Fun Tourist Bus Tour in Portland?

Hi,

I have what looks to be a rainy day free in Portland this coming Friday, and I was thinking I might like to just take a gudied, overview bus tour of the city.

So far, all I have found is Gray Line. I%26#39;m more interested in the less formal, trolley type tours they have in other cities.

Is there such a thing in Portland? Any other suggestions?

Thank you.

Fun Tourist Bus Tour in Portland?

Hi

I don%26#39;t think there is such a thing in Portland.

We do have the streetcars but no one to give you a tour. There are tours and guides here but by foot..not what you will want in the rain, I think.

www.pova.com might be helpful.

travelportland.com/portland_resources/鈥?/a>

If I hear of anything, I will post it here for you.

Welcome to Portland :)

Fun Tourist Bus Tour in Portland?

Thank you, Scarlett.

How about a Duck Tour? http://www.portlandducks.com/ I think they%26#39;re pretty new to Portland, so I don%26#39;t know anyone%26#39;s who%26#39;s done one. But I%26#39;ve seen them in Seattle, where the tourists seemed to be having a great time.

We did the Portland Ducks a while back - it was just okay, we thought.

It was pouring rain that day, so we figured it was a fitting tour to do. The bus / boat had high windows that were hard to see out of, and procluded taking photos, at least on a rainy day. Several windows on the bus massively leaked, so we all had to shift all around to try to stay dry.

The bus started out at Rose Quarter, and went into Downtown, with the tour guide telling us about the area - she did a pretty good job, talking the whole time (stopping occasionally for duck quacking), and we even learned a few things about the city we didn%26#39;t know. The downtown part was pretty short, and it was only right downtown - no Washington Park, Northwest, Pearl District, or other areas you would expect.

After the downtown, it drove a seemingly long time to Willamette Park where the boat put in noticeably without the big splash you see in the photos - the bus driver gave us the reason, but I forget. Something about water levels or something. We floated down the Willamette, while the tour guide told us about the bridges, before taking out and returning to Rose Quarter.

All in all, we didn%26#39;t feel like we wasted our money - it was something to do on a rainy day, and we did learn a couple of things. I just wished we%26#39;d spent more time touring and less time motoring to Willamette Park, and the bus / boat certainly could have used some work. I think it%26#39;s too far away to be a good fit for the Portland Ducks. However, my experience with Grayline has always been excellent (in the States at least).

Since you mention trolley tours, you may want to think about the Vintage Trolley. You can take a ';virtual tour'; at:

mywebpages.comcast.net/dthompso1/VTtour.html

I%26#39;m also a fan of Portland Walking Tours:

http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/

If it%26#39;s just the bus that you cringe at, you could try something like VanGo Tours - http://vangotours.com/