Niagara Falls

[StillSimbaGirl]

I am looking for advice regarding Niagara Falls - we are thinking of doing a 3 night trip in May up there. Any words of wisdom? American side or Canadian?
How are the boarding crossings etc. Where to stay? What to do?

It will be DH, DD (then aged 10) and myself - according to Google Maps it should take us about 6 - 7 hours driving time.

[Mousemates]

American side or Canadian....if you want a falls view hotel room you have to stay on the canadian side.

Be sure to do the Maid of the Mists boat and we also enjoyed doing the tour where you go behind the falls and go out onto the hurricane deck.

As for the crossings its not that big a deal...just make sure you have the paper work you need for yourself and everyone in your party.

[goofyfan4466]

pertaining to this topic, do you or don't you need passports for everybody in your party ? we had heard that as of 6/08 everybody needs them,then just recently somebody said that they pushed the date back more. so does anybody know the date? thanks

[MIKESMOM]

I prefer to stay on the Canadian side. If you are driving you will only need a birth certificate for customs.

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

I live 10 minutes from Niagara Falls, Canada.

There is alot to do, and sometimes around the time you are coming they have specials where you can combine multiple activities, I think last year it was the butterfly museum, ferris wheel, bird kingdom, and tour behind the falls.

The bird kingdom and butterfly museum were nice, but don't take long to go through. We loved the view from the ferris wheel. They also have greenhouses that are free to go in, and are quite beautiful.

They also have the jet boat tours and helicopter tours. We went on the jet boats, and they were alot of fun. i have never been on the helicopters, but would love to go, my friend does it every year.

right beside the helicopter rides is Great Wolf Lodge, while it is expensive to stay at it looks really neat. my grandkids are a bit young yet but i want to take them when they are a bit older. It is a hotel with an indoor water park. (they have a talking tree and some animals in the lobby) you can take a look around even if you don't stay there. You can only use the water park if you are staying at the hotel.

Marineland should be open at that time of year. I'm not overly crazy about it as it is alot of walking and nothing in between. It does have some cool rides, and the dolphin/sealion shows.

If you want any more info pm me and i will be glad to help.
Have a great time!

[sisterdisco]

YOU HAVE TO STAY ON THE CANADIAN SIDE.
The US side is not that nice. They have tried to clean it up some, but the Canadian side is where everything is.....there is a plethera of places to spend LOTS of $$. I would recommend the Hilton---they have a very nice waterslide inside and a great pool. There is also a nice indoor water park called AmericanaNiagara that you can go to for the day.

Regarding the border crossing.....we have been through a bunch of times (in 5 minutes) w/o anyone even asking for any ID for the kids, but wouldn't you know it....the one time, we just went over for lunch, they asked on the way back in the US for birth certificates for the kids. They agent was NOT happy w/ us that we didn't have them. They automatically run your licenses, and he yelled at us and let us through, but I have since heard stories from others that they got detained for 6-7 hours w/o proper ID.

If by any chance both parents are not w/ the kids, then make sure that you have a notarized note saying it is ok to take them out of the country.

[grumpyguy]

sisterdisco nailed it....i live 15 minutes from the falls.unfortunately,the american side is desolate.the canadian side is worlds better.
we often joke that at night when you look across the niagara river it looks like disney world or las vegas and our side looks like a scene from the planet of the apes...
have fun

[beksy]

I'd definitely go with the Canadian side. We enjoy just walking along looking at the falls, and they are increadible at night. My favorite spot is actually looking down right where the water is going over. We always ride Maid of the Mist and go in the tall building that looks like the space needle (sorry, I can't remember the name!). It has a revolving restaurant or did when we were there last a few years ago with wonderful views. That is worth it! We also did the Imax theater which was cool. I haven't been in many years but it is a wonderful place to visit!

[Magic Smiles]

I am not whether or not they have this in May, but during the summer months (Jul, Aug) they have an amazing fireworks display over the falls on certain nights. I have been lucky enough to catch it 2 or 3 times.
Marineland is a LOT of walking with nothing to look at. They have so much land that they could develop.
I was reading earlier this evening the Great Wolf Lodge is one of the top hotels for some reason or another, but don't remember what it was.
Any how, I would recommend the Canadian side, but then again I am Canadian, eh!

[Love of Disney]

As everyone has said....the Canadian side is MUCH better!! You can also walk across the Rainbow Bridge to go to the US side if you want to at say you were there.

