Portland and Oregon Coast questions
Jul 29th, 2006, 08:27 AM
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Portland and Oregon Coast questions
Hello! I usually post on the Europe board but I am planning a one week trip to Oregon in early September and would appreciate any help/suggestions. I will be traveling solo, I would rather not rent a car because I want to be able to see the sights instead of concentrating on the roads. Has anyone taken a train or bus from Portland to towns along the coast? I have been to Cannon Beach which I loved. Tempted to go there again but would like to see another not so touristy town with a beautiful coastline. Suggestions on budget friendly hotels? Also, is two days enough to explore Portland? I live in land-locked Colorado so want to spend as much time by the coast as possible. Sorry for all the questions but I appreciate any help/advice. Thank you in advance!
Jul 29th, 2006, 08:36 AM
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Two full days would be fine for seeing the city. I would highly recommend renting a car though for the rest of the trip. You mention the coast...you definitely need a car for that. I don't know if you have considered this or not, but the Columbia River Gorge is beautiful, and is very close to Portland. Only about 20-30 minutes out. Beautiful waterfalls, great hiking, view of the Columbia. It would be a great day trip from town.
Jul 29th, 2006, 08:55 AM
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Hi
I will just repeat everything mms said lol.
You can rent a car here pretty cheaply, they deliver them to the hotels and you can get one for a day or two, allowign you to see the beach and the Gorge. Both are day trips. Cannon Beach is 90 min from town, the waterfalls, Historic Hwy is about 30 min from town. ( see I am repeating lol)
Budget friendly hotels..
MarkSpencer, close to the Pearl, on the streetcar line, www.markspencer.com
Inn@Northrup Station www.northrupstation.com has a fridge etc..I think so does the MarkSpencer..they are in the NW near NW 23rd, an area you will want to go to..
2 days will be a tease, you might want to see everything here first, and see if there is time to go outside of the city..if you really must see the Beaches, I guess a day in town and a day there would do it.
I will just repeat everything mms said lol.
You can rent a car here pretty cheaply, they deliver them to the hotels and you can get one for a day or two, allowign you to see the beach and the Gorge. Both are day trips. Cannon Beach is 90 min from town, the waterfalls, Historic Hwy is about 30 min from town. ( see I am repeating lol)
Budget friendly hotels..
MarkSpencer, close to the Pearl, on the streetcar line, www.markspencer.com
Inn@Northrup Station www.northrupstation.com has a fridge etc..I think so does the MarkSpencer..they are in the NW near NW 23rd, an area you will want to go to..
2 days will be a tease, you might want to see everything here first, and see if there is time to go outside of the city..if you really must see the Beaches, I guess a day in town and a day there would do it.
Jul 29th, 2006, 09:32 AM
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Ditto the comments above about the Gorge and the Coast - rent a car. I would also add that I like the AAA Oregon Coast tour map, which is free if you are an AAA member.
For budget hotels, Priceline.com offers incredible deals for downtown Portland. I've used Priceline in Europe as well as the US, and with the help of sites like BiddingForTravel you can figure out what hotels you are likely to get for about what price. In Portland, you can get a 4-star hotel usually for under $80/night; a 3-star for sometimes under $50/night. Without a car you don't even have to worry about the steep parking charges. I got the Hilton for about $45/night in Portland last summer for my parents - right in the heart of downtown Portland.
You can also visit POVA - www.pova.org - for some local hotel deals.
There are numerous posts about Portland and the coast here. Use the search function above to find them, and feel free to ask other specific questions!
Andrew
For budget hotels, Priceline.com offers incredible deals for downtown Portland. I've used Priceline in Europe as well as the US, and with the help of sites like BiddingForTravel you can figure out what hotels you are likely to get for about what price. In Portland, you can get a 4-star hotel usually for under $80/night; a 3-star for sometimes under $50/night. Without a car you don't even have to worry about the steep parking charges. I got the Hilton for about $45/night in Portland last summer for my parents - right in the heart of downtown Portland.
You can also visit POVA - www.pova.org - for some local hotel deals.
There are numerous posts about Portland and the coast here. Use the search function above to find them, and feel free to ask other specific questions!
Andrew
Jul 29th, 2006, 09:33 AM
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Oh, you could potentially use Amtrak to take a bus (not a train) from Portland to Cannon Beach or Seaside, but I don't think the times are so great. But you could get a great flavor of the coast simply staying in Cannon Beach and visting adjacent Ecola State Park without a car.
Andrew
Andrew
Jul 29th, 2006, 09:48 AM
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Just returned from a great Portland/Oregon Coast trip.
Stayed at the 5th Avenue Suites 2 days on arrival... the room was big it was not clean, carpets were worn and had a bathroom that smelled of wet dog no matter what housekeeping did. Customer service was very good tho.
For the almost 300. a night we would stay elsewhere and we did on our last night in Portland. We stayed at the centrally located downtown MArriott around corner from 5th Avenue Suites for a great bargain rate of $99.00...the MArriott even had a guest laundry for .50 cents a washload and .75 dryer load.
