Niagra falls - day trip or spend the night?
 

Hi all,

I will have three days in Toronto coming up. I definitely want my visit to include Niagra Falls.

I'm undecided whether to spend both nights at a hotel in Toronto and then just go to the falls for the day. Or, spend a night in Toronto and a night at a hotel by the falls.

Can anyone comment on whether there is much to see/do around the falls (apart from the beauty itself)? Is it a pretty town? Any hotels there to be recommended.

Thanks!

The town isn't much to look at. The falls is nice to look at for 10 minutes. There a million touristy things to do there, depending on what you like to do. Lots of nice hotels, with views of the falls, and lots of deals to be had on the various groupon and knockoff sites. If you like waterparks, the largest Great Wolf Lodge is here, as is the rooftop Fallsview Waterpark right near the Rainbow Bridge.

Outside of the city, Niagara On The Lake is a pretty town and lots of wineries. The Welland Canal is interesting if you like to see ships up close. Lock 7 in Thorold has a visitor centre and you can talk to the crew as their ship goes by. It doesn't have the PR or exotic location of the Panama Canal but it's a pretty interesting place if you catch the right ships, which will likely be iron ore haulers.

It's a day trip for most people. The casinos are what cause people to spend more time. You can make more of a trip with things in the area - the Shaw Festival, Niagara Glen, the US side of the falls - but those are not compelling.

One reason to get a hotel would be to see the falls at night when they're all lit up. There are lots of deals for Fallsview rooms with breakfast/dinner/attraction packages, especially mid-week. Driving from Toronto in the morning, having lunch and touring wineries or Niagara-on-the-Lake, dinner/show in a Falls hotel and returning the next day would make a leisurely side-trip.

Hi,

Niagara Falls the city isn't particularly pretty. Of course you are there for the Falls. However, the Falls are definitely very pretty at night when they are lit with various coloured spotlights.

You might want to look into staying at Niagara-on-the-Lake which is a small town north of Niagara Falls (about 25km). It has a main street that has little shops and cafes and the like (also touristy but different from the more carnival/fair feeling of the falls). There is also a lot of B&B accommodations and various higher end inns in NotL.

The restos in Niagara Falls tend to be on the chain/touristy side so spending the night in NotL would open up your dining options.

I am assuming you will be driving (rental car) and you should keep in mind the traffic between Niagara and Toronto can be quite heavy at times. Weekday rush hours can add an extra hour on that route AND on a lot of weekends there can be a lot of visitor/travel traffic in the corridor between Toronto and Niagara.

Thanks so much for the advice all. I think I will stay at Niagra a night. I would like to see the lights on the falls at night and as my stay will include a Sunday I believe there will be fireworks.

Can anyone advise which hotel has the most spectacular room view of the falls? I'm leaning towards the Marriott or Embassy Suites at the moment.

Are you going solo, or with a partner, friend, family? Will you have a car? If returning to Toronto Monday morning, be aware of rush hour traffic if you have a flight to catch.

Hi Laidback. I'm going solo and will be taking the train I think.

Just a thought: the train station is in the city of Niagara Falls, quite a distance away from the actual waterfalls and hotels.

You should look at riding the Casino shuttles which gets you right in the waterfalls region.

I would go Embassy Suites as a first choice. Be aware there are 2 Marriott's almost across from each other. Marriott Fallsview is the preferred one over Marriott Gateway, which is an older hotel, and more upriver of the falls than the other 2 a bit. The Hilton is another good option, right across from the casino.

Just got an email from the Hilton with a summer deal that might work for you:
http://niagarafallshilton.com/packag...camp=JULYWEB14

I've stayed here and got a room with an excellent view. Good advice on the Fallsview shuttle bus from TO.

If you are taking the train, you are limited in where you can go upon arrival. You will be pretty well stuck in the falls area. However, there is a local bus (WEGO, see below) that goes to Niagara on the Lake if you are interested (and it is a nice area).

The GO train runs weekends in the summer, no advance purchase required. There is the local WEGO bus that services the Falls. You can find more info and links here:

http://gotransit.com/public/en/travelling/niagara.aspx

VIA will require advance purchase. Not sure of the their service.
http://www.viarail.ca/

The Hilton has decent rooms and is where I stay down there - you can get very good deals by subscribing to their email, and they are sometimes on groupon too I believe. I wouldn't bother with their restaurants tho, pretty rubbish and overpriced.

Last time I stayed I had a very pretty view indeed - you do have to make sure you book a fallsview room if that is what you want. It's a short walk downhill to the falls themselves, and it is opposite the new casino (which often has some pretty decent music concert options going on).