We are thinking of leaving NY (YMCA West side)late Sunday 9th April say 10pm, or after rush hour Monday 10th to arrive in Niagara say about 6pm on Monday 10th. 5 of us, 2 adults and 3 kids 17,12,4. Staying 1 full day in Niagara (2 nights) and then on to Toronto Wed morning flying back to UK Thursday 11pm. What would be the best time to leave NY?
Is it a nice drive to Niagara? Is there anywhere along the way that would be good to stop and look around - apart from Niagara we are visiting NY, Washington, Toronto so all city based. Would there be somewhere to stay that doesn't mind late check in's (midnight)if we leave Sunday pm. Is it easy to hire a car in NY, do the timings work? Is the drive too long/boring/tiring - as only 1 of us drives? Should we let the train or bus take the strain? Can we break our journey anywhere on the way if we do it by bus or train - have a look round and then pick up a later bus or train, as we would like to see some countryside.
If we hire a car is it worth keeping it to get to Toronto?
Any suggestions or advice much appreciated.

You can easily rent a car in NYC - all the major companies have offices throughout Manhattan.

You may run into $ trouble with a one way rental to Canada, or you may get lucky. I like to use Orbitz.com for rental car comparison shopping.

To drive from NYC to Niagara there are two basic routes you can consider.

1. Interstate highway the whole way - follow the NY State Thruway (toll road), which is I87 North to Albany, then becomes I90 West to Buffalo. It is pretty, scenic drive, but not terribly noteworthy. There are plenty of places to stop along the way. Albany is 2.5hrs N of NYC, Utica another 1.5 hrs West, etc. At any of the US roadside hotel chains you can checkin at any hour. This route will basically take you on a bee line from NYC to Buffalo (even tho it's not a straight line)

2. Or you can cut diagonally across the state of NY. This is a more rural drive, but you will pass through some more scenic landscape, (the Finger Lake region.) You can also head West throuth NJ and into PA before heading North into NY towards Binghamton then towards Rochester. The finger lakes are between Binghamton and Rochester, and there are some very nice places to stop during your Monday drive.

If you can get a reasonable deal on rental car, I would drive. The train will be expensive and will take you to Buffalo, not right to Niagara anyway.

You are talking one really long drive. I do this a lot, although I prefer to fly or take Amtrak. The thruway is fast and boring. Lots of trees and cows and motels. Buses are very slow. When I do the trip, I like to do RT 17 through the Catskills, then pick up 390 after Elmira, up to Rochester and only then take 90 westward. My favorite stop by far is the Corning Glass musuem. Sometimes I plan ahead and take a 1/2 glass workshop but usually I just enjoy the cafeteria and gift shop as a rest before I drive on. Or from Binghamton go up to Ithaca. There is a waterfall down a gorge there that is taller than Niagara I think (215ft). Lots of great food and diversions. And the Finger lakes are gorgeous.

Amtrak would take you right to Niagara Falls - it's a stop after the Buffalo stop. It would also take you to Toronto if you wanted. That being said, it will take longer than driving. You can expect about a 7 hour drive from NYC to Niagara Falls (assuming minimal stops). The other posters gave good advice about the routes. Thruway is a very easy drive but also pretty boring (especially once you hit Albany). The good thing about the Thruway is that they have service areas with gas, food, bathrooms every 30 miles or so. You don't need to exit off the Thruway to use these, so that saves some time. Unless there is a problem with a one way car rental in NY with a Toronto drop off, I would recommend driving on your own (at that time of year, you are likely to have okay weather although you can not rule out the possibility of a spring snow storm).

I agree with Tom and Italy... book Amtrak where you could relax, sleep on the train and look around at the scenery... it is a long full day ride in a car and the kids will be antsy... there may also be overnight trains with sleeper cars that will help you to be fresh when you arrive in Niagara... there is so much to do, you dont want tired kids...

