Travel + Leisure lists Sonoma County as one of 50 best places to travel in 2024! They cite our dreamy coast, renowned restaurants and extensive wine heritage as just a few reasons to include our NorCal county in your 2024 travel plans. You can read the full article on the Travel + Leisure website, but here’s what they had to say about our very own Sonoma County:
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/TAL-NEW-logo-banner-WTG24-41f2cba00d904783ba41785016f77040.jpg){kind=logo}
Well, you knew it was coming. This year, more than 20 Travel + Leisure staffers weighed in to create this hand-picked list of the places that thoughtful, curious travelers should consider in 2024.
These are the destinations that have captured our imaginations, the spots where T+L editors want to spend their own time in the year ahead. Among the picks are Canada’s Métis Crossing, which headlined our October 2023 issue; Istanbul, for which our editor in chief makes a compelling case; and Paris, because there’s a little thing called Les Jeux Olympiques coming up.
Other, lesser-known places are on the rise. Consider the small towns of Sonoma County, where new businesses are doing big things; a remote corner of Australia, where expedition ships are the way in; a Himalayan hideaway where visitors are left breathless and not just because of the altitude.
We hope this list inspires you to see the world in a new way in the coming year. We’ll see you out there.
For the Food and Drinks
Sonoma County, California
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/TAL-dawn-ranch-sonoma-county-california-fd-WTG24-a8c7138d9f7146c2ab15fabcdb48a1e3.jpg)
More than double the size of Napa, Sonoma might offer twice as much to do. It’s not just about the wine — though with the addition of a new American Viticultural Area (AVA) called West Sonoma Coast last year, Sonoma County now has 19 AVAs slinging chardonnay, pinot noir, and zinfandel at established wineries, such as Flowers and Scribe, and new ones, including Vérité Wines. There’s also a long coastline to explore, from Bodega Bay up to Sea Ranch, where the dreamy, cliff-top Sea Ranch Lodge is newly renovated. Inland, the opening of Dawn Ranch shines a spotlight on Guerneville, a crunchy town along the Russian River known for its LGBTQ+ scene and proximity to the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. Tear yourself from the 22-acre haven, with tree house–like cabins, creekside glamping tents, and alfresco redwood tubs at the idyllic spa, to bike into town where the reimagined Piknik Market serves one of Oprah’s favorite biscuits. The changes coming to Sonoma County in 2024 are largely shaped by the area’s most famous chefs: in Healdsburg, California, Noma alum Stu Stalker debuted the plant-based restaurant Second Story, above Little Saint and down the street from Michelin three-starred SingleThread and chef Dustin Valette’s The Matheson. Restaurant powerhouse Charlie Palmer plans to launch his hotel brand, Appellation, in Healdsburg by the end of next year.