually nice. You are not going to find anything but serviceable motels in either town, so don't expect a B&B. For that you have all of Sonoma and Napa.

Vallejo is a rough town, but has the advantage of the Six Flags amusement park for the non-luthiers in your family, is minutes from Napa wine country, and there is ferry service to Downtown San Francisco. There are a couple of clean motels near the amusement park. It is also about half way between OAK airport and Santa Rosa.

I hope that helps!

This sounds like the way I went. It was heavy traffic and I recall Lombard being very hilly. Like crazy hilly!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I've been twice and might get to go this year. Both times I flew into Sacramento and it's a nice peaceful drive through gorgeous countryside. I'll go the same way again.

Oakland is definitely the preferred airport. Take the Richmond bridge; do not drive through San Francisco. And as Tim said, consider Sacramento. It's further than SFO, but the drive time may well be less, and much less stressful. Try very hard not to be driving from SFO or OAK during rush hour (4-6 pm, sometimes longer). 101 has been widened through Santa Rosa, but there is still construction going on just north of "downtown" Santa Rosa. It may actually be done by festival time, but don't count on it. Traffic still is bad through Santa Rosa during rush hours.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I had the same trouble with hotel rooms in 2007 and tried to book 1 1/2 months in advance! There wasn't anything available. Surrounding areas are pricey to say the least. This year I booked a room two months ago. I would recommend booking now if you haven't already.

I also think an OLF gathering would be a good thing.

If you are looking for places to stay you might try a little further north in Geyserville (15 mi.) or Cloverdale (30 mi). Then you will skip the Santa Rosa traffic on your way to the Festival. Just Google Hotels Geyserville or Healdsburg and you should find something in the 150 range if you book soon.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

I've decided I'm going to take a make a little mini-family-vacation out of a trip to healdsburg this year.

I'll be traveling with my better half and a 13 year old boy. I think we are going to head down a few days early and just check out the area.

Having never been there, can anyone offer advice/suggestions on must-visit or fun attractions in the area?

Any tips would be appreciated,

Thanks...

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Jim Hansen

Numero uno recreational activity for our visitors is wine tasting. Many good wineries within a few miles of Healdsburg.

45 minute drive to the coast, where there are some great beaches.

About 25 minutes drive east of the festival is a place named Safari West, which is actually very good, and not tacky as you might think. For a family kind of thing.

Armstrong Woods state redwood park near Guerneville, about a 30 minute drive west.

Hey, there's a kinda cool city just over an hour south if you go the right time of day. Cross a famous bridge to get there.

Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, about a 50 minute drive.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Jim, there's a long and very informative thread in the "Off Topic Discussion" section that will more than answer your question. Lance posted the question.

Thanks for pointing that out Randolph,

I don't spend much time in that forum and didn't realize it was there.

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Jim Hansen

If any of you headed to Healdsburg are wine lovers, I recommend the Jordan Winery tour. It used to be free. I lived in the bay area 2000-2002 and I went on the tour and loved it.

http://www.jordanwinery.com/about/

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