Portland Weekend Trip
You will just adore Portland. We spent a long weekend in Portland and explored all the things to give you the Ultimate Portland Weekend Trip Guide. Portland is gritty, funky, artsy, urban, laid back, and weird (they are very proud of this- who wouldn’t be). It is a city of great local markets, incredible hiking, and the most impressive food and drink scene you’ve probably experienced. Portland makes for the BEST long weekend. It will be a weekend with all the best things in life- donuts, hiking, and shopping- and so much more of course! Let’s dive on in!
How to get to Portland?
If you are flying you will fly into PDX, which is Portland’s airport. It will most likely take you around 20-30 minutes to get into the main area of the city.
We stayed in the Alphabet District and it took about 30 minutes from the airport. You can easily get an uber from the airport to your accommodation.
Our favorite sites for finding great flight deals are WayAway, Kayak, Going (previously Scott’s Cheap Flights), and Sky Scanner. Way Away is a great option for affordable flights, you can also get a membership that helps you earn cash back on purchases.
Do I need to rent a car in Portland?
I would highly recommend renting a car when in Portland, it will make it waayyy easier to explore Portland and hop around to the different attractions. You will be unlimited in what you can do and see while in Portland. As budget travelers we wanted something super affordable, as most rental cars are crazy expensive now. Turo is a great option for cheap rentals, it is the airbnb for cars. You are renting a car from a person. But you still can pay for extra coverage and all that but we have had nothing but stellar experiences. We are able to rent a car for around 50-70.00 dollars a day making it very affordable especially so the more people you are traveling with. I think this made it way easier to explore and gave us more flexibility to go at our own pace.
Where to stay in Portland?
I would highly recommend staying in the Alphabet District, Mississippi Avenue, or Old Town Pearl District. Alphabet District and Mississippi Avenue were main areas for shopping, restaurants, and had artsy hippy vibes that I adored. We stayed in the Alphabet District and loved it. We were walking distance to cute shops, coffee, food, drinks, and a Trader’s Joe to buy groceries. It was just adorable, I would highly recommend this area.
And to top it off it was free because we were house sitters for 2 cats through Trusted Housesitters. It was the best deal ever! We got to hang out with two sweet cats while staying in a great area of town and enjoy Portland.
Mississippi Avenue is another great area with a ton of local shops, and lots of vintage shops, and restaurants and bars. This area is fun too!
Pearl District Old Town which is closer to downtown is a hip area, a little more upscale artsy area of town. This is where the Art Walk on the First Thursday is located. It has cute trendier and more pricey shops, restaurants, but also lots of great breweries. This is a great central area to base yourself.
Parking can be a bit of a pain here so be sure to find a hotel or airbnb that includes parking.
When looking for affordable accommodations be sure to check out booking, airbnb, vrbo and hotels.com (now a part of one key), and Trusted Housesitters for house sitting and free accommodation options. I am a big fan of One Key. It is a new concept combining vrbo, expedia, and hotels.com where booking through any of these sites all add up to the same points making it easier to earn points faster to save for accommodations.
What to do in Portland?
Your Portland Weekend will be sure to be a fun filled weekend with lots of great food, nature, and experiencing the weird flair of Portland you have heard so much about. It is a funky city which makes it so much fun to find all the gems in Portland.
Day 1: Thursday- Pearl District and Art Walk
Start your long weekend Thursday night and plan to come the first Thursday of the month to come to the Art Walk in the lively Pearl District. This is a huge event and should be a must while in Portland. You will see tents on tents of venders where you can shop beautiful and unique locally made goods. There were such wonderful finds from local art, disco ball planters, clothing, vintage gems, among many other items. You will love weaving in and out of the crowd to view the treasures under each tent. On the opposite side of the shopping venders you will find food and drinks for purchase on the streets. The whole Pearl District is a buzz with life music, chatter of people, and the sounds of the city. It is a great place to soak in all the Portland fun.
