The short answer
Around Portland Tours runs fifteen tours — eleven walking and four bike — from a $29 one-hour neighborhood history walk up to $90 food-cart tours on foot or by bike. Standouts include the $29 Best of the City walk meeting at Director Park, the one-hour Alberta Arts District walk tracing Black community history of NE Portland, the $59 Forest Park urban hike, and a $49 sunrise aerial tram ride with doughnuts and coffee. Bike tours and Eastside walks start at the SE Main Street shop; most tours run daily, and summer weekends are worth booking one to two weeks ahead.
Fifteen tours
Eleven walking tours and four bike tours from one operator, priced $29 to $90.
Best first-day pick
Best of the City Walking Tour: $29, two hours, meets downtown at Director Park.
Check meeting points
Downtown walks meet at Director Park; bike and Eastside tours start at the SE Main shop.
Booking window
Most tours run daily; book one to two weeks ahead for summer weekends.
No-car Gorge option
The Multnomah Falls half-day tour offers pickup at the 181st Park & Ride on the MAX Blue Line.
Most Portland tour companies do one thing: bike or walking, food or history. Around Portland Tours runs fifteen, and somehow does each one well. Eleven walking tours and four bike tours, from a $29 one-hour neighborhood history walk up to $90 food-cart tours on foot or by bike.
Why We Recommend Them
Range is the differentiator. Whatever a guest is curious about — Black community history of NE Alberta, Shanghai Tunnels and Portland's underground, food carts, coffee roasters, Lone Fir Cemetery, urban hiking through Forest Park — there's a tour for it.
Storytelling-first guides. The tagline is "movable narrative" and the guides earn it. They put neighborhoods in context: who built them, what they were before, what they are now.
Reasonable pricing. The two-hour Best of the City walk is $29, which is less than most cities charge for a free tour's expected tip. $59 for a three-hour guided bike ride is hard to beat, and the $90 food-cart tours (2.5 hours on foot, 3.5 by bike) feed you enough to skip a meal. Prices move, so check the tour page before you book.
Tours We Recommend Most
The right starter for a guest's first day in Portland. Hits art, architecture, activism, and a chunk of the city's history. Meets downtown at Director Park, not at the shop. Daily at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m.
The best one-hour cultural tour in the city. Specifically traces Black community history of NE Portland, and worth the hour. Daily at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Meets on Alberta at the plaza in front of Frock Boutique, not at the shop.
Bridges, parks, gardens, doughnuts. The Portland greatest-hits ride. Daily at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Splits the difference between a food tour and a bike tour. Six to nine miles of riding plus food cart sampling. Most days at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The most underrated tour they run. NW Portland to the Rose Garden through one of the largest urban forests in America. Daily at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
The most Portland thing on their list. Meets at 6:30 a.m. at Ovation Coffee in the South Waterfront, rides the aerial tram up for the view, and hands you a doughnut. Worth setting an alarm for once.
The answer for guests without a car. Two to three miles of walking across several stops, with pickup at the 181st Park & Ride on the MAX Blue Line, at Edgefield, or at Mayor's Park in Troutdale. See our day trips guide for what you'd be seeing.
For guests who want Portland's strange side. Underground Portland history, Shanghai Tunnels, ghost stories.
Insider Tip
If you're staying with us on the central Eastside, Around Portland Tours' SE Main Street shop is walking distance — that's where the bike tours and the Eastside walking tours start. The downtown walking tours meet at Director Park and the Forest Park hike meets at Haven Coffee in NW, so check your confirmation for the meeting point before you head out. They also rent bikes if you want to ride without a tour. Phone: 503-998-3170. Book at aroundportlandtours.com.
