Origin/Destination is Atlanta.

I'm over 25, so renting a car will be no problem. My initial thoughts were to fly into SFO, fly to PDX, and from there rent a car and drive up through Seattle and Vancouver, flying back from Vancouver.

It's a bit of number crunching based on which days I'm flying out, how long I rent the car for, and where I'm picking up the car. I've also looked at Amtrak rates and I think they're fairly reasonable.

Money isn't really a problem, but if I can make a significant savings, I'd like to do so. I think our majority of transportation in San Francisco will be walking/taxi/Uber.

I want to fly from SF to PDX simply to save time. 10 hour car ride vs. 1hr 45min plane ride. I'll take the latter.

However, we'd really like to get out to Sonoma Valley to see Russian River Brewery and some of the vineyards for a day or two. It's about a 45 min-1hr drive, so would a car be necessary for that, or is there also a train to get us there?

I feel Portland is where I'd want a car, as we may make a side trip to Hood River or many of the mountain hiking trails nearby. We may also make a detour to the Bridge of the Gods and such on our way up to WA.

I was planning on taking the rental car all the way up through Vancouver, but I have no idea what the layout is like, how public transportation is, or how walkable things are. If I can drop off the rental in Seattle, take a $40 Amtrak to Vancouver, and be okay navigating from there, I'd consider that a pretty big money saver.

This will likely be a 13-15 day trip, with 2, 3, or 4 days at each location. The difference in having a rental car for 2 days vs. 6 is pretty massive, so I want to make sure I'm being smart with my planes, trains, and automobiles.