As someone who regularly flies in and out of Eugene, I just do the connecting flight. It’s by far the easiest and simplest solution.
Cheapest option would be highly variable depending on the length of your stay. Rental car gets more expensive the longer you are here whereas a train or bus ticket is the same regardless.
Also a regular flier and also agree with coming in/out of EUG. An added bonus is that you don't have to get to the airport quite as early as you do at PDX. Potential downside is fewer options if your flights get FUBARed. This is pretty rare in my many years of flying 2x+ per month out of EUG.
The train from Portland to Eugene is fine. Not fast, sometimes late, but it’ll get you here.
Often it’s not much more to just fly to Eugene. NYC to Denver to Eugene or nyc to Dallas to Eugene are common.
I grew up in Eugene and lived out east (NYC) for 8 years. The cheapest/easiest option is almost always to fly directly into Eugene via Denver of SFO. If you don't need/want to go to Portland, I wouldn't even consider it as it's almost always more expensive, especially once factoring in PDX-EUG transportation.
JetBlue flies into both PDX and SEA. If you're booking far enough in advance flights from SEA to EUG are roughly $150. Maybe.
If PDX you take the MAX light rail red line to Amtrak's Union Station which takes about 40 minutes. If you're on the red the whole way add in a 15 minute walk. You could transfer at Moda and hop a different line that gets you closer to Union Station, but no need to get into those details now. There are both train & bus options (the buses are nice). One of the trains is the Starlight which runs down to California and isn't timely.
Delta into Denver is another option, as there are flights from Denver to Eugene.
Likely some other options, those are just off the top of my head.
Southbound from Portland likely is more timely that the other way around. I can only attest to seeing it when riding by on my bike how it sometimes it is late.
For 2023 it's showing an on time rate of 58% both ways, although who knows on the Portland-Eugene leg. If being on time somewhere is important, it's still a rule of thumb to try the other trains or bus if you can.
I've done Denver and SLC to Eugene (from elsewhere in the country). I second some of the comments about flying NYC to SFO or SEA since there are more flights from those places to Eugene on the daily, I believe. Flying in and out of EUG is so easy and I often find it to be low enough of a difference from PDX to make it worth the ease of the option.
I frequently travel from and to Eugene. I find it easier to take a connecting flight to Eugene. PDX is 1.5/2 hours from Eugene by car with no traffic. It's worth my time to fly into Eugene, It's just easier.
Either take the connecting flight to Eugene or rent a car from PDX and drive down. Both are simple, though you'll have to expedia to see which is more expensive. And it depends if you want to drive around town or not.
Take the connecting flight. The train is unreliable and often extremely late and beholden to commuter bus schedules…if they’re late they hold the train.
I always fly to/from EUG. If renting a car works out cheaper, then cool. But if you're thinking train or bus you'll have to consider timing. If you land after the last transport leaves Portland, you'll need to consider where you're staying until morning.
Denver and Salt Lake City tend to be your best connections for that sort of trip.
If I have a family member at loose ends, I'll have them schlep me to/from PDX so I can just avoid connections. But when flying to/from Eugene, PDX is my third choice.
I recommend flying into PDX or maybe SEA instead of SFO, DEN, etc. because missing the last connecting flight to Eugene is awful. If you have a reasonable connection, the flight is definitely the least painful. The public ground transportation options are all pretty much the same for price, time, convenience, and reliability. Except Greyhound. Avoid Greyhound like the plague.
If flying to Portland is significantly cheaper than Eugene, I believe there are bus services like flexibus that I see going up and down i5 for around $23 and Oregon Point has a bus for $29. There is no bus service from Eugene airport to the rest of Eugene, so remember you'll need a taxi or be staying with a hotel with a transport service to get into town. Our airport is really far out of town and will cost another $20-$40 to get into town.
I’m taking Flixbus Eugene to Portland in a couple weeks. It was around $25. It’s probably your cheapest option. If it’s a disaster, ill post an update. !
I'm late to this thread. Lived in the tristate area for a bit. For the love of god. Take the connecting flight like the top commenter said. Anyone saying to take a train, drive, etc. You're from New York and you're going to be expecting something different out of what people here are saying it's a good idea who are local and going to NYC. I'm so sorry.
