Niagra Falls - How many nights do u recommend?

[lisaross]

Now that i'm back from our Cruise - its time to start thinking of next summers vacation - which will be budget compared to the cruise.

We have friends near Buffalo that we'll also be stopping by for a few days.

Anyway - how many nights do u think we need in Niagra FAlls, Canadian side?

i'm deciding between 3 or 4 nights - what do u think?

thanks

lisa

 

[rnorwo1]

My Dh and I went to the Canadian side two years ago, without kids. We stayed two nights, and it was plenty. We flew into Buffalo fairly early and took a cab across ($60), checked in and used one of the on-off bus tours, so we were able to see everything we wanted to in 2 days. There is not a ton to do (we were not into the things in town like the Ripley's museum and such, things that you could do anywhere), so all of the must sees were very doable in two days. We did all of the falls activities (except for the boat, it was winter and iced over), the museum, IMAX, butterfly gardens, saw a magic show one night, a couple of nice dinners, the giant ferris wheel thing (sorry, blanking on the proper name!), we even had time to stroll around in town, shop, and relax in the hotel looking at the falls...and we never felt rushed. If you're going with young kids, this may be a different story, but 2-3 nights should be plenty otherwise. We would have been bored if we had stayed 3 nights. If it were not so cold, I would have just enjoyed more time strolling around looking at the falls and could justify 3 nights, but it snowed both days and just wasn't conducive to lingering! The falls were gorgeous though with all of the ice, glad we went then!
Good luck and have fun, it's an amazing sight!

 

[sarah4770]

Agree. 2 nights is plenty. I went alone with my 2 kids a few years back. We did the maid of the mist boat ride, which was fun. We went in the summer time.
Niagara Falls is worth seeing, but 2 days was plenty. Also, food was pretty expensive , as I recall.

 

[nilseks]

Yep, 2 days. 3 or 4 is way too much, unless you want to get sucked into the tourist trap stuff, like mini golf, which you can just as well do at home and probably for less. If you wanted to, you could really do it in just one day.

 

[DVC-Don]

One or two will do.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

2 nights is enough. Consider going to Erie Pa for a few nights. There is a lot to do there.

 

[Mkebound]

2 to 3 nights is plenty. I would suggest spending fewer nights and using the money you save to get a nicer hotel room with a view of the falls. The Embassy Suites is a great location.


You need to see the falls during the day, then again at night
Ride the Maid of the Mist (about $15)
Journey behind the falls (about $14)
See the flower clock and the butterfly conservatory (about $6)
Ride the huge skywheel (about $8)
The Niagara arboretum (free) is very nice and a short walk from the falls
There are many, many combo packs you can buy for a two day visit that include unlimited use of the buses and trolleys and admission to the most popular attractions. They can be a good deal.


Other than that all the other attractions are the same to any other tourist location.

Depending on how long you are in the area I'd also suggest Old Fort Niagara (on the US side). This historic fort was a key position in the Revolution and war of 1812. Well preserved and lots of history. Teddy Roosevelt National Historic Site (south side of Buffalo). A day trip to Toronto (about a two hour drive) for great restaurants, Museums and the CN tower.

 

[travelbug]

i'm deciding between 3 or 4 nights - what do u think?

lisa

If you're deciding between 3 or 4 nights, then I'd go with 3. Along with things that others have suggested, I've also enjoyed the White Water Walk in the gorge. If you're into thrills and chills, there's also the Whirlpool Aerocar over the gorge and the turbo boats (which I've not done yet). I like to go up the Skylon Tower every once in a while. These are in addition to some of the main things that people have already named (Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, Floral Clock, etc.).

Gee, just thinking about all this makes me want to go back again. I was born there and spent part of my childhood there (Canadian side) and have been back numerous times to visit. But it's probably been 8 or 10 years since my last visit. Time to consider it again!

Have fun!

 

[Sadie22]

DH and I may be in that area the end of October. We would probably be driving. Is that a bad time to go weatherwise? Would we need passports to visit the Canadian side?

