A lady friend and I are planning on taking a little trip to Niagara Falls next month. I’ve never been, and I was wondering if anyone had some advice, general or specific, they think might be useful to me.
My main goal is to just enjoy the natural beauty of the waterfalls. I know there are gambling establishments there but I have little to no interest in gambling. The girly expressed interest in going to this indoor water park she read about online.
We’re planning on spending 2 or 3 nights. We’ll be driving there. We both have updated passports, and I was planning on staying on the Canadian side, because I’ve heard it’s better, but I’d certainly be willing to entertain arguments for staying on the American side.
My trip budget isn’t exactly limitless, so I’d prefer people avoid any suggestions that are too extravagant. I’m particularly wondering if it’s worth the extra money to spring for a hotel room with a falls view.
Been a while since I’ve been, but I strongly encourage you to make sure you see the Falls at night. And if your primary interest is in natural attractions you can add the Maid of the Mist (or its competitor I think), Cave of the Winds, or Goat Island to your list (in order of preference).
Stay on the Canadian side. Food, lodging, etc., will be much more expensive, but the Canadian side is much nicer IMHO.
Don’t rent a car. You won’t need it. Take bus tours instead to places like the wineries. Most stuff is within walking distance if your hotel is downtown and you are in good shape.
If flying in, go to Buffalo NY and get on a tour bus to the Canadian side. You should be able to set this up with a travel agent or even the hotel that you’re staying at.
I wouldn’t worry about a room with a Fall’s view if money is an issue.
A ride on the jet boat was worth the money. especially on a hot day. You will get wet. There’s a butterfly garden(?) nearby on the bus route that was pretty cool.
Seconding the Canadian side and Maid of the Mist. Also there’s a “Behind the falls” tour that’s very cool- you take an elevator down to tunnels that open behind and to the side of the falls at the base- great way to view them and experience the awesome power of millions of tons of falling water.
Another good one is a rapids self-tour that’s a ways farther down the river from the falls. You take another elevator down to the river at a spot where there are lethally fast rapids, and there’s a wooden walkway to walk along.
We bought a 4 or 5-activity package that saved us money, which I believe included the behind the falls tour, maid of the mist, rapids, and a 4-d movie showing the creation of the falls.
Yes, it’s easy to walk everywhere in the downtown area (we did it with 7 & 10 year old kids) and if you want to go farther, like down to the rapids area, a bus pass is cheap and the buses run constantly.
We ate once in the “needle” falls-viewing restaurant when just my wife and I went years ago and found it was very good- better than you’d expect a typical spinning-view style restaurant. Don’t know how good it is these days though. Good spot to get a drink at night and check out the colors projected on the falls from above, though.
Honestly, I’d say two or three nights is excessive unless you have plans made. The falls themselves are magnificent. But you can really see everything connected with them in a day and after that the local attractions drop off.
The American city of Niagara Falls is a typical rust belt factory town. The Canadian city of Niagara Falls is a quiet suburb. Neither is a place you’d go out of your way to visit.
Personally, I’d recommend basing your trip out of someplace more interesting like Toronto and making a day trip to Niagara Falls from there.
We went there on our honeymoon, and stayed on the Canadian side. I remember that going behind the falls mad me a little claustrophobic, but the Maid of the Mist was fun. And there was a waterbed and heart-shaped jacuzzi in our room, but you didn’t want to know that. It’s funny what you actually remember sometimes; I remember the little diner we went to for breakfast. It was no different that a jillion diners I’ve been to in the states, but it’s stuck in my mind.
You could reasonably make a 2-3 day trip out of staying in Buffalo and taking a 1 day (or 1 day+night) trip to Niagara Falls. Off the top of my head some main attractions would be Albright Knox, Delaware Park, and lots of eating. I mean I know Buffalo not a major tourist draw but my husband has always enjoyed his visits (I grew up there, used to go back to see friends fairly often but they just moved).
I have not been to the Falls recently but friends have. Here is what one friend who goes there frequently says -
"The Oakes, Four Points, and The Embassy are nice mid range hotels on the Canadian side. And they are close to Fallsview Casino. I have stayed at a couple of nice places across the border too. Having a view of the falls as you sit with a glass of wine pondering them, is great.
One of the best shows we have seen is the Magician - Greg Frewin. Awesome, worth every penny. The dinner option is very good too.
I also heard about, but have not seen - The Oh Canada dinner theatre is very good too.
The Falls Experience is always awesome. I love it every time we see it. It combines a couple of touristy things. Movie about how the falls came about. Journey behind the falls and the white water walk."
Are you going to experience Niagara Falls in all its schlocky glory, or is it more of a romantic thing? If it is more romantic, you might want to price out some hotels/bnbs in Niagara-on-the-Lake just to see what’s what. It’s a little classier, but still very close to the Falls area.
I personally find the actual touristy stuff at the actual Falls (Maid of the Mist, the Cave of the Winds, etc) to be awesome. Once you get away from the actual Falls, the attractions tend to be a little repetitive and chintzy, Boardwalk-y, sideshow-ish. The American side is worse in this respect, but my opinion is that the Canadian side also has a lot of this (but cleaner). It can be fun on a lark, especially if it is your first visit, but I would keep your expectations realistic.
I’ve been to the Falls many times, though mostly during my youth (my grandparents lived in Buffalo, NY and when I spent summers with them, there were at least 2 trips to the Falls on the agenda). I went again as an adult maybe about 5 or 6 years ago, and it was much as I remembered.
I agree with those who say to see the Falls at night, and that you really don’t need more than 1 day for the Falls themselves. Also in agreement on the Canadian side being a bit nicer. There are also a number of wax museum attractions there, which range wildly in quality, but they might be a fun way to kill an hour while you’re there.
You also will be able to get VERY close to the water, and the thundering of the water and the spray are pretty awesome, I think. The last time I went, I got to the spot closest to the edge of the Falls and it reminded me of this view from the painting by Frederic Church.
