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Niagara Falls is truly one of nature’s stunning creations! I’ve often heard it labeled as one of those “someday-I’ll-visit” destinations – a Bucket List item, if you will. It was for us too! Well let me tell you something – we are in the habit of turning “someday” into “today!” So, we planned a trip to the Eastern provinces of Canada and included a trip to Niagara Falls from Toronto on our itinerary.
We based ourselves in Toronto for a few days so we could make our way to this world wonder, and booked a small group tour to Niagara Falls from Toronto. It was definitely a highlight of our Canadian adventures!
A little about Niagara…
Niagara Falls is actually made up of three waterfalls: American, Horseshoe (Canadian), and Bridal Veil Falls. American Falls is (obviously) on the American side of Niagara. The much smaller Bridal Veil is to the right (if you’re facing the American side).
The aptly named Horseshoe Falls is where the boat tours take you to get up close and personal with the mist, and is located mostly on the Canadian side of the border.
Some fun facts:
- There is A LOT of water flowing over these falls! To be exact, about 3,160 tons of water collectively flows over all of the falls at Niagara per second!
- Per the Niagara Falls State Park website, “The water falls at 32 feet per second over the Falls, hitting the base of the Falls with 280 tons of force at the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 2,509 tons of force at the Horseshoe Falls.” That is some serious power!
Can you believe that some people have actually attempted (successfully and unsuccessfully) to take a ride over these powerful falls in a metal barrel? Crazy nuts.
Getting to the Falls & Choosing a Tour
Getting to Niagara Falls from Toronto is relatively easy by car; however, we didn’t have a car during our trip, so a tour it had to be!
I chose a small group tour to Niagara Falls as I knew it would be a long day on the road. We wanted to travelin something comfortable instead of getting stuck on a big tour bus. This particular tour with TruExperiences allows a maximum of 14 people in a Mercedes sprinter van. Perfect!
We got lucky with only 10 in our group that day. There were two retired couples from the U.S. traveling together across Canada to celebrate some birthdays; a quiet pair of ladies from New Zealand; a couple from Germany; and the two of us Californians.
Experiencing the Falls
Niagara Falls, of course, is beautiful from above, but that’s not where the magic is. At first, I was like…cool, big waterfalls. But getting up close and personal with them on the boat cruise really blew my mind! You must go on the boat tour! I repeat: GO ON THE BOAT TOUR!
Tickets on the Hornblower Cruise were included with our tour. Our guide took care of securing them from the ticket booth for us. From there, we were responsible for hanging onto our own tickets and handing it to the attendants at each checkpoint.
Maid of the Mist vs. Hornblower
If you’re taking a tour from the U.S. side of Niagara, you’ll be cruising on the Maid of the Mist. Canadian visitors take the Hornblower cruise. They both get you right up to the falls!
Once our tickets were secured, we made our way down to the boat docks to board the boat. To get down to the boarding area, it’s a short, leisurely ride on a very slow funicular.
Note: Be sure to hang onto your ticket throughout the cruise. You’ll need it to take the funicular back to the top of the cliff when you are done.
Once we were at boat level, it was time to pick up our snazzy plastic ponchos and queue in line! I’ve seen some people complain about the lengthy lines to get on the boats, but I don’t think we waited longer than 10 minutes (perhaps we just got lucky with the crowds?).
Note: Visitors on the Hornblower Cruise wear pink ponchos, while the Maid of the Mist passengers on the U.S. side wear blue.
Epic Views from the Hornblower!
The boat cruise first took us past American and Bridal Veil Falls. The views were stunning! The seagulls were flocking all around, and the sound of the water roaring and crashing down onto the rocks with all that force was just mighty impressive.
Now get ready for this next part! The cruise boat then takes you into the most epic part of your journey – right into the mist at the base of Horseshoe Falls. It was unreal being in there!
Want to get wet? Stand in the very front of the boat (like we did) and you’ll experience the wonderful wind vortex created by the sheer force of all that water crashing down. It will make you feel like you are smack dab in the middle of a hurricane.
While you may have wind and water lashing at your face, trying to blow your beautiful pink poncho right off, the views of all that water pouring over the falls are like no other. Pictures cannot even do it justice! And I mean that – you really just have to be there in person to appreciate the enormity of it.
