Niagra Falls???

[paysensmom]

We are considering a trip to Niagra Falls in the next month or so. Anybody have any tips or advice?
Thanks,
Heather

 

[pigletto]

It would depend on whether you are planning to go to the Canadian side or the American side.
If you are going to Niagara Falls Canada both my fiance and I lived there for many years and worked in the tourist industry in several positions and would be happy to point you towards deals and cheap places to stay and eat.
If I can help send me a pm

 

[Floridagal23]

Pigletto, I PMd you!

 

[TinkrLiz]

If you're going to be traveling to Canada and back there are recent changes in the rules regarding what identification you need to have. I believe you now need your drivers license and your birth certificate. I'm not sure what they expect you to have for children as their ID.

 

[mudman]

If you're going to be traveling to Canada and back there are recent changes in the rules regarding what identification you need to have. I believe you now need your drivers license and your birth certificate. I'm not sure what they expect you to have for children as their ID.

I was just at AAA office and asked this question. I was told that if you are driving your own vehicle you can still get in to Canada with a birth certificate (this is until Feb 09, I think) after that date everyone will need a passport.

Currently, If you are flying into Canada, taking a bus or other transportation other than your car, you need a passport.

The AAA office I was in recommended passports for everyone at this time because in the event of a medical emergency you cannot be flown home to the USA without a passport.

It does make sense.

 

[misricsmith]

I saw in a AAA ad that they had a special including breakfast and dinner for $139.00 for 3 nights
pm if you need more info

 

[Pembo]

We were just there last week. I got a great deal at the Courtyard by Marriott on the Canadian side. We needed birth certificates for all of us (2A, 3k) and our driver's licenses.

What do you want to know???

 

[goofy370]

We are going to Niagara Falls, Canadian side in July. We are staying at the Courtyard Marriot. It seemed really nice on the computer. What do you recommend we see and do. We watched a travel channel show that gave us some ideas. We want to do to Maid of the Mist, and the behind Niagara falls tour. Not sure what else is a must see.

Thanks

 

[snickerboo]

I would recommend seeing the butterfly conservatory. It's not the cheapest thing but if you like butterflies, it's very cool. If you plan to go to Marineland, I would check the opening date as it's not open year-round. Also, take a day to drive down the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Have fun! A lot of people are doing teh Great Wolf Lodge thing at Niagara Falls. I wouldn't do it for a whole week but, if you have kids, you might want to consider one night there. I've heard very good reviews from friends who have stayed there.

As for ID, at present adults need photo ID and birth certificate, birth certificates is adequate for the kiddies.

 

[agentpleakley]

We were just there last week. I got a great deal at the Courtyard by Marriott on the Canadian side. We needed birth certificates for all of us (2A, 3k) and our driver's licenses.

What do you want to know???

We stayed last June, booked one of their packages. Last year, we didn't get asked to show anything getting into Canada. Getting back into US, they asked us if the kids in the car were ours and whether we were bringing anything illegal back into the US.

We are going to Niagara Falls, Canadian side in July. We are staying at the Courtyard Marriot. It seemed really nice on the computer. What do you recommend we see and do. We watched a travel channel show that gave us some ideas. We want to do to Maid of the Mist, and the behind Niagara falls tour. Not sure what else is a must see.

Thanks

We stayed last year and loved it. Here is a summary of our trip excerpted from an article I wrote:

What I learned quickly about Niagara Falls is that location of your hotel is very important. Our hotel had to be close to the entertainment of the Clifton Hills area, within a walkable distance to the falls, in a child-friendly environment, clean and affordable. I was able to satisfy all of these requirements with the Courtyard Marriott. Better yet, we booked two of their two-day packages, which enabled us to have some entertainment and meals included at a great price. We also researched and purchased some sightseeing tickets online to save some money. Great Gorge Adventure Pass. http://www.niagaraparks.com/nfgg/

Courtyard Marriott: We checked in, got the information on our package and went to our room. It was wonderfully spacious with a view of the Skylon Tower. Awesome! Not wanting to wait a minute to relax, the four of us headed down Clifton Hill to the overlook of the American Falls. We wondered around, grabbed a bite to eat at T.G.I. Fridays (part of our package), then headed back to the falls to grab a seat for the fireworks display. This was not a disappointment. Fireworks are not a daily event (like WDW) -- check before you go.

Breakfast at the hotel's all you can eat buffet was included in our package. This was awesome and the meal sustained us all day until dinner. If you are staying at the Courtyard Marriott do not miss this place, it is inside the Keg Restaurant. Although barely able to walk after breakfast, the four of us managed to wobble down Clifton Hill to get our Niagara Gorge Package passes. This was a great bargain. The Niagara Gorge Pass gave us the opportunity to visit four great attractions at one great price. We then headed to the Maid of the Mist. I had never been on the boat as a child. I don't know what my parents were thinking. This was an experience of a lifetime. When we got close to the falls, you could not see three feet in front of you. We were soaked, but happy. Equally as thrilling was the Journey Behind the Falls. We opted not to get the headphones. With a four-year-old, these could have been more troublesome than helpful. Once we were in the tunnels, I read aloud the various informational signs to the delight of my children. We then grabbed a couple Canadian candy bars (different than in the U.S.) and walked to the People Mover, which would take us out of town to the Whirlpool Aero Car.

