Smid

Have you considered the amtrak from san jose? It goes around 8pm and not that much more for a cabin to sleep which includes meals, and you arrive in portland in the morning. SJC isn't far from the amtrak station. Saves a hotel room for the night too...

ukgooner

I've dobe it via Phoenix - lots of flights up to Portland.

Cymro

I'd personally be quite happy to go anywhere on the west coast, though probably not Chicago or anywhere further east, with a non-stop flight to Portland. I don't know if you want to use miles for the next leg as well or if you're comfortable with spending cash - either way, award availability to the BA destination would be my first factor, then travel time to Portland (sub 2h or not), then cost (of flight and hotel - obviously important but generally less variable).

If driving, I'd only consider SEA unless I really wanted to make a journey of it from SFO/the Bay area - and even then I'd do a one-way rental and fly back.

For what it's worth I'm in PDX next week, flying to Seattle for two nights/three days then driving down for five nights in Portland, flying out from PDX via SEA. Not entirely planned (originally booked PDX-ORD-LHR to get an avios upgrade ORD-LHR but a time change switched me onto PDX-SEA-LHR).

MADPhil

The Coast Starlight is currently listed as 8:23 p.m. from SJC to 3:32 p.m. the next day at PDX but it is a great ride and a vacation in itself. Taking it the same day would still have the connection anxiety though.

CaroFos

We have family in Pdx and as others have said, any of the west coast or other nearby gateways work. Last time we went it was via YVR as that was the only place that had redemptions available (and only F -shucks !) but we've also gone via Denver, SFO and LAX... - even San Diego would work - what difference is a 1-2 hour connection? - hope you find something that works. And maybe do something that means you can explore another part of US for a few days?

Nomad57

I did similar trip this year and went via Seattle in the end. I found one way car hire really expensive so it was cheaper to get a car for full trip and just park it up at Portland hotel. I ended up doing a loop through Mount Rainier National Park (magical and no phones or internet meant a very chilled start to holiday), Portland, Oregon coast, Olympic national park and finished in Seattle. Portland now ranks alongside San Diego as my favourite west coast city and I wish I'd spent more time there than in Seattle at the end of my trip. As CWS mentioned, Portland has a big problem with homelessness but I didn't have any problems wandering round the city on my own.

sts603

You need a car to see Portland properly. Not sure why you'd suggest otherwise. The max train is super slow and busses are equally inefficient. Fine for certain point to point routes but like most American cities a car is neded to get around.

MADPhil

We spent a few days there a couple of years back and found plenty to see using feet and public transport. If you want to get out of town to wineries and the like then it is another matter.

corporate-wage-slave

I imagine your experiences are different to mine, but doing things like Union Station to PSU takes about 12 minutes, and a 15 minute service frequency (and runs on a timetable). Given the lousy public transport in many USA cities, Portland, like SLC, is one of the good guys in my book. It's also fairly compact city, so a combination of walking, bus and Light Rail Max is quick and easy, though the city is a bit hilly. I particularly like the way you can use the TriMet App on the integrated system to plan travel and then pay for it. Another piece of evidence is that the light rail station at the airport is right in the middle of the building, you can be on your way and half way to the River before you even get to the car hire desk.

SvenAge

San Francisco is my favourite American city. It has so much to offer, particularly when the sun is out. The harbour area is really nice and everything feels very chilled. Of course it has a few homeless people about as well.

And definitely with a car, it's very nice to drive around. Yosemite isn't that far, which is stunning and Sequoia national park is also nice if you want to see the world's biggest tree. The coast road between Los Angeles and San Francisco is very pleasant.

When we went last year, we went to Alcatraz and there was the most amazing air force display.

jimlad48

Doing a similar trip soon but doing our first ever F trip to NYC for 2 nights to see friends, then united to Portland for 2 1/2 weeks - direct flight leaves at730 and gets in at1030 - only downside is return which leaves at 0630 :-(

Buster CT1K

SFO and SEA to PDX are both great choices via plane.

BigVince76

Flying to Portland next week via SEA on the outbound and SJC on the return using Alaska for the connections flights, time wise both routes seem to be very convenient. We have two days in Portland and we wont have a car so I'm hoping to find some things to do by foot and train.

MADPhil

The new Federal courthouse, the old Federal courthouse, the rose garden the Japanese garden, the drilling core in the Washington Park MAX station with labelled strata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washin...rk_MAX_Station. The Vietnam War Memorial is also worth a visit. There are many places to get good food, beer, and wine.

Cat Man Do

Trimet is rolling out a new fare payment card called "Hop fastpass". The Trimet app tickets will be phased out at some point - no dates available. I have about a dozen tickets on mine - hopefully I'll use them up in the next six months or a year. There is no refund, and I cannot find any facility for moving these tickets to a Hop card.

Pros for the Hop system: You load it with cash value, not specific tickets, and it caps your payments. Once you tap on enough to have spent the equivalent of a day pass, for example, you are no longer charged for the rest of the day. Same goes for a monthly adult pass. More than 20 rides in a month? Automatically turns into a pass, and you ride for free the rest of the month.

This one I really like: Trimet says you can also tap-on when boarding with Apple Pay or Android Pay. It appears to do the same daily fare-capping, so this is ideal for tourists.

Another note - I've always found the PDXBus app more useful than the Trimet app for trip planning.