 

[rigs32]

DH and I may be in that area the end of October. We would probably be driving. Is that a bad time to go weatherwise? Would we need passports to visit the Canadian side?

Yes, you will need passports.

Weather is totally up in the air. It could be 65 or 35.


OP - If you can afford 4 nights, I would do 2 in Niagara Falls and 2 in Toronto. It's only about 90 min from the Falls and there is so much more to do there given the size of the city.

 

[skier_pete]

Now that i'm back from our Cruise - its time to start thinking of next summers vacation - which will be budget compared to the cruise.

We have friends near Buffalo that we'll also be stopping by for a few days.

Anyway - how many nights do u think we need in Niagra FAlls, Canadian side?

i'm deciding between 3 or 4 nights - what do u think?

thanks

lisa

I live 20 minutes from the falls. Niagara Falls itself is probably good for about 2 days. You could also spend a day at Niagara-On-The-Lake. Another option is to go up to Toronto for the day, which is only about 2 hours, and is a wonderful city. If you don't want to do that, I wouldn't spend more than 3 days there.

DH and I may be in that area the end of October. We would probably be driving. Is that a bad time to go weatherwise? Would we need passports to visit the Canadian side?

October can be iffy...anywhere from Sunny and high 60s to rainy/cold 30s or anywhere in between. We get some real nice days in October, but awful hard to know when they'll be.

And yes, you need either a passport or an enchanced driver's liscene to go to Canada. (Actually, technically you don't need it to go over, just to get back, but pretty much the same thing.)

 

[Aristocath]

I can't imagine spending 3 or 4 nights in Niagara Falls myself. We spent one night at the Embassy Suites Fallsview which was great. We did Maid of the Mist, had a few nice meals, some of the other things which PPs mentioned and relaxed. There is a lot of tourist trap stuff which I just don't enjoy. And I don't gamble so the casinos hold no appeal for me. It was a fun two days! We would like to go back in the winter, crazy I know. I would also like to spend time in Toronto.

 

[Mkebound]

I can't imagine spending 3 or 4 nights in Niagara Falls myself. We spent one night at the Embassy Suites Fallsview which was great. We did Maid of the Mist, had a few nice meals, some of the other things which PPs mentioned and relaxed. There is a lot of tourist trap stuff which I just don't enjoy. And I don't gamble so the casinos hold no appeal for me. It was a fun two days! We would like to go back in the winter, crazy I know. I would also like to spend time in Toronto.

My family and I went on a SUPER cheap fare in Feb of 2009 and loved it!
We've also been there in October (2001) and just last month - July 2011

 

[D L and K's Mom]

There is a really fun hotel/waterpark on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, just as you cross over. It is called the Skyline Inn. http://www.fallsviewwaterpark.com/i...ords&utm_medium=Waterparkpricepoint&refid=984 we got a great deal $159 and it is for the hotel and 4 waterpark passes for the day we check in and the next day until 3:00pm. Great waterpark!! Clean hotel and at night they show a movie for the kids in the courtyard and kids take their bedding out and lay in the courtyard and enjoy the movie and popcorn.
We have taken a few trips to Niagara Falls and I agree 2 days Max. Make sure you save a little time to take the trolley around the park...It is a very pretty park, lots of flowers and trees. There is a little trolley that you pay $2.00 for ( http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com...icTrolley.aspx ) and it will take you all around the park (you can hop off and on as it makes stops) We usually pay $10 to park at the park and we bring some sandwiches and walk around, take the trolley and enjoy the park. There always seems to be a wedding ceremony going on whenever we are there. I would suggest doing the Cave of the Winds
( http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com...fTheWinds.aspx ) it is great fun. You can google coupons for the "tourist sights"in Niagara Falls. Make sure you hop off the trolley at 3 sister islands. It is a great place to walk and see some little off shoots of the falls. We dipped our feet in the small streams and my DD thought it was great to tell people she had her feet in the falls. Here is the information about how they named the islands. ( http://www.niagarafrontier.com/islands.html )

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Sorry, I didnt notice if you said you would have kids with you or not....sorry.