The Whirlpool Aero Car is suspended above Niagara Gorge. A whirlpool lays beneath. While a little bit frightening for children, this was a novel experience and I'm glad we did this. On the way back in to town, we stopped at the Whitewater Walk, also included in our Niagara Gorge Pass. The awesome wonder of nature did not disappoint. By this time, we were quite hungry. Once back on Clifton Hill, we voted to eat at Rainforest Caf. This meal was decent, but overpriced for four hamburgers and cokes -- over $100. Back to the hotel. We were pretty tired but the kids wanted to go swimming. So off we went again. The hotel has two pools, an outside pool with a slide and an indoor heated pool. The pools were clean and the kids had fun using their last bit of energy. Our package included a free in-room movie, so we huddled into bed with the included bag of popcorn and watched "Are We Done Yet." A great way to end the day.

On our third day, we were game to trying something different. We traveled to Port Dalhousie, a quaint town on Lake Ontario. We had little trouble finding it, about a twenty minute drive outside of Niagara Falls. The only problem that day was that we could not go swimming in Lake Ontario because the bacteria levels were too high. The kids happily rode the antique carousel for 10 cents a ride. They rode ALOT. We then opted for the scenic route versus the express way back to Niagara Falls, enabling us to stop in Niagara on the Lake and at Fort George. Fort George was an unplanned item on our itinerary but well worth the stop for us history buffs. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the fort and learning tidbits of Canadian (as well as American) history. Dinner was again at TGI Fridays as part of our package. We were then game for some Clifton Hill attractions. The Skywheel is not to be missed. We bought another package deal, which gave us our Skywheel passes, a wax museum pass, arcade vouchers and a game of mini-golf. We saved the mini-golf for our last day, but enjoyed spending time in some of the classically over-rated attractions.

Well, it had finally arrived, our final full day in Niagara Falls and this was the day our four-year-old had anticipated the most. We were going to visit the Butterfly Conservatory, the last attraction on our Niagara Gorge Pass. The beauty of the gardens cannot be described. We spent a long time wondering the grounds before entering the conservatory. The conservatory itself is wonderful. The butterflies are just beautiful beyond words and I have the one hundred plus photos on my digital camera to prove it. The only damper in this day was the arrival of a rowdy and most impolite group of school children (unfortunately, I think they were from the U.S.). However, their rudeness could not ruin our fun. We happily explored the conservatory and patiently waited until the most delicate and beautiful of butterflies chose to land on our daughter's shirt. She was then satisfied and we could leave.

Our next stop was the Greg Frewein Magic Show (included in our package). I have to admit, I really thought this show was going to be a major cheesefest. It wasn't. We actually really enjoyed the show and our daughter kept asking "How did he do that?" We kept asking ourselves the same thing. Very enjoyable show although we personally would not have attended except for the fact that it was included in our package. We then drove our vehicle back to our hotel and set out on foot to the Skylon Tower and Imax Theater. Because of timing issues, we opted to go to the Imax Theater first. This was really cool. The theater was packed but not so that we could not enjoy the show. We then rode to the top of the Skylon Tower. This is a not to be missed attraction. This, along with the Maid of the Mist, provide the quintessential Niagara Falls experience.

By this time, we were famished. We headed back to TGI Fridays to use our last meal voucher from our hotel package. This meal was much better than the others; that, or we were just plain famished. We finished our evening by playing a round of glow-in-the-dark mini golf, visiting the duty-free shop (although we didn't buy anything), stopping buy the Hershey store where we shared some chocolate goodies, and purchasing some last stop souvenirs at the Canadian Mountie store. One last stop at the falls to enjoy the beauty of nature and we headed back up Clifton Hill to the hotel.

We headed home the next morning after breakfast. It was a very enjoyable trip. We definitely recommend the Maid of the Mist. Our pleasant surprise was visiting Fort George. We also found Port Dalhousie very quaint. Our recommended must buy souvenir was the maple flavored creme sandwich cookies. -- ( note: We found more in WDW this past December.) They can be found almost everywhere and they are delicious. My husband and I were able to sample the famous ice wine. If you get the chance, do so it is divine. While there were more attractions we could have visited, we really did not feel that we missed anything.

 

[luvtogo12]

Thank you Agentpleakley, that is a great trip report. I am now thinking about a trip to Niagra Falls.

 

[rluey29]

Has anyone rode the Jet Boat or whatever it's called at the falls? It looks like a huge speedboat/watercoaster. I'm dying to know what this is like. Looks like it would scare me to death!

 

[Pembo]

My brother rode the jetboat thing last fall. He said it was very fun and very wet. He thought it was worth EVERY dollar.

As for the border crossing, last August we didn't need our birth certificates, this March we had to show them at both crossings.

We had the Greg Frewin magic show tix in our package and the show was awesome. One of my kids favorite things! We also used our voucher from the Courtyard to eat at the Keg. Awesome food.

Here are my favorite Niagara websites:
http://www.infoniagara.com/
http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/
http://www.niagara-usa.com/

Make sure you tour on the American side as well. It is the best place to get up close to the falls.

Last summer we drove up to Welland Canal about 30 mins away. Very cool to watch ships going through the locks. This trip we drove out to Niagara on the Lake *not much to see in the winter but the homes are beautiful. Back on the American side we drove out to Fort Niagara. We didn't tour it but the area was pretty. We went to the Niagara Aquarium instead. The aquarium is small but we enjoyed seeing the penguins, seals and sea lions up close.

Lastly food is EXPENSIVE everywhere at Niagara Falls! We drove up Lundy Lane and ate at the Flying Saucer! Good food, better prices and cool building.