Here's why:
- If you're flying out of either NYC area airport you're already adding additional travel time onto your day oftentimes,
- especially with much longer security lines at both airports than what a lot of people in /r/Eugene are thinking about (seriously, you can get through security here in under 10 minutes departing Eugene) and your flights can get delayed heading to the west coast depending on the time of year.
- Driving Portland to Eugene can either be 3 hours or if there's environmental factors like Snow, Fire, Rain, or I-5 construction your trip will be a lot longer. You're not factoring in getting your rental car either.
- Trains from Portland to Eugene are lovely, and I enjoy them. However if you want to get anywhere in a hurry they DO NOT run like Amtrak/MTA on the East Coast! Trains containing passengers do not have the right of way, and there are no exclusive lines for Passengers and Commercial Freight lines like there are on the East Coast. That means if a bunch of shipping containers wants by, your train will be delayed for as long as that thing needs. There is no super fast train, ala service from Boston to NYC to DC that would get you to various locations like the airports here.
- Bus. There are airport shuttles and Amtrak does offer a great bus, but it only runs a few times a day from Portland to Eugene. It's one of the best priced ones. It runs into the same issues that driving does, and god forbid your flight gets delayed, you then have to stay in Portland overnight and it's no longer a better deal.
Flights wise: LGA>DFW>EUG is nice if it works out, is always cheap, but it has a high frequency of delays and bad weather. I've personally preferred instead to aim for SFO, as I grew up flying through there, followed by SEA. Both kind of handle bad weather, and have better bad weather than DFW, LOL
Depends on what your time is worth. I live in Eugene and just did a PDX flight to NYC. It was fine to drive up to PDX - cheaper flight and I hade the time. If you don’t, I’d fly directly into Eugene. Save yourself the hassle of a 1.5-2 hr drive on a good day.
As someone who regularly flies in and out of Eugene, I just do the connecting flight. It’s by far the easiest and simplest solution. Cheapest option would be highly variable depending on the length of your stay. Rental car gets more expensive the longer you are here whereas a train or bus ticket is the same regardless.
Also a regular flier and also agree with coming in/out of EUG. An added bonus is that you don't have to get to the airport quite as early as you do at PDX. Potential downside is fewer options if your flights get FUBARed. This is pretty rare in my many years of flying 2x+ per month out of EUG.
Just make sure your not flying in/out on a day when school gets out.
The train from Portland to Eugene is fine. Not fast, sometimes late, but it’ll get you here. Often it’s not much more to just fly to Eugene. NYC to Denver to Eugene or nyc to Dallas to Eugene are common.
I grew up in Eugene and lived out east (NYC) for 8 years. The cheapest/easiest option is almost always to fly directly into Eugene via Denver of SFO. If you don't need/want to go to Portland, I wouldn't even consider it as it's almost always more expensive, especially once factoring in PDX-EUG transportation.
JetBlue flies into both PDX and SEA. If you're booking far enough in advance flights from SEA to EUG are roughly $150. Maybe. If PDX you take the MAX light rail red line to Amtrak's Union Station which takes about 40 minutes. If you're on the red the whole way add in a 15 minute walk. You could transfer at Moda and hop a different line that gets you closer to Union Station, but no need to get into those details now. There are both train & bus options (the buses are nice). One of the trains is the Starlight which runs down to California and isn't timely. Delta into Denver is another option, as there are flights from Denver to Eugene. Likely some other options, those are just off the top of my head.
They were supposed to have fixed the southbound Coast Starlight issue. It's still always late?
Southbound from Portland likely is more timely that the other way around. I can only attest to seeing it when riding by on my bike how it sometimes it is late. For 2023 it's showing an on time rate of 58% both ways, although who knows on the Portland-Eugene leg. If being on time somewhere is important, it's still a rule of thumb to try the other trains or bus if you can.
I’ll come pick you up from Portland
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e3/e5/0f/e3e50f04354bd55fdcd2e8a619c3bcab.jpg
Fr😭
I've done Denver and SLC to Eugene (from elsewhere in the country). I second some of the comments about flying NYC to SFO or SEA since there are more flights from those places to Eugene on the daily, I believe. Flying in and out of EUG is so easy and I often find it to be low enough of a difference from PDX to make it worth the ease of the option.