 

[aprilgail2]

2 to 3 nights is plenty. I would suggest spending fewer nights and using the money you save to get a nicer hotel room with a view of the falls. The Embassy Suites is a great location.


You need to see the falls during the day, then again at night
Ride the Maid of the Mist (about $15)
Journey behind the falls (about $14)
See the flower clock and the butterfly conservatory (about $6)
Ride the huge skywheel (about $8)

.

I can't imagine spending 3 or 4 nights in Niagara Falls myself. We spent one night at the Embassy Suites Fallsview which was great. We did Maid of the Mist, had a few nice meals, some of the other things which PPs mentioned and relaxed. There is a lot of tourist trap stuff which I just don't enjoy. And I don't gamble so the casinos hold no appeal for me. It was a fun two days! We would like to go back in the winter, crazy I know. I would also like to spend time in Toronto.

One time we spent 5 nights there and another time 4 nights- we found plenty to do! We did all of the above plus went on an awesome jetboat ride. The second time we stayed we stayed at Great Wolf Lodge there so there was plenty of time spent in there at the water park!
We also did someplace I think it was called Marine World or something like that- then went across to NY side to an aquarium...found a great place to ride go karts (went there 2 nights!) and another to play laser tag at night. We loved hanging out by the falls watching the fireworks at night!
Oh and almost for about Clifton Hill ( I think that was what it was called--the kids just called it FUN TOWN!) we did the wax museums, ripleys and a bunch of other touristy things there--spent a whole day just in that area.

 

[lizabu]

3 nights is good. If you have 2 full days you can do everything of interest. I like to buy the adventure pass and do 2 activities on day 1 and 2 activities on day 2. It includes people mover passes so you can get from place to place easily.

http://www.niagarafallsontario.com/adventurepass.html

 

[lisaross]

Thanks for all the replies..

We will have our two boys with us who will be 10 and 12!

We will probably do the 3 nights - thinking of the Comfort Inn in Clifton. Seems like its a great location got good reviews, free breakfast and nice pool!

Will not be going till next summer but i love planning...Thinking we are going to go right b4 the 4th of july, actually checking out on the 4th and then driving to our friends in Dunkirk to spend the 4th and a few more days - definitly getting Hot Wings!!

WE'll be driving from NYC and we don't like long drives, so we'll probably drive 4 hours and spend th night in a motel any suggestions in the Albany area?

 

[julieamedeiros]

We just went 2 weeks ago and did 2 nights on the canadian side and I didn't think it was enough!

I think one more night for a total of 3 nights would have been much better. We did most things mentioned here already but we missed out on some other things that we would have loved to do but ran out of time.

The adventure pass was a great deal. Including the maid of the mist, niagara fury, journey behind the falls and the rapid walk. And gave you use of the buses in the part for 2 full days.

Would have loved to do the jet boat ride. We also went to Marine land....it was ok ...nothing like WDW but the kids did enjoy it.

Clifton hill is fun but pricey....and be ready to spend alot of money on dining.

The best thing is Cave of the Winds on the American side...very cool!

But it is worth the money to stay at one of four of the hotels on Fallsview Blvd with an fallsview room. I did priceline and got the Marriott and then upgraded to the fallsview room.

Have Fun!

 

[DeniseinNS]

We were just there a few weeks ago and spent one night and left mid afternoon the next day. Niagara Falls literally goes all night so if your kids can stay up late you can get alot done but I would do at least 2 days.

We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites on Victoria Road and it was a 5 minute walk to Clifton Hill, very nice newer hotel!! They had cookies at the front desk for the kids at all times, awesome rooms, a really good breakfast and a pool and parking was only $6 http://www.countryinns.com/niagara-falls-hotel-on-l2g3l3/onniafal