Prior to visiting the West Coast, I was in full on planning mode when I came across the Napa Valley Wine Train. As luck would have it, the Wine Train was in the midst of hosting an Instagram scavenger hunt, a contest in which the winners would receive complimentary tickets for a ride through wine country.

I eagerly jumped into the game, shamelessly flooding my (ever so supportive!) Instagram followers with photos they showed their love for, powering me to the top of a list of competitors all the way through to the end. Since this trip was as budget friendly as possible (we used airline miles to get there and back, and saved loads of money using Airbnb and camping) the Wine Train was a perk that definitely wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

The Wine Train staff was pleasant to deal with, and servers on board were knowledgeable about both what we were drinking and what we were passing by. If you’re in the area, this is a great way to spend an afternoon exploring wine country without devoting days to it. If you’re visiting around a certain holiday or for a special be sure to let them know in advance. They have a series of special holiday events, and we visited on my birthday, which they celebrated with a gift of “Wine Train” chocolates.

This ended up being the perfect transition from the first portion of our trip (San Francisco) into the next leg (the trip up the coast). After the Wine Train we stopped at Russian River Brewing Company, followed by a series of winding roads, through vineyards and mountains and eventually darkness, as we made our way toward the coast.