The Art Walk runs from 5:00-9:00 on the first Thursday of the month (June-October)
I would recommend ubering or walking to the Pearl District, parking will be hard to find during the Art Walk.
Day 2: Friday- Oregon Coast
For Day 2 you will need a car, you can rent through a rental company or a Turo. If you are hesitant to rent a car for the whole trip I would be sure to rent a car for day 1 or the day you will explore the Oregon Coast.
Being limited on time in Portland you have to take the time to see the Oregon Coast, which makes for a great day trip from Portland. If you have more time, I would recommend that you stay in the Oregon Coast for 2-4 days but if not a day trip is great too!
Wake up earlish and hit the road to give yourself plenty of time to explore the Oregon Coast. Bring good hiking shoes and clothing and of course snacks for your road trip.
Drive up to Astoria (around 2 hour drive) and explore the adorable little town and go to the breweries and walk on the waterfront. Then drive up to Cannon Beach and go on a hike and see Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach which is just breathtaking. It is way more impressive than any picture can depict. Our Oregon Coast day was my favorite day in Portland. Get the Ultimate Guide to Astoria, Oregon Coast includes great hikes on the Oregon Coast. Do not skip this day, it is just beautiful and just so lovely.
Day 3-: Saturday- Mulnoamah Falls and Saturday Market
Portland Doughnuts
First, wake up earlyish to give yourself plenty of time to hike and explore today! Before you head out grab some donuts. Voodoo Doughnuts were life changing. There is a reason they are on almost every list you read of Portland. They have crazy flavors, like fruit loop donuts and others but we found the classics like glaze, chocolate glaze, and maple bacon were our favorites. They were so soft and had such great flavor, worth every last calorie.
Multnoamah Falls
And now to hike off those donuts. Get in your car and head to Multnoamah Falls. Mulonoamah Falls is just stunning, there is a reason people flock here. It is the fifth largest waterfall in the US and also has a stunning bridge towering above that allows for an even better view of the majestic waterfalls. This is a must while in Portland, it really is that breathtaking.
Mulonoamah Falls is about 45 minutes from Portland and is located on the Columbia River Gourge. If you are visiting in the summer months you can get a parking permit for a parking lot that is across the highway from the falls and then take a bus over to the falls.
Another option is driving directly to the Mulonoamah Falls parking lot. With this option prepare that you may need to wait for someone to leave but for us it didn’t take long since there are many people that just come for a photo op and leave.
After you park and put those hiking shoes on and grab your water you are ready to explore! You will be able to walk right up to the waterfall and can hike another short distance to walk across the famous bridge. You will also find bathrooms here and a large gift shop that is a perfect place to grab a postcard or another souvenir.
After you are done viewing the waterfall and taking some photos of the waterfall enjoy the wonderful hikes all around and take the time to explore the area.
Portland's Saturday Market
For the afternoon head to Portland’s Saturday Market! It is one of the biggest markets in all of North America and is an absolute blast to explore! Saturday Market has everything from a huge diversity in food and a great variety of vendors to shop locally made items. The Saturday Market was sprawling, it seemed to never end giving you lots to explore. It is such a great space to see local life in Portland and feel the vibrant bustle that makes markets so lovable.
Portland Night Out
Saturday night in Portland?! Let’s go out! Mississippi District is a great area to find a great beer or cocktail as well as delicious food.
Prost is a great pick. It is a German restaurant and made great German beers. They had a big area with lots of great food carts from BBQ, sushi, Indian food, Mexican food, burgers, and pretzels. It was a great stop to sample different food carts and enjoy a great beer. This was a great place to have dinner and start your night.
Day 4: Sunday- Rose Garden, Neighborhood Exploring and Food Carts
Portland Rose Test Garden
Start off the morning at the International Rose Test Garden, it is just a dream. The Rose Garden is a beautiful large garden with all kinds of roses, some with such unique color combinations. It smells so wonderful and is just so magical being surrounded by so many beautiful flowers.