Your time schedule doesn't allow for stops along the way at sights like Letchworth State Park, Watkins Glen, the Finger Lakes so forge on to Niagara and take in the Falls, the Gorge, the touristy sights and the Niagara Region.

The drive isn;t really bad - IF you enjoy driving. I did Toronto to NYC in about 9 hours - but there was no delay at the border crossing.


For 5 people I would suggest a car if you can get a one-way rental without a high drop-off charge.

There are areas of the drive that are pretty - and some that are boring. But there are lots of places to stop along the way - see Finger Lakes and Cooperstown (Baseball Museum).

But - this all depends on when you're going - this trip is nice in late spring summer and early fall. But since this area is in the snow belt in winter - or early spring/late fall - you can run into really bad weather that would slow you down - and leave little to see. In that case I would look at flying direct to Toronto - or train if you can;t get decent flight. Don;t even consider the bus - too tacky!

Last year the major activities at Niagara Falls didn;t open until late April - so I think you may be too early - still snowy, cold , frozen and many activities not open.

Check out Maid of the Mist etc - because the dates differ every year depending on the weather - but I don;t think they'll be running yet - and you could run into serious snow.

Sorry - you'll need to watch the weather carefully since it is VERY changeable this time of year. In NYC now (and we're NOT in the snow belt) they're saying it will be a high in the 50's by the end of this week - but a couple of days ago there were wind chills below zero (farenheit) at night.

How about Jet blue from JFK to Buffalo and pick up a rental car at the airport? The drive can be a little tedious . . .

rojay,

Grantop has the best advice of all.

Budget airline Jetblue has ine-way fares of $64US/pereson for April 9. Much less than Amtrak and gives you and extra day in Toronto or Niagra.

http://www.jetblueairways.com/cgi-bin/skylights.cgi

You can pretty much forget about a sleeper car. Only train #48 has sleepers, and it doesn't go thru N.F., but does stop at Buffalo/Depew at 11:47pm (leaves NYC @ 3:50pm)

Now through March 31, 2006, when you purchase two tickets on trains in the Northeast, the rest of your party - up to four additional people - will travel for 90% off the regular fare. Use Discount Code H545 Offer valid for sale until March 31, 2006. Offer valid for travel between May 19, 2005 and August 31, 2006.

Only 3 trains to NF, the #63 & #285, and also 281/283. I'm not sure what deals you can get for a stopover.

I live near Albany NY, one of the suggested routes, but I like the routing suggested by Italyagain a lot. The Thruway seems scenic for awhile, but then turns just plain boring after awhile. However, if you want to make the journey as fascinating as the destination it can be fun, from anything like visiting the site of the original Woodstock Festival and what's claimed to be worlds largest kaliadoscope (sp?) to Baseball and/or early NY farming history at Cooperstown. There is a recreated Erie Canal village near Rome NY, and some decent museums at Syracuse. The drive on Rt NY-5 in the Mohawk Valley is nicer than the Thruway too.

If N.F. is your primary interest, I'd take jetBlue if you can afford it. If expenses are important to you, I think there is (or was) a Chinatown bus service between NY and Buffalo/Toronto. Good luck & enjoy your trip.

I happen to think Amtrak is horrible. That train route is chronically late (often REALLY late - like hours) and the trains are dirty and poorly run (like they run out of food about 2 hours into the trip!). The train stations are even worse. I don't know about Buffalo, but in Rochester you are just marooned there. There are no services (like a rental car place) anywhere nearby.

The wort part about the train? It's often not cheap!

Flying JetBlue is the best plan. Or be like Americans and just drive! The route suggested by J62 in #2 or Italyagain is the best.

Maybe you should spend the night someplace in the Finger Lakes region and check out the wineries there? I also agree with visiting the Corning glass museum. They make th famous Steuben Glass (along with other things).

Also, in Niagara Falls is a cool Butterfly Conservatory (on the Canadian side).