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Photo by and (c)2014 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Portland
United States · North America
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Portland
Tap a month for its page
- JanJPortland in January: avoid
- FebFPortland in February: avoid
- MarMPortland in March: avoid
- AprAPortland in April: ok
- MayMPortland in May: sweet spot
- JunJPortland in June: good, busy
- JulJPortland in July: sweet spot, busy
- AugAPortland in August: sweet spot, busy
- SepSPortland in September: sweet spot, busy
- OctOPortland in October: ok, busy
- NovNPortland in November: ok
- DecDPortland in December: avoid
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too.
Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Flights from
Flights
Your city is a guess from your time zone. Choose your city
Where are you flying from? Choose your city for its flights and fares.
Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Rent direct
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Things to do in Portland
- Victoria Mansion Victoria Mansion, also known as the Morse-Libby House…
- Portland Observatory Built in 1807 by Captain Lemuel Moody…
- East End Beach Take a swim at East End Beach on top of Munjoy Hill
- Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum Founded in 1992 and housed in the former Portland Company and Grand Trunk Railroad yard…
- Eastern Promenade A notable street providing amazing views of the Casco Bay and the islands…
- Deering Oaks A area in Portland with a tennis court, baseball diamond, playground and pond.
- Western Promenade A more residential area where you can see examples of mansions built by wealthy sea…
Tours and tickets in Portland
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Portland (Maine)), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1° | 8d | 68% | 6.0h | avoid | bitter cold: 1C daily max |
| Feb | 2° | 8d | 69% | 6.9h | avoid | bitter cold: 2C daily max |
| Mar | 6° | 10d | 68% | 7.8h | avoid | bitter cold: 6C daily max |
| Apr | 11° | 11d | 71% | 8.0h | ok | 11C max, 11 rainy days |
| May | 17° | 9d | 73% | 9.6h | sweet spot | 17C max, 9 rainy days |
| Jun | 23° | 9d | 75% | 11.1h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Jul | 26° | 7d | 76% | 11.2h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Aug | 25° | 6d | 77% | 10.8h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Sep | 22° | 7d | 78% | 9.2h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Oct | 16° | 8d | 77% | 7.1h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Nov | 8° | 8d | 71% | 6.4h | ok | 8C max, 8 rainy days |
| Dec | 3° | 9d | 71% | 5.7h | avoid | bitter cold: 3C daily max |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at the centre: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Portland's June days now average 22.9°C, 2.9°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 7 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | -1.2° | 0.9° | 4.6° | 10.0° | 15.1° | 20.0° | 23.6° | 22.7° | 19.0° | 13.5° | 7.9° | 1.9° |
| 2017–26 | 0.6° | 2.0° | 5.9° | 11.4° | 17.4° | 22.9° | 26.4° | 25.5° | 21.7° | 15.8° | 8.4° | 2.8° |
| Change | +1.8° | +1.1° | +1.3° | +1.4° | +2.2° | +2.9° | +2.8° | +2.7° | +2.6° | +2.3° | +0.4° | +1.0° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far Portland is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from New York
- from Toronto
- from Chicago
- from Miami
- from Mexico City
- from Seattle
- from Vancouver
- from Los Angeles
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Portland, flying or not.
Before you go
Type A and B plugs at 120 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the United states dollar. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise normal security precautions. Everything for United States: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work almost everywhere, though a few small places take cash only. Keep some $1 and $5 notes for tips; Venmo and PayPal are for locals.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Expected: 15–20% in sit-down restaurants (18–20% is standard in New York) and 10–20% for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. Large groups may find it already on the bill.
Getting around Portland
- Apps — Rides: Lyft, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and some other cities you can also book a driverless Waymo in its own app.
