Niagara Falls in 1 Day: Tour of American and Canadian Sides
Niagara Falls
Price $190
Min age 0
Rating 4.93 / 5 [5023 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Travel bucket list idea:
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Bucket List Experience
You hear the Falls long before you see them: the roaring cascade of water plummeting down a 50m gorge at a rate of millions of litres per second. The world’s second-largest – but arguably most famous – waterfall is jaw-dropping in its scale and intensity.
The roadside viewpoints offer prime viewing, but there are several other great ways to experience the Falls. Boat trips take you right up to the torrent, and into the foaming spray. Spectacular short helicopter flights offer a unique panoramic view of the scale and surrounding scenery (nervous flyers should head to the top of the nearby Skylon Tower instead).
You can also descend down via old tunnels to extraordinary viewpoints and caves behind the Falls themselves.
If you’ve time after visiting the Falls, drive two miles upriver to the secluded White Water Walk, a quarter-mile boardwalk along the Niagara River, offering a front-row view of the tempestuous Whirlpool Rapids. Many visitors also take in the charming town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, an ideal base for wine tasting at some of Canada’s oldest and most famous vineyards.
Niagara Falls International Airport, on the US side, is a short taxi ride. On the Canadian side, tt’s an hour’s drive from Toronto airport. Alternatively, the daily train service from Toronto’s Union Station takes about 2 hours and deposits you just moments from the Falls.
There’s free parking at the Visitor’s Centre. The Falls are free to view, 24/7, from the public platforms.
The Canadian side of the falls – more powerful than the American – is probably the better side from which to experience them, but both offer a wide range of (fantastic) experiences. Boat tours run all day from around 8.30am-11.30pm, except in winter (at night time, the falls are illuminated with multi-coloured lighting). US-side cruises are run on the ‘Maid of the Mist‘, while Canadian-side cruises are run by Hornblower. Helicopter flights operate from both.
The Canadian side offers a ‘Journey behind the Falls’ experience, a 125-foot descent into 130-year-old tunnels to a special observation deck behind the falls. On the US side, you take an elevator down to the ‘Cave of the Winds’ – for fall-side viewing platforms.
The Falls are most powerful after the spring thaw – May to July. Crowds are heaviest during July and August, but the site is so large, there is always plenty of space. Viewing platforms are open daily all year round, but in winter boat tours don’t run.
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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
Ontario, Canada
Destination guide
Niagara FallsThere’s only one reason most people come to this Ontario city straddling the border of the United States and Canada, and that’s to see the remarkable Horseshoe Falls waterfall. Just outside the city is the Niagara Wine region, home to world-class vineyards – another compelling reason to visit.
Round-ups that include this experience
Multiple countries
Inspiration
55 Breathtaking natural wonders of the worldFormer travel editor of BBC Wildlife Magazine James Fair round-ups the earth’s greatest natural wonders, which will literally take your breath away.