We took the train/bus up from San Diego (a 6.5 hour trek), and stayed from Friday night to Sunday afternoon (June 29-July 2). The town is great and although we didn't have a car to get around, we were able to see a lot as the town is rather small and there is a lot within walking distance from the place we stayed (Best Western King Freidrick). The bus stop was also central and on the same block as King Friedrick, which made it nice.

Just walking around the unique town is fun and we got a good feel of the livliness of the town from the central park on Mission Road. Panino offered really good food and a nice courtyard area to eat. We held off on dinner a little late Saturday and the only place open really was the Meadows, which was great. Service and food and live music. We went to two tasting rooms- Presidio, which had a great atmosphere, but was too busy for its own good and Alisal Cellars. Alisal had a very nice ambiance and was a bit more spacious. The wine pourer was very knowledgable and helpful with recommendations in and around Solvang. I strongly recommend Alisal Cellars!

If you're into exercise, I can recommend a jog around the Northwest part of town and in the Hans Cristian Andersen park, which is beautiful. There is a decent trail and nice picnic areas.

We went to Paula's Pancake House for breakfast and it was yummy! Good service there too.

Great all-around weekend getaway!

My wife and I have travelled extensively in all the wine areas from Washington, Oregon, and California. This was the about last area we had yet to visit.

What a disappointment!!!

The good: Tasting rooms are clustered in Solvang and Los Olivos, making getting to different tastings easy. Some of the wineries had very good wine. The wineries not clustered in Solvang and Los Olivos were overall the most enjoyable; make sure you go to these! The Los Olivos Grocery - awesome!!!!!

The bad: The tasting rooms in Solvang and Los Olivos has no bathrooms!! You were expected to go in dirty public bathrooms or port-a-potties. There was no place to wash your hands in the port-a-potties. Outrageous, unsanitary, and absolutely classless. I thought this would be illegal. I would rather go in the woods and my wife will absolutely not use that kind of facility. The wineries expected to sell 30 to 80 dollar bottles of wine but could not provide a clean restroom. I asked where the tasting room employees go and they do not use the port-a-potties but we had to. I cannot emphasize how ... I just can't express how bad this was.

The tasting room protocol was to sell you glasses good for a limited number of tasting. This area and Temecula are the only areas that I know of that are mostly this way. Needless to say we have more unneeded wine glasses then one can imagine. I would much rather pay a fee for tasting and get the fee refunded upon purchase as is the typical case in many other wineries. Of course there still is a plethora of wineries that tasting is complimentary in other regions.

Now for the wines. Oh my gosh, there is precious little value here. I tasted a number of $30 dollar pinot noir's that would pass for jug table wine in Sonoma or the Anderson Valley. If you trying to duplicate the search for the perfect pinot noir, I think you will have better luck elsewhere. That being said, we did find a number of very fine wines. There are some diamonds in the rough.

If you can't make it to Northern California, Oregon, or Washington, I would highly recommend drive a little further north on 101 to Latitea winery, the Edna valley wineries, and Paso Robles. Much less hype, better wine values, less expensive motels, and bathrooms!!!

Needless to say, we will not return, except maybe a stop at the Los Olivos grocery, which is the first time we have felt this way about any wine tasting region.

Definitely visit Solvang {and take a ride through the Santa Ynez Valley}. Grab a map at the visitor's center and you can easily stroll the streets. The only hard part was trying not to buy goodies at each bakery.