Can easily get on MAX Light rail Red Line from the airport to downtown..buy cheap ticket at kiosk baggage level and get off close to where you will be staying downtown. Wrked great for us..no problem with luggage.
If you stay centrally downtown you can walk downtown/Pearl District pretty eaily or take the streetcar free zone.
Wasn't alot on the Portland Riverfront..altho lots of construction with the promise of build up. You can take some dinner cruises, paddlewheel up the Columbia and a jetboat.
We had a car so we did MT Hood "fruit loop" with the waterfalls, fruit orchards and MT Hood Lodge. Took about 4 hours and we dawdled alot.
You can check with the Portland Visitors center by internet to find out about bus day tours to the wineries in the Willamette Valley. Again we had a car with air conditoning(thank goodness as it was over 100 degrees when we were there last week!!)so we customized our wine trip.
Unfortunately the Coast is hard to do without a car...
I would suggest one day in Portland, without a car (parking is atrocioaus 25 to 30 a night)then rent a car day of leaving for the coast you can either go back to airport on MAx Light Rail or AVIS has a downtown location close to MArriott 5th avenue Suites and go to the coast the rest of the time.
HAve more info on our stay dining etc if anyone interested.
Stayed at the 5th Avenue Suites 2 days on arrival... the room was big it was not clean, carpets were worn and had a bathroom that smelled of wet dog no matter what housekeeping did. Customer service was very good tho.
For the almost 300. a night we would stay elsewhere and we did on our last night in Portland. We stayed at the centrally located downtown MArriott around corner from 5th Avenue Suites for a great bargain rate of $99.00...the MArriott even had a guest laundry for .50 cents a washload and .75 dryer load.
Can easily get on MAX Light rail Red Line from the airport to downtown..buy cheap ticket at kiosk baggage level and get off close to where you will be staying downtown. Wrked great for us..no problem with luggage.
If you stay centrally downtown you can walk downtown/Pearl District pretty eaily or take the streetcar free zone.
Wasn't alot on the Portland Riverfront..altho lots of construction with the promise of build up. You can take some dinner cruises, paddlewheel up the Columbia and a jetboat.
We had a car so we did MT Hood "fruit loop" with the waterfalls, fruit orchards and MT Hood Lodge. Took about 4 hours and we dawdled alot.
You can check with the Portland Visitors center by internet to find out about bus day tours to the wineries in the Willamette Valley. Again we had a car with air conditoning(thank goodness as it was over 100 degrees when we were there last week!!)so we customized our wine trip.
Unfortunately the Coast is hard to do without a car...
I would suggest one day in Portland, without a car (parking is atrocioaus 25 to 30 a night)then rent a car day of leaving for the coast you can either go back to airport on MAx Light Rail or AVIS has a downtown location close to MArriott 5th avenue Suites and go to the coast the rest of the time.
HAve more info on our stay dining etc if anyone interested.
Jul 29th, 2006, 01:56 PM
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1JAR, you should have asked for a different room..that is really too bad!
The 5th Avenue Suites is about to undergo some renovations..they will stay a Kimpton Hotel but will be a Monaco Hotel..so things will be spiffed up a bit I guess.
The Riverfront is a mess with the parkway running in front of it, dug up. Construction here continues on Saturdays and early in the am..
The 5th Avenue Suites is about to undergo some renovations..they will stay a Kimpton Hotel but will be a Monaco Hotel..so things will be spiffed up a bit I guess.
The Riverfront is a mess with the parkway running in front of it, dug up. Construction here continues on Saturdays and early in the am..
Jul 29th, 2006, 02:02 PM
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"I have been to Cannon Beach which I loved. Tempted to go there again but would like to see another not so touristy town with a beautiful coastline."
The Oregon coast is filled with lovely small towns. Google Oceanside or Yachats - you might enjoy either or those.
The Oregon coast is filled with lovely small towns. Google Oceanside or Yachats - you might enjoy either or those.
Jul 29th, 2006, 08:44 PM
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Hi Scarlett,
Yes, we really were diaapponted with 5th avenue... did ask for a differretn room but they were full so made do...we had a great time tho at Powells', ate at Typhoon and don;t laugh...Whole Foods.....great salad bar, sandwiches and food for the road.
Best treat tho was the Saturday Farmers Market at PSU. Amazing!!!
I grew up in the PNW and am a foodie so the variety and the purveyors were a wonderful treat. Had hazelnut britle just like my Grandpa made..so many wonderful fresh herbs..chantrelle mushrooms..butter califlower..fortunately we were traveling on to places we could cook...
salmon, scallops, halibut cheeks.
Yes, we really were diaapponted with 5th avenue... did ask for a differretn room but they were full so made do...we had a great time tho at Powells', ate at Typhoon and don;t laugh...Whole Foods.....great salad bar, sandwiches and food for the road.
Best treat tho was the Saturday Farmers Market at PSU. Amazing!!!
I grew up in the PNW and am a foodie so the variety and the purveyors were a wonderful treat. Had hazelnut britle just like my Grandpa made..so many wonderful fresh herbs..chantrelle mushrooms..butter califlower..fortunately we were traveling on to places we could cook...
salmon, scallops, halibut cheeks.
