Suggestions for day trip to Niagara Falls

[JohnK]

I will be doing a day trip to Niagara Falls from Toronta next week and was interested in any suggestions from people who have visited Niagara Falls.

We will more than likely be using King Tours as most tour companies pick up and return to hotel, do winery visit with wine tasting and then onto Niagara Falls and include either Maid of the Mist boat ride or Journey behind the falls. The tour price is CAD79 with CAD10 discount for seniors. My father is not interested in any of it but will be coming along for the ride and will more than likely spend some time at one or all of the 3 casinos.

I want to do both the Maid of the Mist and Journey behind the falls. Hopefully the tour group issues coupons/vouchers for the individual choices (so I can use my fathers voucher) otherwise the Maid of the Mist is CAD14.50 and the Journey behind the Falls is CAD12.50.

There will be around 2 hours free time at Niagara Falls and I want to use it wisely. I guess some part of that time will be taken up doing Journey behind the Falls which does not leave a lot of time. Can anyone recommend anything that is a must do?

P.S The helicopter ride is entirely out of the question....

 

[drron]

The whole point of Niagara Falls are the falls.The rest of it I feel is just tourist cr*p.Walk from the Maid of The Mist to the falls themselves.You will find with your 2 tours there wont be time for much more.Not enough time to go to the US side.

 

[Alanslegal]

I've never been on the Maid of the Mist as it was out of season but I did the Behind The Falls walk and I thought, even though quite tourist-y, it is something you should do. You get right up to the face of the falls and there is a nice photo opportunity (if you're like me and interested in this stuff) and then you go through a few tunnels and go behind the falls themselves where you see a wall of water and hear the sounds, good to just say you've been there, done that. That's why people go there

 

[straitman]

JohnK,

Both the Maid of the Mist and behind the falls are a great experience and I highly recommend them above everything else at Niagara Falls.

As drron says, the rest is just tourist c**p. With limited time stay on the Canadian side and there is plenty to do & see.

 

[NM]

If I had to choose one, it would be Maid of the Mist. But make sure you walk around the top of the falls area near the "Behind The Falls" entrance and watch the volume or water flowing over the edge just a few feet away from you. Prepare to get wet and its quite noisy. At least it won't be cold this time of year.

Also good if you can plan a meal (perhaps lunch) at one of the restaurants with a view. I stayed at the Hilton and they have a great view from the top-floor restaurant, but there are many more.

 

[chrizzz14]

I did that very same King tours tour in June this year. Was a great day.

*hint* the italian winery you visit, you must taste the ice wine ( they charge you extra to taste it but its well worth it - if your a wine drinker of course)

I did a censna ride, rather than the helicopter, they shove 8 people on the chopper, and very few usually go on the light aircraft, i chose the light aircraft, both because im a pilot myself, and because we got the plane to ourselves ( i was travelling with just one friend)

As for when your in Niagara, the maid of the mist is an absolute definate. The experience is sureal! The other tour, is quite pointless im told, much better to do it in winter ( so the guide told us)

As for your spare time in Niagara, they say you get 2 hrs, but that really depends on alot of things, we only got just over an hr of free time, so i wouldnt suggest planning to much for that time.
Though for that free time, my friend and i, went for a short walk up to the centre of niagara, had a look at two of the casinos and did a little shopping before hoping on the bus ride back to TO.

All in all, its a great day and definate must when in TO (also TO zoo is quite good to)

 

[auriga]

. But make sure you walk around the top of the falls area near the "Behind The Falls" entrance and watch the volume or water flowing over the edge just a few feet away from you. Prepare to get wet and its quite noisy..

Yes, this is my favourite part.... seeing the water flowing along the river, and then suddenly start plunging down. And you are so close to the water.

 

[tuapekastar]

If someone approaches you with a barrel and a proposal, walk way quickly!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well I have not done a Kings Tour, or visited the falls.

But I am heading over that way in 2 months. So I just did some research.

I find Trip Advisor to generally be a good indicator...


King Tours to Niagara - beware of next day return. - Review of King Tours, Niagara Falls, Canada - TripAdvisor

King Tours generally cop a bagging. And if you are not going to do a flight you waste a lot of time. It also sounds like the Tours are mainly designed to rake in commissions and kick backs for the staff and operators..

It sounds like renting a car may be a better option.

 

[JohnK]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. My heart is set on Maid of the Mist and Journey behind the Falls. I don't know whether I will have time to do both but I will certainly try to do as much as possible.

Perhaps I can look at Niagara Tours. All tours specify pickup and drop off at any Toronto hotel but apparently Hotel Indigo at Toronto airport is not any hotel in Toronto but other Toronto airport hotels are classed as Toronto hotels. Could be an early morning and evening walk involved to get to a Toronto hotel in Toronto....

 

[dajop]

When I visited Niagara (about 6 years ago now), we took a bus from our downtown hotel, and later the next afternoon it returned us to the airport. Was basically just a bus operation, not a tour as such, but served the purpose.

I echo all of the comments above about what to do. Maid of the Mist was a great experience, and also did Journey Behind the Falls, which was pretty good too. We also (to complete the tourist circuit ) visited the tower - and whether you visit the tower, or a hotel restaurant with a view as per earlier posts, I highly recommend that as well - it really does give a good perspective on the river/drainage area and volume of water going over the falls (and to someone more used to the puddles we call rivers in rural Australia, it was quite something).

