Visiting Portland .. Do I need a car or should I just use public transportation?

We were going to rent a car but from what I'm reading it might just be best to stick to public transportation. We're staying here... on nob hill

http://www.parklanesuites.com/contact.ph...

Should I forget the car? What about the Rail going from the airport to here? Pain in the @#E$?

You're pretty lucky having a MAX stop only .4 miles away from your hotel, although the walk from the PGE park MAX to Park Lane Suites is uphill. I manage an apartment building down the street from there, and parking is next to impossible. Unless you're planning a side trip to the coast or to the gorge, you can save yourself a lot of money and hassle by ditching the idea of a rental car.

Portland has a really good public transportation system. I'd ask the hotel about transportation from there to the airport, many hotels have courtesy vans that will deliver you right to the airport.

Portland has a really great public transportation system.

To get to the Park Lanes Suites you would take the MAX Red Line light rail from the airport and get off at PGE Park MAX Station - takes about 35 to 45 minutes. Then you'd have to walk up West Burnside to SW King (less than a 1/2 mile) to the Park Lanes Suites - about a 10 minute walk.

Go to the following website and it will plot out your transportation in Portland.

http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cg...

If you're going to stay in the downtown area you won't need a rental car. Between the Tri-Met Bus system and the MAX Light Rail you'll be able to get around town without a problem. It's also faster to take MAX to and from the airport than it is to drive it yourself.