Transportation

By Air: Portland International Airport (PDX)

Travel to Portland is convenient and affordable. Portland is the largest city in Oregon; second largest in the Pacific Northwest (only Seattle is larger.) Portland International Airport (PDX) provides transportation to over 1 million passengers a month, with direct and nonstop service to more than 100 cities worldwide, making PDX a truly international destination. Numerous other cities, both domestic and international, connect to Portland through one or more major hub airports.

PDX also boasts a light rail link (nicknamed MAX) – the nation’s first train-to-plane connection to Portland’s downtown hotel core. Taking the train downtown to within 2 blocks of the hotel costs less than $2 (that’s two dollars – not a typo!) If you’re renting a car, you’ll get to the hotel a few minutes faster. The hotel has its own parking garage; parking is $15 per day with no in-out privileges, $22 per day with in-out privileges. If you take a cab from the airport, the average fare is about $25.

We have scheduled our proposed dates early enough to take advantage of special travel rates, before the busy summer travel season. We will negotiate special event pricing/discounted rates with the major carriers at PDX. Here are some current May ‘06 weekend rates from CheapTickets.com (taxes and airport fees are not included). These rates will, of course, be completely meaningless by May 2007, but it will give you current snapshot (as posted 2-16-06):

American Cities - City	State	Price (US $)
Austin	TX	199
Boston	MA	229
Chicago	IL	284
Dallas	TX	243
Denver	CO	220
Houston	TX	225
Las Vegas	NV	197
Los Angeles	CA	198
New Orleans	LA	262
Norman (via OK City)	OK	197
NYC	NY	229
Orlando	FL	198
Phoenix	AZ	188
Raleigh	NC	189
San Diego	CA	207
San Francisco	CA	139
Tucson	AZ	197
Tulsa	OK	182
Salt Lake City	UT	206
Seattle	WA	176
Washington	DC	187

International Cities - City	Country	Price (US $)
Frankfurt	Germany	643
Montreal	Canada	496
Toronto	Canada	480
Vancouver	Canada	274
London	UK	690

If you choose to travel to Portland by air, you’ll be happy to know that PDX offers free wireless Internet service and great shopping – with no sales tax.

By Train: Portland Union Station Passenger Train Service

For travel of less than 500 miles, trains offer a cost-effective alternative to flying. It also offers a great way to see the region while letting someone else drive. Portland Union Station is served by three scheduled Amtrak intercity passenger trains.

With three daily departures between Seattle and Portland, as well as daily service to Vancouver, B.C., the Amtrak Cascades is a convenient link to the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Amtrak Cascades' European-style trains offer laptop computer outlets; bicycle, ski and snowboard racks; and regional food and drink. With service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C., Amtrak Cascades is perfect for both business travel and weekend getaways.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight operates daily, connecting the West Coast's most popular destination cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

Amtrak's Empire Builder takes you on an exciting adventure through majestic wilderness, following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. The Empire Builder begins in Portland and heads east to Chicago with stops at the following destinations and more: Spokane, Whitefish, Glacier National Park, Minot, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee.

Below are selected published round-trip fares for weekends in May 2006:

Amtrak Cascades	State/Country	Price (US $)
Eugene	OR	40
Seattle	WA	52
Vancouver	Canada	80
Coast Starlight
Los Angeles	CA	172
San Francisco	CA	134
Empire Builder
Spokane	WA	82
Minneapolis	MN	308
Milwaukee	WI	268
Chicago	IL	308

As with air travel, Amtrak provides connecting service to many more cities across the country. Discount fares are also available: Amtrak offers groups (20 or more) traveling together a discount of 20%, and students always receive a 15% discount. Check the website for current rates, travel packages, and promotions.

By Automobile

Unless you’re taking an extended vacation and want to take in the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest, you’re probably not going to drive to Portland. Many of you will probably arrive by air, train, or bus - there are a handful of American or International cities within 650 miles of Portland:

City/State/Country	Distance	Est. Drive Time
Seattle,WA	173 Miles	3 hours, 41 minutes
Spokane, WA	351 Miles	6 Hours, 11 Minutes
Vancouver, B.C.	312 Miles	6 Hours, 27 Minutes
Boise, ID	ID	7 hours, 6 minutes
San Francisco , CA	CA	10 hours, 50 minutes
Reno, NV	NV	11 hours, 52 minutes

Happily, once you are here, you probably won’t miss your car. Portland has one of the best public transportation systems in the country that combines light rail, bus, and streetcar. Best of all, Portland’s mass transit is free in a 330-square-block area known as “Fareless Square.” The hotel and main venue are located within this square. Finally, Google has created a very special tool that complements Portland’s transit system – see the info on Public Transportation for more details!

