Weekend Escape in Portland
Portland Travel Itinerary & Guide
Guest Post From:
Mariela C.
4 Days in Portland, Oregon USA
If you are looking for a quick weekend getaway, why not give Portland a shot!
Day 1:
This was a last minute weekend getaway and unfortunately the majority of Airbnb were already booked-we stayed in the Northeast area of Portland. It was a beautiful and homey area that gave us a true taste of Portland-however it required a 10 min uber to get to the downtown area.
Pok Pok
We were lucky enough that we stayed walking distance to this fantastic Asian Infused restaurant! It is a Portland staple that several of our friends had suggested! I would highly recommend the fish sauce wings and the chicken. Be on the look out for their happy hour menu as food and drinks are half price!
Henry's 12 Street Tavern
We headed out to the downtown area and wanted some quick drinks for the afternoon- Henrys tavern had a happy hour going on so why not! We sat in the bar area and ordered some apps to much on while we enjoyed some football! It was a fun atmosphere and the bartenders were very friendly and made very decent drinks! We stuck with whisky sours but of course they had a great beer selection on tap!
Powell's Books
GO GO GO! This place is a must! It is very deceiving from the outside and looks small however it is filled with more books that you could imagine! Plan on spending more time there than you would imagine, this place is truly incredible and has a way of sucking you in. There is something there for everyone!
Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House
Surprisingly this was the first and only time we had beer on our trip. While I felt that we “needed” to go, it was not as great as we had hoped for. Both the food and the beer were OKAY.
Day 2:
We prepared for day of staying in the portland downtown area-and yes lots of fun was involved.
VooDoo Doughnuts
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Another thing you MUST do-get a big pink box of donuts! We went at a great time and luckily the line wasn’t too out of hand! Bring cash as they don’t take card. The donuts are extremely creative with their designs and names. Donuts were good, not the best, but lots of creative flavors!
Portland Japanese Gardens
I have never been to a Japanese garden so beautiful and tranquil! I truly enjoyed this and would highly recommend! Take your time around the ground and enjoy all the small details this place has to offer. It was a little pricier than typical, however it was completely worth it!
Washington Park
Unfortunately we didn’t go at the best in season time to see bushes filled with roses-it was however across the street from the Japanese gardens and felt we had to atleast check it out!
Quality Bar
We wanted to kill some time before dinner-so why not a couple drinks at the bar? It was a great place to enjoy some great conversation! We also snacked on a couple pizza bites-order these! These were delicious!
Andina
Best food we had all trip! This Peruvian restaurant had great food, service and atmosphere. Don’t be afraid to go outside of he box-as everything we ate was delicious. The small plates pictured below were the appetizers. Also the drinks was a whiskey sour-with peruvian liquor!
Day 3:
We rented a car at the Alamo (back at the airport area) and wanted to go outside of the Portland area. We wanted to make this day primarily a hiking and outdoors day.
Silver Falls State Park
This place was breath taking! There are a few different trails you can take anywhere from 1-5 miles. I would recommend doing the whole 5 miles (winter falls loop) as there was something beautiful at every turn! We saw about 7 different waterfalls, each different and unique in their own way! Make sure to bundle up with layers as it can get pretty cold throughout!
Salt & Straw
On our way home we stopped for some ice cream! It was freezing-yet there was a line out the door that wrapped. We figured if people were in this line it had to be worth it-and it sure was. There were so many flavors and dont worry they were very friendly let you try as many as you wanted! I created a mix with coffee and snickerdoodle (yes you can mix flavors!)
Kayo's Ramen Bar
We wanted something light to end the cold night-and glad we chose ramen. We both had the TanTan ramen that had a good flavorful kick to it! Be sure to sure to check the times as they close early and the wait times were a bit lengthy! Til this day, the best ramen Ive ever had!
Day 4:
Picked up some quick breakfast and headed out back home.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters​
Skip the starbucks and try this place out! I tried just a regular latte and enjoyed the rich flavor!
Tips and Tricks:
Everyone we encountered was extremely friendly and always had a take on things to do! We were very lucky that it hardly rained but it did not interfere with our outdoor plans! However-unless you are traveling in prime summer days expect it to be cloudy and rainy. Bring an umbrella and a good pairs of walking shoes (hiking boots for the outdoor hikes as it was extremely muddy). One of the things I really enjoyed from this trip was how relaxing we made and and just going with the flow. If I were to do this trip again I would want to spend another day and rent a car to explore the Oregon coast and maybe even a quick day trip to Seattle! Ive never been and it was so close-I wish we would have! However, I will say the time we spent in the city was sufficient and did the things we wanted to. Expect to eat alot! It seemed that we were always planning our days around food which was fantastic! Also-when budgeting for this trip keep in mind there is no tax in Oregon!