Trip to Niagara Falls/Toronto/Montreal/Quebec
 

Hi Guys,

My friends and I are planning a trip to Niagara Falls in mid September 2015. We will fly into Buffalo International Airport (BUF), rent a car, then head to Niagara Falls. Car rental is reserved, but still undecided which hotel to rent near the fallsview would be best. We have roughly 5 days for this trip. Frankly, first time visiting Niagara Falls. We would like to visit Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec as well. What is your recommendation of places to go and things to do? Will we have another time? Appreciate any sharing and experiences you all have.

Thanks,

I'm afraid 5 days is not enough.From Buffalo you should drive to the canadian side.We stayed at the Confort inn fallsview.It takes at least a full day to see everything.I would advice you to visit Toronto and Ottawa and along the way take the one hour boat trip in Gananoque( gateway to the 1000 islands.Paul

I suggest you plan to visit only Niagara Falls and Toronto in the short time you have. Niagara to Montreal is a minimum of 6 hours, Ottawa about the same, so you would use up the better part of 2 days just getting there and back. Also, traffic getting into and around Toronto can be wicked, and the highway access to Montreal is no piece of cake either.

Niagara on the Lake makes for a lovely excursion from the Falls, and there is more than enough to do in Toronto to keep you busy for the time you have available.

thank you for the comments Paul and Eliztravels2. Would you suggest looking into a tour package, or only select specific activities to do @ Niagara Falls? I heard the following are must see/must do: Niagara on the Lake, Cave of Winds, and Maid of Mist. Can I do all the activities in one day @ Niagara Falls or should I stay for 2 days? If going to Toronto, should I perhaps divide up the hotels (2 days here and 2 days there?)

If you take public transit from Buffalo to the Canadian side in Niagara Falls it will make car rental simpler and cheaper. Several hours walking will cover the falls, from its historic park outlooks to its adjoining tourist traps (unless you are distracted by the big casino.) Niagara Falls has always balanced spectacular scenery and honkey-tonk showbiz. The official tourism site in Canada should help http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/
Hornblower has new boats in the gorge operating from the Canadian side. http://www.niagaracruises.com/explore-catamarans
The tradition Maid of the Mist boats dock on the US side http://www.maidofthemist.com/
If you take a boat ride the trip down to the cave would probably be redundant.
By car you can follow the river gorge to picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake, perhaps visiting a winery or two. Then on to Toronto, a nice drive around the western end of Lake Ontario except for torrents of traffic. Turn in your rental car as soon as possible and depend on the TTC buses,subway and street cars in Toronto.
Are you able to fly to wherever your home is from Toronto? A multi-destination ticket search may help.

Montreal is a gorgeous city to visit especially while biking or walking. The public transportation is very accessible, user friendly and you can rent out bikes, if you would like. I would suggest going to the Old Montreal Port, Mont-Royal place, the old Olympic Stadium, lots of beautiful churches. There is also Jacques-Cartier bridge that goes over the Saint-Lawrence river (from Montreal-Longueuil). You can walk or have a leisure bike trip on the bridge, the view is amazing especially at night. In between, you can check out the Jean-Drapeau Island which include St-Helen's Island and Notre-Dame island. The Casino, La Ronde, the Biosphere are all there. Also you should check out Montreal's local events going on every week and weekend. montrealairbnbhosting.com