There are tons of hotels/motels to choose from, depending on your budget. It is a little expensive there, but I don't think you will be disappointed because it's very beautiful. You can also do a journey beneath the falls which takes you way down to look behind and beside the falls...really neat. Also, the exchange rate on the US dollar is in your favour again, so you will get around $1.20 +/- for you dollar.

Enjoy and you can also PM me if you need any extra help!

[DNS]

Both sides offer interesting things to do, but we definitely think the Canadian side offers the best view.

[goofy78]

....Be sure to do the Maid of the Mists boat....

Another vote for the Maid of the Mist boats!

[pilk]

If you don't mind leaving the imediate area of Niagara Falls and looking for a fast/wet ride I recommend a nice drive along the Niagara Parkway to Niagara on the Lake, about 20 minutes. Once there take a ride with Whirlpool jet boats.

[Magic Smiles]

If you don't mind leaving the imediate area of Niagara Falls and looking for a fast/wet ride I recommend a nice drive along the Niagara Parkway to Niagara on the Lake, about 20 minutes. Once there take a ride with Whirlpool jet boats.

Where are these Whirlpool jet boats? We try and get down there every summer as we have friend who live 20 minutes from Niagara Falls. This sounds like something DS would enjoy.

[princessesmom]

Definitely stay on the Canadian side. The best thing we did was Goat Island and the Cave of the Winds which is located at Goat Island. We walked from our hotel (Embassy Suites) across Rainbow Bridge to the park. Goat Island is the oldest state park in the US. You get great views from here. There is a little concession type restaurant where you can get food. The Cave of the Winds is located in the park. You take an elevator down 175 feet. You then come out to walk on a series of wooden decks which take you incredibly close to the falls. They give you special non-skid water shoes to wear and slickers. The views were amazing and the park is beautiful.

I would also recommend the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the Imax movie was very interestng.

It is a beautiful place to visit. Enjoy!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Maid of the Mist is a must-do, but I've seen the lines be pretty long, so I would do it earlier in the day instead of later.

If you're looking for a "destination" hotel, then I would totally recommend Great Wolf Lodge (from the GWL chain in the US). It is a lovely hotel, close to everything and you get the super-cool water park as well. There are some good deals out for GWL right now, both directly from the site, and from travel sites like expedia.

If you're interested in travelling a bit, Niagara-On-the-Lake is about a 20-minute drive, and it is a great little town. They have a super-theatre, and tons of neat stores and restaurants. We have our favourite ice-cream store and chocolate store there!

We're history geeks, and there is SO MUCH to do with history in the area, as well as all of the traditional fun stuff, like the museums and activities on Clifton Hill.

[SBETigg]

Slowly I turned...

Sorry, couldn't resist. Some of us (probably older ones) will get it. But yes, Canadian side, no doubt. And I've also heard that you need passports now. Don't know when it will be or was officially implemented, but it could speed the process either way.

[faline]

Everyone will need passports or passport cards to enter Canada and return as of June 1st.

Although I stayed on the U.S. side on my last visit, I would definitely stay on the Canadian side if I go again.

Another thing you need to know...if you're traveling in Canada with your car, you should contact your U.S. auto insurer and let them know you will need verification of your insurance coverage for a visit to Canada. If you don't have proper documentation to prove you have adequate insurance coverage and have a problem while in Canada, they can impound your car.

On our last visit, we also took a ride over and watched the ships going through the locks - quite interesting.

There's also a restaurant on the Canadian side that sits very high and rotates slowly to give you a 360° view. It's a long time since I ate there but the view was fantastic and the food was good.

[phillydan]

Step by step...

(Yes, I get the joke)

Currently, Birth certificates are accepted for land and sea travel. Starting June 1, 2009, Passports are required for Adults for re-entry to the US by land and sea; children under 16 can continue to use Birth Certificates.

[pilk]

Another thing you need to know...if you're traveling in Canada with your car, you should contact your U.S. auto insurer and let them know you will need verification of your insurance coverage for a visit to Canada. If you don't have proper documentation to prove you have adequate insurance coverage and have a problem while in Canada, they can impound your car.

Actually, in Ontario this wouldn't be true unless you gave the police some reason to impound the car, ie: impaired driving or driving more than 50 km/hr over the speed limit. You should still contact your insurance company but more for the reason that you need to make sure that if you do have an accident you insurance will cover it out of country.