Another impressive garden in the Rose Garden is the Japanese Garden. The Japanese Garden does cost more (21.95 for adults) and is worth every penny, you will not regret it. Tickets here. It is the most peaceful calming, and beautiful garden.
The Japanese garden has creeks, little ponds, waterfalls, bamboo and tons of shaded areas from the large trees that make it the perfect escape on hot days. The garden is the perfect place to meditate or just soak it all in and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Parking is limited and I would recommend taking an uber or going on a tour. Viator has a city tour in a pink trolley including a 30 min. stop at the Portland Rose Test Garden. If you would like to stroll around longer I would recommend taking an uber.
Portland Nieghborhood exploring
Explore the adorable neighborhoods in Portland and hop in and out of the shops, restaurants, and coffee shops, and enjoy the vibrant neighborhoods. Some of my favorite neighborhoods to wander around in are Mississippi District, Alphabet District, and Alberta street.
Alberta had such cute vintage and funky stores that were so fun. Frock was my favorite store with fun retro style clothing, home decor, and gifts, it was so groovy. I don’t use that word often but it is so fitting for this sweet store. Another fun stop is Lady Mae Boutique.
Mississippi District was a great area to go shopping. Some of my favorite shops were: Honey I’m Home, Gifty Kitty (a cat shop, it was a dream) and Picnic. If you didn’t get to Prost and the food carts yesterday hop in there today and enjoy some great beer and food. Stormbeaker is a great brewery on Mississippi and it was so good with a huge outdoor space and fire pits too.
Alphabet had such a cool vibe with beautiful trees hanging over the old buildings and a very retro funky feel with great eats and drinks. This area of town has an almost gritty historic vibe that feels like the it area to be, or up in coming at the least. It has tons of historic buildings that are restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and shops. It is just soo cute. It is just so cute.
Grab a bite to eat at any of these adorable neighborhoods.
We just loved Portland with all it’s adorable neighborhoods, weirdness that could be felt all around in the best possible way, and phenomenal eats and drinks, beautiful fragrant gardens, and all around trendy funky vibes.
We hope you have a blast exploring Portland. Remember to explore and make your own adventures and support locally whenever possible, which is so easy with all of Portland’s local gems.
Happy Travels!
Our love list of Travel Resources:
Here are our favorite places to search and purchase all things travel from flights, rentals, accommodations, tours, and so much more!
Accommodations:
Booking– our favorite way to search for hotels, rentals, and hostels. When you book enough through booking you will earn a discount on all bookings which adds up quickly!
Hostelworld– our go to when searching for hostels
Vrbo– our favorite place to search for apartment and home rentals, it is usually cheaper than airbnb and has less hidden fees
Agoda– My new favorite for searching for accommodations, they have huge discounts making it a great place to search!
Tours and Activities:
Viator– book great tours and activities for your next trip, my favorite place for booking tours or travel activities. I love that they have such an easy app to keep all my tickets after booking.
Tripadvisor– Great place to buy and search for travel activities and tours
Get Your Guide– another great resource for searching for a huge variety of tours and attractions for your next trip
Tripadvisor– Great place to buy and search for travel activities and tours
We go Trip– Self guided tours you can access from your phone and explore on your own! A game changer. You can explore at your own pace but still have an informational learning experience of the places you visit, all at your fingertips.
Thatch– search for your own personalized and premade itineraries, with map locations, information for each activity, and your trip all planned for you that you can access through their app and take with you! Check out our thatch guides! There are tons of other great travel creators to explore too!
Rental Cars:
Discover Cars– Worldwide car rentals that allows you to compare different rental car companies to get the best price!
Flights:
WayAway– membership offering 10 % back on tickets, tours, and even hotels! Great way to find cheap flights.
Promo Code for 10% off membership costs: Seek Out Travel
CheapOair– great search engine for flights, hotels, and rental cars
Avisales– Cheap airfare through reliable agencies.
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