Niagara falls tour and transportation recommendations needed
 

Flying into Buffalo Wednesday evening June 10 and then heading to Niagara falls. Then leaving for Toronot on June 12 and there until the 20th. I will have my wife and two kids, ages 5 and 6. I have two questions.

1. Should I get a tour company for toronto, get the Great Gorge Adventure Pass, or just wing it? I spoke to one tour company guy and he said without a tour company, we will be standing in lines forever at places like the maid of the mist. If we get a tour company, anyone have any company recommendations?

2. How should I travel? Should I rent a car in Buffalo to drive to Niagara falls and then drive to Toronto two days later and leave it there or get a shuttle company to take us to Niagara falls and then another shuttle to go to Toronto. Keeping in mind that if i get a car, there will probably be no use for it in NIagara falls or in Toronto.

We spent 2 nights in Niagara Falls in late June last year. We just went around on our own without a tour company and I don't remember the waits being long at all. We may have waited in line about 10 minutes for Maid of the Mist and 15 minutes for the Spanish Aerocar over the whirlpool. Nature and people to look at and the waits didn't seem bad. Maybe we just visited at the right time?

We bought the Adventure Pass from our Bed and Breakfast owner, it did save us money and we visited everything on the pass. It also allowed us to use the transportation system which is wonderful as parking is tight by the falls.

Not sure what to say about renting vs shuttle services. We drove to Niagara Falls and used our car to drive around the city and to the Butterfly house. My kids really enjoyed the butterfly house and the surrounding gardens are fantastic. There was an art show going on when we were there. We also drove to the town of Niagara on the Lake. Shops and shops and more shops with fantastic restaurants. Also a nice fort to tour.

When we went in September, we rented a car in Buffalo and drove to the Canadian side of the falls. We were glad we had the car. A drive up to NOTL is nice. Food is so expensive in the area, and we found some reasonable restaurants not far out of the tourist zone. We stayed at Embassy Suites (great view and worth the money) and the valet parking was very convenient. We never had to wait for the car. I would definitely rent the car. Things aren't that close. I have a trip report if you are interested.

Get the attractions pass and go on your own... the lines are the same at the Maid with or without the tour... the Tour does drive you around and stop for short periods at each attraction, but you will appreciate going at your own pace, especially with the little ones...

Also... get the rental car... its a very easy area to navigate, lots of parking lots and several attractions that you can visit... Toronto is an easy drive and once there, you can leave the car in the ramp and use public transport, ferries, walking, and cabs to get around...

You will not be spending all your time standing in line without a tour company - he's just trying to make a sale.

The Adventure Pass can be a good deal, you have to figure out the costs for what you want to do. Here is my breakdown from 2007:
http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...omment-5042363

If you do get the pass, plan your two days carefully. On one day, plan all the activities close by the Falls themselves (Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, etc.). Then plan the outlying sites for the other day and use your free one-day People Mover Pass to get around. Otherwise you'll have to pay for a second day on the People Mover.

I've always had a rental car, but I was traveling around Ontario so it was worth it. I'm not sure if you can rent in Buffalo and drop off in Toronto (and if so, you might be paying a huge surcharge to do so). If you're flying out of Toronto, I'd definitely skip the car.

If you're flying in and out of Buffalo, then it might be worth having the rental car, but you'll have to decide how much stuff you are going to want to do outside of the "downtown" areas. The Toronto Zoo isn't really accessible by public transit, so if you want to go there with the kids, the car would come in handy. Outside of that, in Toronto itself, you won't need the car and will likely have to pay for hotel parking.

Definitely do the Maid of the Mist. My recommendation is to go as soon as the ticket booth opens and get the "timed ticket" (they'll explain at the ticket booth) for the 10 a.m. boat. Get a timed ticket for Journey Behind the Falls for about 11:30 a.m. Do the Maid of the Mist, then wander up to Table Rock and watch the falls a bit and then go in and do Journey Behind the Falls. Doing the timed tickets means you won't be waiting in line for the "next available boat", but that you WILL get on the boat at the time you want.