djp98374

First off I think their should be a sticky for Niagara Falls information...

Something future travelers should know...

The infamous boat ride that takes you down to the base of the falls is Maid of the Mist. Currently they operate tours from both the american and Canadain side of the falls

The Candaians put their contract for the tour up for bid and hornblower won it starting in 2014. Maid of the Mist still has a contract for the US side but there are issues if it can still operate because on the canadian side give that its not as steep has the winter dry dock,boat storage, and maintenance services. So when the contract ends in 2014 the Maid of the Mist would lose access to this. Thus its posible Maid of the Mist is forced to shut down operations. Hornblower could take over or the trips to teh falls from the US side cease to exist.

http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/cover2.28.12.html

http://www.wkbw.com/video/Maid-of-th...147229475.html



To get ot the canadian side you do not need a car. You can park on the american side and walk across the rainbow bridge to the Canadian side. You still have to go through immigration which will require tha same ISD as if you were to drive...a passport or an enhanced ID (ID/drivers license car with a chip). Enhanced IDs are done by most border states. An alternate option for the enhanced ID that does work...If you have a military/government ID car that has a chip in it (you would use it to log into computers or open doors) will work.

American side....it is a state park. There is parking in the state park and at parking lots/garages in downtown Niagara Falls. There a few hotels in downtown Niagara Falls (Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Days Inn to name a few)


Canadian side....The have more high rise hotels and better falls viewing hotels because of the angle of the american side of the falls is facing Canada. Canadian side also has the typical tourist traps out there mainly on Clifton Hill (Wax museums, tacky tourist trinket stores,over priced restaurants, etc)


others feel free to add....

paranoid

I will have a visit at the US side next week. And I plan to take the Maid of the Mist. Is it worth the time and money for that ride?

MoreMilesPlease

That's one of those "it depends". the Maid of the Mist is an iconic tourist attraction. If you've done it once then you're probably good for life (I've done it 3 times with various vistiting family). It is a good experience and you can really understand the power of the falls when you're on a small boat in the water.

If you will only be visiting the American side then the boat will give you a really good view of the falls. I say it's worth the cost to do it once and be able to say you've done it. If you don't like small boats then skip it.

If for some reason you will not be going to the Canadian side where the views are better you can walk on the bridge and get awesome view. You will need a passport to do this but don't have to clear Canadian passport control. Just make sure you have your passport with you to get back into the US.

paranoid

Thank you so much for the suggestion, MoreMilesPlease. This is really helpful.

emreeken

I'm going to visit Niagara Falls on April 23. I hope that Maid of the mist will be operating at that time. Because, as I see, it opens on may depending on weather. I'll land at JFK and will drive a minivan to the falls with 6 people. Do you have any route suggestions?

dhammer53

What time will you land at JFK?

You have a couple of choices going to the Falls.

You can head north from JFK on the Van Wyck to the Grand Central Parkway (west - to Triboro/Robert Kennedy Bridge). This feeds on to I - 87 north. You can take that to Exit 16 in Harriman NY, and follow signs for 17 West. Watch the speed limit, as the State Police enforce the limit. (17 is also known as I-86 in parts).

Take 17 west to I-81 north towards Syracuse. Follow signs for I-90 west aka the NY State Thruway. Pass Rochester and keep going. As you approach Buffalo, you'll see signs for Niagara Falls (I-190?).

From JFK, expect to spend the day driving. maybe 7 hours or so.

Alternate route

You can head north from JFK on the Van Wyck to the Grand Central Parkway (west - to Triboro/Robert Kennedy Bridge). This feeds on to I - 87 north. After 5 - 10 minutes, you'll see signs for the George Washington Bridge Route 80 west). Take 80 west to I-81 north towards Syracuse, then same directions as above. This is slightly long than 17, but it's straight and you can go 65 mph the entire way.

IMHO, 17 is prettier.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

[/b]"Take 80 west to I-81 north towards Syracuse, then same directions as above. This is slightly long than 17, but it's straight and you can go 65 mph the entire way."[/b]

Do not take I-80 to I-81. If you want to go via Pennsylvania, take I-80 to I-380 to I-81 -- which is probably what Dan meant.

But NY-17 is definitely the prettier route. (And there are definitely stretches on I-80 and I-81 where the speed limit is only 55 MPH.)

djp98374

Falls are worth seeing if without the Maid of the Mist.