Weekend car rentals are extremely affordable, and recommended if you want to get out and visit some of the regional attractions: Waterfalls and wineries, the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, or Mt. St. Helens volcano are all short day trips from here (there’s much more in the About Portland section!).

Weekend car rentals can be found for as little as $17 a day with unlimited miles. Charging the rental with a gold or platinum card will provide Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) at no additional cost. Some useful website that list internet specials on car rentals are http://cheaptickets.com and http://www.bestfares.com.

Portland Public Transportation

Thanks to forward-thinking city officials and an economical, easy-to-use transit system, you can explore even the farthest reaches of the Portland metropolitan area while concentrating on enjoying the city - not navigating it.

About Google Transit Planner - From the Google Transit Planner FAQ:

Do you live in or near a city? Want to go someplace—to the airport, to dinner, to work every day—and not worry about the hassles and expense of driving and parking? Google Transit Trip Planner enables you to enter the specifics of your trip—where you're starting, where you're ending up, what time of day you'd like to leave and/or arrive—then uses all available public transportation schedules and information to plot out the most efficient possible step-by-step itinerary. You can even compare the cost of your trip with the cost of driving the same route!
At the moment we're only offering this service for the Portland, Oregon metro area, but we plan to expand to cities throughout the United States and around the world.

Google Transit

Bus and Max Light Rail

Portland has long been known as a clean, green and friendly metropolis, with lots to do and even more to see. Leading the "City of Roses" into the 21st century is its economical, easy-to-use public transit system, which every year transports millions of visitors and residents through the city and its surrounding neighborhoods.

On the TriMet bus system, which covers the city and its suburbs thoroughly, you'll find low fares, friendly drivers and full wheelchair accessibility. And since most buses are now equipped with bike racks, mass transit has become more user-friendly for the cycling set.

TriMet's 44-mile MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) offers train-to-plane service, and door-to-door access to one of the richest collections of visitor attractions. A 10-minute ride from downtown will deliver you to Washington Park station, the deepest underground transit station in North America. The stop, 260-feet below the Earth's surface, provides nearby access to Washington Park, the Oregon Zoo, the World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, the Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial, Hoyt Arboretum and the Portland Children's Museum.

Transit Mall

More than half of TriMet's bus lines run through the transit mall along Southwest Fifth and Sixth avenues, including ART, The Cultural Bus (Line 63), which stops at Portland-area attractions.

Portland Streetcar

The Portland Streetcar system links Portland's downtown Cultural District, the Pearl District, the Northwest/Nob Hill neighborhood, and Portland State University. The sleek Euro-designed streetcars follow a six-mile loop route that travels through the PSU campus, downtown Portland, the art gallery-filled Pearl District and Nob Hill, known for its outstanding restaurants and upscale shopping. Like all Portland buses and MAX light rail trains, there will be no fee to ride the streetcar in Portland's "Fareless Square" district. Outside Fareless Square, the streetcar fare will be the same as those charged for buses and MAX light rail.

Downtown on Foot

Portland's short blocks (200' x200') and street-level attractions make the city a pedestrian's delight. Voted one of "America's Best Walking Towns" by Walking Magazine, the downtown area is full of architectural landmarks both old and new.

The Visitor Information and Services Center, located in the heart of downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square, offers brochures, maps, itinerary-planning assistance and advice on restaurants and lodging, and perusing the calendar of local events.

For a perfectly lovely stroll - or ride - along Portland's downtown waterfront, follow the promenade in Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park to the historic Steel Bridge. On the lower deck of the bridge, visitors will discover a bicycle/pedestrian crossing that links the downtown side of the Willamette River to Portland's new Eastbank Esplanade. This 1.5-mile pedestrian/cycling trail offers a great view of the city skyline and features a 1,200 foot floating walkway as well as easy access to four of the bridges that cross the Willamette River.

Downtown Parking

SmartPark is Portland's most affordable and conveniently located parking. Shoppers, business clients and visitors enjoy seven downtown City-owned parking facilities with nearly 4,000 public spaces. To help you pay nothing to park downtown, SmartPark partners with over 700 businesses to offer you two hours of free parking with qualifying purchases of $25 or more.
New to areas of downtown Portland are the solar-powered SmartMeters. At one meter you are able to pay for multiple parking spaces within a set area (usually one side of a street block is covered by one meter). You can pay by using coins, credit/debit card or smart card. Click here for more information about SmartMeters and how to use one of these state-of-the-art parking meters.