What to see, where to stay, and how many days to plan? Finally, going to Niagara Falls. Other than the falls, it doesn’t look like there’s m much to do.
Stay on the Canadian side. Biggest piece of advice. So much nicer.
You can make trip up to Niagara on the Lake. Very cute little town, nice day trip, wineries all around. Also an historic fort in the area worth checking out.
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We just came back from Niagara Falls (Canada). We were also there when our kids were little, and I went to college nearby.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites -Niagara Falls (Canadian side), arrived on a Sunday and left on Friday. We enjoyed all of the restaurants and did a lot of walking (many miles each day). It’s a very touristy area and it was pretty crowded.
We did the Maid of the Mist on the NY side (walked the bridge). There is a similar boat ride on the Canadian side. We did a tour of the power station and tunnel under the falls, went to the Butterfly Conservatory (on our last trip), and went to a few fun museums. Each night they light up the falls and it’s fun to just walk or sit with a cup of coffee and watch.
I love walking even if I don’t have a specific destination in mind. You can easily do that at Niagara Falls and just watch the people and sites (there is a lot of activity).
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I loved the butterfly conservatory or whatever it’s called.
Found a link: Butterfly Conservatory | Niagara Falls
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Me too! I always called it the butterfly museum but I think it’s called a conservatory.
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We were just there in July. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott on the Canadian side. It was an easy walk to the falls and all of the action, but there are also hotels closer to the falls that have views from some rooms. We happened to be there on a weekend, and it was SO crowded, but we still had a good time. We arrived late afternoon and stayed two nights, which was enough time for us. We ate in the Skylon Tower, which has a fancy restaurant that revolves and a more casual buffet restaurant that does not, but both include access to the observation deck. We also rode the SkyWheel, a large Ferris wheel with great views. If you will be there before October 9th, they have fireworks every night at 10:00, which we watched from the Falls Fireworks Cruise. We also drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake, had lunch, shopped, and just walked around admiring the lovely homes.
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We wanted to go to the Skylon Tower but we ran out of time. Forgot about the fireworks!! We watched them from the walkway by the falls.
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We stayed outside Buffalo since it was much more affordable and someone wanted to go to the zoo there as well.
You can ride the elevator down to the bottom of the falls (where the Maid boards) and there is a nice restroom and stairs you can climb to be closer tothe American Falls.
You can avoid some of the crowds and park at an upper lot, where the walkways are very close to the falls.
My kids’ favorite thing was going under the falls, in the tunnels on the Canadian side. Quite the sonic experience, to be sure. There is an aquarium but it was , at the time, pretty icky. We also drove up to Ft Niagara, which is pretty fun if you like forts and a view of Toronto.
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I loved Maid of the Mist.
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Can you still find cheesy honeymoon hotels?
Thirty years ago, not on our honeymoon, we stayed at a kitschy place with a giant jacuzzi, mirrors on the ceiling, and a king sized water bed. I was eight months pregnant, and it looked like a shotgun wedding.
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We were just in Niagara Falls in June and enjoyed it. Spent two nights in Toronto first, then 2 nights in Niagara Falls area. We actually stayed in St. Catharines so we could check out both Niagara Falls Canada and Niagara on the Lake. Hampton Inn with free breakfast. The Welland Canal is in St. Catharines and there is a museum there where you can see big ships go through the locks. Very interesting if you’re into that kind of thing.
We did Journey Behind the Falls in Niagara Falls and enjoyed the fireworks. Have fun!
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We stayed at the Sheraton Fallsview on the Canadian side. We did the Maid of the Mist, took a tour behind the falls, had dinner at Skylon Tower, and watched fireworks over the falls.
We embraced the touristy-ness of the place and even played (dinosaur themed) mini-golf LOL.
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We were there for about a week and did all of the touristy things including Maid of the Mist, the Niagara Aquarium, all of the stuff on the Canadian side, Niagara at the Lake, etc. Hands down the absolute best thing we did was called Cave of the Winds and it’s on the American side. They give you a poncho and waterproof shoes and you basically walk up and down stairs that are next to and behind the American Falls. We also did the tunnel thing on the Canadian side but it did not come close to Cave of the Winds imo. Cave of the Winds was amazing. You definitely get wet though so if you go when it is cold it may not be as enjoyable and I’m pretty sure they take the whole staircase down before everything freezes so it isn’t even available in the winter. If you have older teens, you can take a jet boat ride from Niagara on the Lake that was also pretty fun. We stayed at a hotel on the Canadian side on like the 40th floor. I want to say it was a Hilton but I’m not sure. It was across the street from the casino. The cool thing about that was we could watch the fireworks from our hotel room and because we were on such a high floor we were actually above the fireworks watching them below us. That was an experience I probably will never have again. Overall we had a great time. Good luck on your trip!
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Thank you so much. Many excellent ideas. Who knew there will so much to do!
It was much more fun than I expected!
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