Lunch with a view at the Sheraton
At the time we took this tour with TruExperiences, we had the option to book our tour with or without lunch. Lunch is no longer included with the tour, but they will give you free time to have lunch on your own.
We ended up having lunch (as included with our tour) at the the Fallsview Buffet on the 14th floor of the Sheraton Hotel.
The buffet included standard buffet fare of pasta salads, mixed veggies, cheese and deli meats. There was also a variety of hot dishes like mashed potatoes, fish, chicken, soups, and rolls.
I loaded up mostly on the pasta salads, veggies, mashed potatoes and a little piece of fish, with a side of cream of celery soup.
Verdict on the food quality: pretty sub-par, but it did the trick.Most of the food really needed some salt (especially the soups).
Since this tour no longer offers a lunch option, you don’t have to worry about eating at a sub-par buffet for lunch. Instead, you’ll want to wander around Niagara and find something on your own. There will be plenty of time to grab a bite!
The town of Niagara Falls (at least in the immediate area of the Sheraton Hotel) reminded me of a theme park as far as the streets and restaurants go. Seriously…it looked like a carnival! But I think you could easily pick up a burger or a pizza for way cheaper than the buffet and still have a satisfactory meal.
Continuing on to Scenic Spots
Once we were finished with lunch, we piled back into the van and headed up to the top of the falls. We had about 20 minutes to wander the area and check out the top of the falls. It’s cool to get the perspective of everything from all angles, and it was quite soothing just watching all that water pour over the falls!
There are a couple of shops up here as well if you’re looking for souvenirs, as well as an ice cream shop if you want to snack on a cone while you walk around.
The Whirlpool
Though our final destination for the day was Niagara-on-the-Lake, we made a couple of stops along the way, including one at The Whirlpool in the Niagara Gorge. Just look at those turquoise blue waters!
We didn’t have too much time here, but if you’re visiting on your own, you can take a cable car across the water, or even book a jet boat experience!
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Lastly, our tour to Niagara concluded at a little town called Niagara-on-the-Lake. The drive from the falls to the town was actually quite relaxing. We drove past miles of vineyards and tree-filled neighborhoods with colonial-style homes and beautifully manicured lawns.
Upon arrival to Niagara-on-the-Lake, we parked in a lot at the edge of town as buses and large tour vehicles aren’t allowed in. From here, you can either take the free shuttle that will get you to the center of town in a few minutes, or you can enjoy a nice little walk in that takes about 10 minutes.
We opted to walk and I highly suggest it to stretch your legs (weather permitting of course).
Ice Cream & Wandering
Our time at Niagara-on-the-Lake was free time so we were able to wander on our own for a bit. It’s a really cute little town with a central area of shops and restaurants, and could be a good base for an overnight getaway to Niagara wine country.
We had our hearts set on some ice cream, and Cows was recommended to us. It was a nice little treat after our long day! I also popped into an olive oil shop to do some tasting while Micah chilled on a bench outside.
Wine Tasting
I really wanted to do a wine tasting of the local wines, so we stopped off at Wine Country Vintners. They have local ice wine available for tasting, but we aren’t into the sweet stuff so we went with the regular flight.
We each got to taste three wines from local Niagara wineries, including Wayne Gretzky’s vineyard! While we weren’t too impressed with most of the wines, I did enjoy the Trius Brut sparkling wine from my flight.
We ended up with a bottle of the Trius Sauvignon Blanc (from Micah’s flight) to take with us to have back at the hotel. I guess the moral of the story here is to try all the Trius wines!
After our wine tasting, our time at Niagara-on-the-Lake came to a close. We all piled back into the TruExperiences van for our nearly two-hour ride (AKA “nap time”) back to Toronto.
Booking Info
We booked our tour through Viator, but you can also book directly through the TruExperiences website.
*Note that this tour does not appear to offer a lunch option any longer.
Tour Dates
This particular tour only runs from May through October due to the nature of the winter weather in Ontario. We booked/visited in late May and had great weather!
All-in-all, we had a very successful day trip to Niagara Falls and the surrounding area!
I would highly recommend the small group tour to Niagara Falls from Toronto for more comfort for your long day. Yes, it is a little more pricey, but totally worth it!
Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Did you visit on a tour or did you do the trip independently?
Be sure to check out the below video of our tour for a little different perspective:
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