We will be staying 2 nights in Portland, then driving down to Cannon Beach for four days. The parking is extreme $$$ at Portland downtown hotels, but we will need a car when we head down the coast. We were going to rent from the airport when we arrived, but now I'm not sure if I want to pay the rental and the parking fee on the car for two nights when we will be doing most of our sightseeing on foot. Any suggestions? We will have bags to carry.

Most likely, you can pick up a car downtown the day you depart for Cannon Beach and return the car at the airport when you leave for no extra fee. Many rental car places have offices downtown. Check out Kayak.com and put in downtown as the pick-up, PDX as the return. Did that for a friend recently and it worked out great for him.

You can just take the MAX train from the airport directly downtown for $2.25 each. Depending on where your hotel is, it may be only a short walk from the MAX stop.

Call the hotel and see if you can get a package price on your room that includes parking. These days it doesn't hurt to try, deals are being cut right and left.

Yeah, and also try www.travelportland.com - they often have package deals on hotels that include parking. However, you might as well still save on renting the car for at least a night if you will be on foot/using public transit anyway.

I concur with divine. I stayed three days in downtown Portland last summer. Didn't need a car one bit. You can get EVERYWHERE by bus. Only the Pittock Mansion was a bit of a hike from the bus stop. Get a cab. Still better than trying to drive in a city that strongly discourages driving.