It should operate then. Bad weather that day could cancel it. Then it runs around 9:30-4:30 (5:30 on weekends)

Your drive will take 3 days

1 day driving to
1 day there
1 day driving back

Its about 7-8 hr drive.

There are alternate ways to drive.

option 1: follow the new york state thruway taking I-87 Albany then I-90 to Buffalo

option 2: I-87 to I-86(NY 17) to Binghamton then I-81 to Syracuse, I-90 to Buffalo. An alternate---from Cortland there is a state route 41 to Skanettles, then US 20, then 378, 414, onto I-90.

option 3: I-80 through NJ into PA, cut over to Scanton, then get on to I-81 to Syracuse.

option 4: I-87 to NY 17/I-86 past Binghamton to I-390 to Rochester, NY36 and NY 63 cut through to Batavia then meet up with I-90.



On I-90 you hit the terminal toll booth at Buffalo. after passing through there you be on the right side because it splits to I-90 (left lanes) I-290 (right lanes).....then take I-290 to it ends on I-190, then take the Right (to Niagara Falls) exit. You go through the Grand Island bridge toll booth then over the bridge. about 7 min later You go over a second bridge leaving the island. Here you exit the first immediate exit--Robert Moses Parkway--and take it till it ends at the state park for niagara falls.

djp98374

Because of your drive to and drive back I would suggest a couple of stops on the way.....

Use different ways to drive to and from.

Finger Lakes area with small towns and wineries. One of these towns is Ithica (Cornell is located). In Seneca falls has a few historic sites (Womens suffrage).

Corning, NY (along I-390 then take I-86/NY 17) is the home of corning glass company. There is the corning Museum of Glass. In neighboring Elmira is a historic site---Mark Twain home/museum.

South of rochester, Se of Buffalo is Letchworth State Park http://www.letchworthpark.com/

If you go up to Albany you have Hudson valley communities you could explore and the state capitol in Albany.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

(Deleted.)

emreeken

Thank you for your replies. I'll try to choose a route after printing a map and signing all these routes with different colored pencils I think the best option is 17 because of the scenery. We'll have 3 drivers, so driving long will not be a problem. I think I'll take 17 to Binghampton and continue on 17 until connecting to 390. After that, it will be dark, so I can drive along 90. Or I can take 81 from Binghampton if it is already late.

I will arrive at JFK at 11.20 AM from Turkey. I'll rent a minivan and I'll leave the car at BUF at April 25th noon and fly to Las Vegas. So, I'll drive one way.

dajoip

My wife and I are looking to visit Niagara Falls for a weekend this summer and I'm curious what suggestions people would have for a hotel award redemption. We have Chase UR points (Hyatt/IHG/Marriott), Hilton, Club Carlson, and Starwood points. The options I'm currently looking at are:

Club Carlson:
Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Niagara Falls, ON
Radisson Hotel & Suites Fallsview, Niagara Falls, ON

• Both are Cat. 4 - would cost total of 38k points for 1 OR 2 nights (last night free)

Starwood:
Sheraton At The Falls, Niagara Falls, NY

• Soon to be Cat. 2 - would cost 3k points/night (weekend)

Thoughts? Are there better choices that I've missed?

Yoshi212

Honestly I'd not stay in NF. There really isn't much that is great about either side that would take more than a few hours to see. Staying in Buffalo or Toronto, which have many more reward options, allows you to be within an easy drive and lots to see.
Another option which is good for a little romantic weekend would be Niagra on the Lake. There is a Hilton property there.

Yuengling

Just returned from Memorial Day trip and I have only one tip - you should get up early to hit Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds. Both of these were swarmed by about 11 AM. They were even closing Goat Island to vehicle traffic. We learned our lesson the first day and instead of a big sit-down breakfast, got something light to eat and were in line by 8:45 AM.

heraclitus

I'm planning to spend a few days with my family in Niagara Falls, ON. We'd like to day-trip across the border, perhaps check out a few parks on the NY side, etc. We're also thinking of day tripping to Buffalo just for the heck of it... we're thinking of taking the kids to the zoo, but are there any other kid friendly-type attractions that anyone would care to recommend?

Generally Buffalo looks great, but the standard tourist things there like architecture tours would be tough to impossible with babies/toddlers.