Hoping to take a 1 or 2 day trip to Niagara Falls in the near future.
Any suggestions for how to maximize fun and minimize stress? Best boats, tours, etc? American or Canadian side, or both?
Thanks!
Stay on the Canadian side for sure - views are better. Definitely do the iconic Maid of the Midst boat ride. We also enjoyed the walk behind the falls and ate at the revolving restaurant there. Embrace the tourisy nature of the place.
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Canadian side - gives a clear view of the American falls. Do the Maid of the Mist tour just to experience the power of the falls. There’s also a “jet” boat you can take up the Gorge to experience the rapids and whirlpool if that’s your thing. Visit the Butterfly Conservatory. Drive up to Niagara on the Lake!
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Agree with Maid of the Mist comments, and Niagara on the Lake, if you have time. Walk along the top where you can get different views of the falls.
Be prepared to pay a ridiculous amount for parking (I think we had 2 cars and each was over 30 bucks for the 2 hours or so we were at the falls).
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We just got back from Niagara Falls two weeks ago.
First, OMG, Canadian side! This is one of those things that shouldn’t even be debated or treated like a choice because it’s like comparing whether for the same $ you would prefer to travel in first class or basic economy – it’s just night and day unequal in experience. We spent a good amount of the trip theorizing why anyone stays on the American side, post Covid border control issues and mostly concluded its probably people who either didn’t do their homework and went in blind or who don’t have a valid passport. That’s the end of the pros for the American side. The Canadian side hotels are much closer to the falls, have dramatically better views of the falls, there are more restaurants, more things to do, more walkways along the falls, etc. And your $ does well in Canada.
In terms of boats, there are two companies that do the boats that go right up close to the falls where you get soaked in the mist – on the American side it’s called the Maid of the Mist. On the Canadian side its called the Hornblower but is branded as Niagara City Cruises. They both do the exact same trip – and take turns. Obviously if you are staying in Canada the Niagara City Cruises will be more convenient but either is fine if you prefer to walk over the bridge to the American side. The Canada side runs more boats, the boats are a little bigger, they run them later in to the evening than the American side and they have on some nights with an optional nighttime version that goes up to the lit-up falls then watches the short nightly fireworks (about 5 minutes long) from the boat (we did that). There is no comparable nighttime option for the American side, at least of as two weeks ago.
On the Canada side in terms of Falls-related activities, you should consider buying a one of the package deals at this site, which controls the majority of the Canada-side falls and related attractions:
https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit-niagara-parks/plan-your-visit/deals-packages/
We did the middle priced package. You will frequently make use of the Incline Railway car to get back and forth from the Falls attractions and walkway and all the hotels and restaurants at the top of the ridge above them (there is no alternative stair option if you skip the Incline short of walking about half-a-mile each way out of your way). The package includes unlimited use. It also includes use of the local busing system if you want it.
We really enjoyed the Power Station tour which includes taking an elevator a couple hundred feet under the station then hiking a 0.4 mile long tunnel (each way) that used to convey the water back to the river and now ends at a special falls viewing platform near the river level below the falls. They sell both day and night tours. At night the tunnel (and the falls) are lit up and they do a special projection mapping show in the power plant itself.
We also enjoyed doing the Journey Behind the Falls. It literally lets you walk through a tunnel to to viewing bays right behind the rushing water of the falls. But even better is their viewing platform which is as close to the falls – mid-height – as close as you can get to the falls. Spectacular photo opportunities here. In terms of the tunnel behind the falls, there are two viewing ports and they end up with long lines. Someone gave us the bad advise to wait in line to see both and that was a huge waste – they look identical. So pick the shorter line and just do one – usually the closer one has the shorter line.
We also did the White Water Walk where you hike along a platform near the raging rapids of the river which was fine and included in the package but not a must-do. Similar for the Whirlpool Areo cable car. It’s over 100 years old and takes you over the whirlpool. Neat and worth it as part of the package. Not essential.
There is a mini amusement park downtown on the Canadian side with a large ferris wheel that has great views of the falls. There’s also a very large multi-level go-cart track I enjoyed and various other attractions we didn’t do.
To each their own, but for us our hotel room was the absolute highlight of the trip and money well spent. Our view of the falls was probably the best hotel room view we have ever had, and that’s a pretty high bar since we have stayed at places with amazing Ocean front views, a view of a volcano in Costa Rica, etc. Our room had floor-to-ceiling glass with a panoramic view of the falls. It’s impossible to explain how speculator it was and I don’t know how to post pics here or I would. I posed it on my social feed and had many “wow!” comments asking where they could get that view. We left the curtains open at night and fell asleep looking right at the lit falls. It was as close to Horseshoe Falls (the main one you think of for Niagara Falls of the three falls) as any hotel room can get – at the absolute closest point to the falls. That was at the Embassy Suites Fallsview. I paid for a standard room with an “US/canada falls view” and then “upgraded” to one of the “presidential suites” (there is one per floor times about 40 floors) for a fee that was less than the cost to have reserved it up-front. It doesn’t matter much whether you get a higher or lower floor for the view because the entire hotel sits on a high ridge over the falls so even the lower floors have great views. The hotel itself was just okay. I’d call it a 3.5 star hotel with a 5+ star view. Like all Embassy Suites it includes a free breakfast buffet but they can accommodate over 1,500 people so the omelette station was like being in line for a top right at a Disney World, complete with the switchback line and the food wasn’t very good – though the view from the seats was great. Sometimes a line to use the elevators too.