Portland, and Maine in general, does not have an extensive public transportation system, so renting a car is generally the best option. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Portland (Maine), written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (50)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/getting-help
- omny.info
- omny.info/fares
- clippercard.com/contactless-payments
- clippercard.com/pay-with-phone
- mtc.ca.gov/news/starting-wednesday-bart-riders-can-tap-bank-cards
- sfcta.org/blogs/next-generation-clipper-tap-pay-here
- metro.net/fares/how-to-pay
- transitchicago.com/howto/pay-for-your-fare
- info.myorca.com/contactless
- miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1565197498854306
- mbta.com/fares/charlie/tap-ride
- holocard.net/for-visitors
- holocard.net/help
- sdmts.com/fares/pronto-ways-pay
- ridepronto.com
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/fares
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/lepass
- capmetro.org/fares
- wmata.com/fares
- wmata.com/pay/tap-ride-go.html
- muni.org/Departments/transit/PeopleMover/Pages/FaresandPasses.aspx
- uber.com/global/en/cities/new-york
- lyft.com/rider/cities/new-york-ny
- waymo.com/faq
- visittheusa.com/travel-trade/faq
- nyctourism.com/tipping-sales-tax
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/United_States
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/septa
- lvmonorail.com/ticket-information
- lvmonorail.com/frequently-asked-questions
- apps.apple.com/us/app/ridertc/id909691507
- lasvegasnevada.gov/News/Blog/Detail/your-guide-to-exploring-las-vegas-bus-it-bike-it-or-share-it
- visitlasvegas.com/plan/getting-here-and-around/maps
- visitlasvegas.com/experience/post/getting-around-vegas
- visitlasvegas.com/experience/post/vegas-on-budget
- wegotransit.com/buy/fare-information
- wegotransit.com/wego-now-accepts-credit-card-mobile-wallet-contactless-payment
- wegotransit.com/ride/transit-services/airport
- trimet.org/fares
- trimet.org/schedules/maxredline.htm
- rtd-denver.com/fares-passes/fares
- rtd-denver.com/fares-passes/tap-n-ride
- app.rtd-denver.com/en-US/route/A/schedule
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Portland in pictures
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Domenico Convertini from Zurich, Schweiz, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Spicypepper999, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Artsistra, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What Portland is like
Portland is on a peninsula in Casco Bay on the Southern Maine coast approximately 100 miles (161 km) north of Boston, Massachusetts. It has more than 65,000 inhabitants, making it the largest city in Maine. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Portland Observatory, 138 Congress St (on Munjoy Hill). Memorial Day to Columbus Day, Daily 10-5PM. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Back Cove. This large inlet connected to the sea by a small canal, has a recreation path over 3 mi… More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Portland International Jetport (PWM IATA), 1001 Westbrook Street. Nonstop flights from and (departures per day and airlines): Atlanta (Delta), Baltimore (Southwest), Charlotte (American), Chicago… More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- In keeping with Maine's reputation as a relatively crime-free U.S. state, there is no place in Portland a visitor should feel like they shouldn't visit during the day. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Portland (Maine), written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Portland
Also in United States
- Anchorage best Apr, May, Jun
- Asheville best Apr, Sep, Oct
- Aspen best Mar, Apr, Jun
- Austin best Feb, May, Oct
- Boston best Aug, Sep, Oct
- Charleston best Mar, Apr, Oct
- Chicago best May, Jun, Sep
- Denver best Apr, Sep, Oct
- Jackson Hole best Mar, Aug, Sep
- Juneau best Jun
- Key West best Mar, Apr, May
- Lake Tahoe best Mar, May, Oct
- Las Vegas best Jan, Feb, Apr
- Los Angeles best Jan, Apr, Oct
- Martha's Vineyard best May, Aug, Oct
- Maui best May, Sep, Oct
- Miami best Jan, Feb, Mar
- Nashville best May, Sep, Oct
- New Orleans best Mar, Apr, May
- New York best May, Jul, Oct
- Oahu best May, Sep, Oct
- Orlando best Mar, Apr, Oct
- Palm Springs best Apr, Oct, Nov
- Park City best Feb, Mar, Jun
- Philadelphia best Apr, May, Sep
- Portland best May, Aug, Sep
- San Antonio best Mar, Apr, Oct
- San Diego best Apr, May, Sep
- San Francisco best May, Oct, Nov
- Santa Fe best Apr, Sep, Oct
- Savannah best Feb, Apr, Oct
- Scottsdale best Jan, Mar, Oct
- Seattle best Apr, May, Jul
- Tampa best Mar, Apr, Oct
- The Grand Canyon best May, Sep, Oct
- Washington DC best Apr, May, Oct
- Yellowstone best Jul, Aug, Sep
- Yosemite best Aug, Sep, Oct
- Zion best Apr, May, Sep
Nearby
Kind of place
Portland is in United States, North America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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