 

[NM]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. My heart is set on Maid of the Mist and Journey behind the Falls. I don't know whether I will have time to do both but I will certainly try to do as much as possible.

Perhaps I can look at Niagara Tours. All tours specify pickup and drop off at any Toronto hotel but apparently Hotel Indigo at Toronto airport is not any hotel in Toronto but other Toronto airport hotels are classed as Toronto hotels. Could be an early morning and evening walk involved to get to a Toronto hotel in Toronto....

Check the cost difference between a tour and just renting a car and driving down. Its an easy drive and that way you can ensure you can do both planned activities plus more in a day.

 

[JohnK]

Had a look at driving options but it is not cheap and I do not particularly want to drive 80miles each way on the right hand side of the road.

Researching the trip further it would appear that the costs are not as advertised. You need to add 5% tax, some operators then expect you to tip bus driver up front 15% or ~CAD12-15 (which is ~CAD500 for a bus load of 40 people :shock:, no thanks) and when they say pickup from all hotels with Toronto address they do not really mean this either as it would require CAD12 each to be picked up from airport hotel....

 

[NM]

Had a look at driving options but it is not cheap and I do not particularly want to drive 80miles each way on the right hand side of the road.

Researching the trip further it would appear that the costs are not as advertised. You need to add 5% tax, some operators then expect you to tip bus driver up front 15% or ~CAD12-15 (which is ~CAD500 for a bus load of 40 people :shock:, no thanks) and when they say pickup from all hotels with Toronto address they do not really mean this either as it would require CAD12 each to be picked up from airport hotel....

Another option is the train. There is a station at Niagara which is a short taxi ride to the falls. We used the train from New York up to Niagara and hired a car to go to Toronto (from out from there). The train we used continued to Toronto. I would not be surprised if there are trains that just do Toronto to Niagara and not cross the border as well.

If doing that, also consider staying the night in Niagara. Accommodation can be reasonably priced, especially mid week. The falls at night are quite spectacular with the lights.

 

[dajop]

. The falls at night are quite spectacular with the lights.

.... +1

 

[Ric]

Its an easy drive and that way you can ensure you can do both planned activities plus more in a day.

+1
Done that plenty times. John, its a pretty easy drive. No hassle at all and signages are plenty so you won't get lost. Driving on the other side is no difference. All you have to remember is that you, the driver, is always in the middle of the road.

 

[JohnK]

Some excellent suggestions. I really do not want to drive overseas. Train sounds good and would give us up to 6 hours at Niagara Falls.

Depart Toronto at 8:30 and arrive at Niagara Falls at 10:33 and then depart Niagara Falls at 17:45 and arrive back at Toronto at 19:46 and the train fare looks reasonable at CAD46.20 each.

Much better than the "so called" coach tours but need to work out how to get to/from Hotel Indigo to Toronto Union Station cheaply....

 

[NM]

Some excellent suggestions. I really do not want to drive overseas. Train sounds good and would give us up to 6 hours at Niagara Falls.

Depart Toronto at 8:30 and arrive at Niagara Falls at 10:33 and then depart Niagara Falls at 17:45 and arrive back at Toronto at 19:46 and the train fare looks reasonable at CAD46.20 each.

Much better than the "so called" coach tours but need to work out how to get to/from Hotel Indigo to Toronto Union Station cheaply....

Just remember to add a taxi ride to/from train station at Niagara. Can't recall how much it cost us from train to Hilton, but it wasn't much. Have cash for the taxi - I had to find an ATM at the station as we had just arrived in Canada from USA, though the cab driver said he would have taken US$ with a reasonable conversion ... and tip.

 

[JohnK]

I have worked out an itinerary that does not involve a bus tour company and is cheaper and should give me 6 hours at Niagara Falls

• Taxi from Hotel Indigo to Etobicoke Go Station for ~CAD12 (including 15% tip)
• Train from Etobicoke Go Station to Toronto Union Station for CAD4.10 (CAD2.05 for senior)
• Train from Toronto Union Station to Niagara Falls Train Station for CAD46.20 return trip (~CAD42 for senior)
• Taxi from Niagara Falls Train Station to Niagara Falls ~CAD10 (~4kms)
• Maid of the Mist boat tour for CAD14.50
• Journey behind the falls for CAD12.50
• Walk to the USA side of Niagara Falls (free?)

Total cost for return journey should be ~CAD116.40 but I may have to do it alone....

 

[mudlark]

We drove from Mississauga (near Toronto) to the Falls last month. We had only been driving in Canada a week, but hubby managed it easily. The advantage with the car was that we were able to detour to Niagara on the Lake. A gorgeous town without the touristy overload present at Niagara. Having said that, the Falls were awesome. Especially close up - and you can get very close. Hubby resisted the Maid because the boats were jampacked - summer vacation. We did the Journey Behind the Falls and thoroughly enjoyed it. They also take your photo with the option to buy a la Disneyland. If you change your mind and drive, you will find it a very scenic trip. Canadians are very tolerant drivers. A drive via Burlington and Oakville on Lake Ontario is a joy.
Have fun.