The next closest hotel to the falls right next door is the Marriott. There are two Marriotts next to each other, so make sure to get the one that fronts the falls and not the one across the street. Those views, if you get the falls side, should be almost as good though they sit just slightly up-river of the falls itself whereas the ES is right in the sweet spot. The casino also has an excellent view and is nearby. There’s also an old Tower Hotel which was the first in the area and but it looks super dated from the outside and didn’t have good reviews.
There is also a Sheraton more downtown that probably has great views but is much further from the actual Horseshoe Falls so the view will be more distant. It is the closest to the view of the American Falls. This hotel will be close to the amusement park stuff and a lot of downtown restaurants and the bridge to the American side and the elevator down to where the boats are, etc. But personally I prefer to location of the ES and Marriott.
Lots and lots of major chain restaurants on the Canadian side. Few higher end bespoke restaurants.
Parking at the Embassy Suites was over priced if you do it on-site. Much cheaper to either ask for the off-site self park option or to park at a neighboring lot.
Any other questions, let me know. It’s still fresh on my mind since it was so recent.
Enjoy.
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You may want to consider a helicopter ride for an eagle’s view over the falls as a wonderful addition to the mist-sprayed boat rides.
View from our hotel room…
Pic I took while lying in bed at night. The sound of the falls is like the ultimate 24/7 white noise from the room.
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Thank you everyone for the great information – and especially @citivas for the great hotel recommendations and photos! Can’t wait to start planning this for real!
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Thank you! We’ve been debating Niagra Falls for a while and this is extremely helpful
I recall a fun little museum there. You can see original devices people have used to go over the falls. Death traps is probably a better name for them.
We enjoyed a tour of Trios Winery. We finished with a wine tasting and learned about ice wines and then stayed and had a gourmet dinner at their restaurant.
We liked Niagra on the Lake (also Canadian side).
As a counterpoint on rooms with views of the falls, for our honeymoon, we booked such a room and all we had a view of was lots of—-FOG!
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We loved the butterfly conservatory. Highly recommend it! So awesome.
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Two more questions!
I am thinking of arriving by train – can I manage without a car? And, if so, there are stations at both the US and Canadian side. It seems everything is pretty pedestrian-friendly, including going back and forth between the two sides. Is that correct?
And…will I be able to experience the highlights in a full 24-hour day, or should I allocate two days for this trip? I am thinking I want to do most of the activities on the Adventure Pass Plus that @citivas mentioned above: Save On Tickets with Niagara Falls Adventure Pass (niagaraparks.com)
Thanks!
I can’t help on train info – didn’t do it, so no experience. I will say once we were there, we could have managed without a car and didn’t use it much. Though when we did it was a time saver. All the core activities around the falls are walking distance. But some of the secondary activities are not – Aero Whirlpool Tram, White Water Walk, visiting Niagara on the Lake, etc. You can reach most of those by public transit but it will take much longer than having your own car.
On the timing, it depends how much you want to hit. We stayed 3 nights, arriving the first evening and departing the last night. So 2 full days. We felt good about it, but in a perfect world would have had one more to do Niagara on the Lake and some biking. On the other hand if you trip is really about the falls, you certainly could do a few core see the falls-related activities in one day for sure.
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Thanks! The train is only because I love trains – I can also drive in if that’s a better choice.
For the Embassy Suites – I am seeing partial falls view and then a “Fallsview” room. Did you reserve the former and then upgrade to the latter? And…how did you do that? Did you call the hotel directly?
We caught a train from NYC to Buffalo and then rented a car in Buffalo. Lovely scenery on the train.
Thanks!
I’ll be coming in from Syracuse, where I am visiting my son for a long weekend while he is at an internship there. But I am considering taking the train from Syracuse to NYC after my visit with him – and I’ve heard that that train ride is gorgeous!
So maybe it’s best to drive from Syracuse to Niagara Falls for time savings and flexibility, and I’ll get my train-ride in from Syracuse to NYC. 
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We stayed at the Embassy Suites and had a partial view. It was fine- for us. We walked right outside every night and saw the fireworks and falls, which turned a different color each night.
We parked at a garage down the street for $5 a night. The price changed each day and you pay whatever the cost is on that particular day, so we lucked out.
We never used the car over the 5 days we were there. We did what we wanted over 3 days and then had 2 more days to walk around. If you enjoy walking you can walk between the NY and Canadian side (we did) but it’s probably a lot for those who don’t love walking.
Niagara Falls can definitely be done in an hour - or days.
It’s really what you want out of it.
Do you just want to see them - look - and leave.
Or do the entire experience. - which could be a couple days to more days.
Looking for the entire experience! But I also want to spend time in Syracuse with my son who is there for the summer, and we only have about 3 full days to do it all, since he is working full-time.