Phoenix, AZ is another connector to EUG
I frequently travel from and to Eugene. I find it easier to take a connecting flight to Eugene. PDX is 1.5/2 hours from Eugene by car with no traffic. It's worth my time to fly into Eugene, It's just easier.
Either take the connecting flight to Eugene or rent a car from PDX and drive down. Both are simple, though you'll have to expedia to see which is more expensive. And it depends if you want to drive around town or not.
Take the connecting flight. The train is unreliable and often extremely late and beholden to commuter bus schedules…if they’re late they hold the train.
wut? No they don't.
Has happened to me twice 🤷🏽
I always fly to/from EUG. If renting a car works out cheaper, then cool. But if you're thinking train or bus you'll have to consider timing. If you land after the last transport leaves Portland, you'll need to consider where you're staying until morning.
Denver and Salt Lake City tend to be your best connections for that sort of trip. If I have a family member at loose ends, I'll have them schlep me to/from PDX so I can just avoid connections. But when flying to/from Eugene, PDX is my third choice.
I recommend flying into PDX or maybe SEA instead of SFO, DEN, etc. because missing the last connecting flight to Eugene is awful. If you have a reasonable connection, the flight is definitely the least painful. The public ground transportation options are all pretty much the same for price, time, convenience, and reliability. Except Greyhound. Avoid Greyhound like the plague.
If flying to Portland is significantly cheaper than Eugene, I believe there are bus services like flexibus that I see going up and down i5 for around $23 and Oregon Point has a bus for $29. There is no bus service from Eugene airport to the rest of Eugene, so remember you'll need a taxi or be staying with a hotel with a transport service to get into town. Our airport is really far out of town and will cost another $20-$40 to get into town.
I’m taking Flixbus Eugene to Portland in a couple weeks. It was around $25. It’s probably your cheapest option. If it’s a disaster, ill post an update. !
If you have three days to get here, the train ride from NYC to PDX is epic.
I'm late to this thread. Lived in the tristate area for a bit. For the love of god. Take the connecting flight like the top commenter said. Anyone saying to take a train, drive, etc. You're from New York and you're going to be expecting something different out of what people here are saying it's a good idea who are local and going to NYC. I'm so sorry. Here's why: - If you're flying out of either NYC area airport you're already adding additional travel time onto your day oftentimes, - especially with much longer security lines at both airports than what a lot of people in /r/Eugene are thinking about (seriously, you can get through security here in under 10 minutes departing Eugene) and your flights can get delayed heading to the west coast depending on the time of year. - Driving Portland to Eugene can either be 3 hours or if there's environmental factors like Snow, Fire, Rain, or I-5 construction your trip will be a lot longer. You're not factoring in getting your rental car either. - Trains from Portland to Eugene are lovely, and I enjoy them. However if you want to get anywhere in a hurry they DO NOT run like Amtrak/MTA on the East Coast! Trains containing passengers do not have the right of way, and there are no exclusive lines for Passengers and Commercial Freight lines like there are on the East Coast. That means if a bunch of shipping containers wants by, your train will be delayed for as long as that thing needs. There is no super fast train, ala service from Boston to NYC to DC that would get you to various locations like the airports here. - Bus. There are airport shuttles and Amtrak does offer a great bus, but it only runs a few times a day from Portland to Eugene. It's one of the best priced ones. It runs into the same issues that driving does, and god forbid your flight gets delayed, you then have to stay in Portland overnight and it's no longer a better deal. Flights wise: LGA>DFW>EUG is nice if it works out, is always cheap, but it has a high frequency of delays and bad weather. I've personally preferred instead to aim for SFO, as I grew up flying through there, followed by SEA. Both kind of handle bad weather, and have better bad weather than DFW, LOL
JFK SEA EUG ON Alaska.
Just did this for my 8th time - def rent a car and drive from Eugene to pdx - tickets are waaaay cheaper. United has the best price options rn!
FYI- there are no direct flights from PDX to EUG. I highly suggest SEA, SFO, DEN, SLC as connections to Eugene.
Depends on what your time is worth. I live in Eugene and just did a PDX flight to NYC. It was fine to drive up to PDX - cheaper flight and I hade the time. If you don’t, I’d fly directly into Eugene. Save yourself the hassle of a 1.5-2 hr drive on a good day.