What You Need to Know: Getting to Walla Walla Wine Country & Walla Walla Wine Tours
Tucked down in the southeastern corner of Washington, Walla Walls is a 4½-hour drive from Seattle and equally far from Portland, Oregon. To be honest, it’s not a convenient place to get to from just about anywhere. While Walla Walla does have its own airport, most flights are coming in and out of Seattle (a 45-minute flight), which helps BUT not always. I found it much easier, cheaper, and faster to fly into Tri-Cities (airport PSC) and then drive an hour into Walla Walla.
It literally would have taken me seven hours to fly into Walla Walla from Denver, instead it took me less than four hours to fly into Tri-Cities and drive into Walla Walla. I’m all about saving time when I only have a few days to explore.
The one caveat to doing this is that there are not an abundance of Uber or Lyft drivers, and driving services are pretty limited as well. You will be more likely to be able to grab an Uber or Lyft from Tri-Cities into Walla Walla, but don’t count on being able to use either service when you’re in Walla Walla. The number of drivers in the Valley is slim, to say the least. With that said, you will either need to rent a car (and have a DD for wine tasting) or hire a service. I always opt for the latter because it’s just not worth risking it.
When it comes to Walla Walla wine tour drivers and services, there aren’t a lot of options so make sure to book yours early. On my trip to Walla Walla I had a miscommunication with one service that left me driverless two days before getting into town. Talk about scrambling!!!
There are not a lot of Walla Walla wine tour drivers and services, so book yours early.
James over at Main Street Drivers was able to help save me from an ensuing panic attack by pairing me up with one of his drivers. Note, Main Street Drivers typically only offers the “Your Car + Our Driver” concept but James was able to set me up with Will, who offered to take us in his car.
For those of you who will be driving into Walla Walla or have a rental Main Street Drivers IS THE WAY TO GO! The price point is at least 50 percent less than what you pay other Walla Walla wine tour drivers AND the guys driving know the area, can set up your tour and make recommendations on the fly. Everything you want in a wine tour, but in your car and for a lot less money.
On a side note, Will – who drove us around all weekend – also does Walla Walla wine tours through Walla Walla Localites, and offers the same price point as Main Street Drivers. If you don’t have a car for Main Street Drivers, give him a ring. He’s a wealth of local information and connections. (You will need to call him to set things up – 509.629.2244.)
A few other wine tour services in Walla Walla that were booked during my visit but were extremely professional in helping direct me to others who might be able to help include the following. (They also rank well on Trip Advisor and Google Reviews and I saw them out and about during my visits.) Check them out if Main Street Drivers or Walla Walla Localites don’t work out.
Black Tie Wine Tours | d’Vine Wine Tour | imbibe winetour