Niagra Falls
Aug 27th, 2006, 10:11 AM
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Niagra Falls
We are going to Niagra Falls in mid October. We are looking for suggestions on driving desitinations either in Canada or upstate New York for a 5 or 6 day trip. We are planning to fly to Buffalo but could fly elsewhere.
Aug 27th, 2006, 10:59 AM
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Depends on how far you want to drive, compared to how long you'd like to stay in one spot.
Niagara Falls to Toronto, and then perhaps two day trips from Toronto.
One day, drive north to Huntsville, and use your maps for a circle route. there should be beautiful autumn leaves.
On another day, you could drive east from Toronto along the shore of Lake Ontario to Port Hope and Cobourge, and down as far as Prince Edward County.
But the complete lack in theoriginal posting of useful info to help anyone make suggestions does not help. Men.Women? 20's, or 60's? Quilters?
BAK
Niagara Falls to Toronto, and then perhaps two day trips from Toronto.
One day, drive north to Huntsville, and use your maps for a circle route. there should be beautiful autumn leaves.
On another day, you could drive east from Toronto along the shore of Lake Ontario to Port Hope and Cobourge, and down as far as Prince Edward County.
But the complete lack in theoriginal posting of useful info to help anyone make suggestions does not help. Men.Women? 20's, or 60's? Quilters?
BAK
Aug 27th, 2006, 11:52 AM
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Not sure what you are looking to do on this trip. You could combine Niagara Falls with side trips to Niagara on the Lake, Toronto and Letchworth State Park (about 90 minutes from Niagara Falls in New York State). You could also spend some time in Buffalo. Suggest you reply with information as to what your interests are and you'll get some suggestions.
Aug 27th, 2006, 12:14 PM
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The Niagara area surprised us with how lovely it was and how much there was to do. It is bordered by two of the Great Lakes and has many historical sites which give an eye opening and thought provoking Canadian perspective on the American Revolution and the war of 1812. There are lots of excellent wineries just outside the city where you can taste wines to your heart's content. There's beautiful farm country just outside the city, antique shops and even an Amish community not far away, plus Toronto is quite easily reachable.
Borrow a couple if tourbooks about the area from your local library to see what would interest you - and poke around as you are doing on the web.
One of the best things we did was to take a helicoper tour of the area. Look for a tour, not one of the ten minute falls flyover specials pushed by the hotels. Our half hour flight was fabulous! I can not remember the company's name, but it is run by a Swiss man and has been featured on the travel channel. This may be his firm: www.nationalhelicopters.com
He took us way out over the gorgeous wine country so we could see the vinyards and looped between the great lakes which we could see on both sides, then ended up with several dramatic and graceful circles of the falls themself. It was worth every penny.
There is a ticky tack section of the Canadian city of Niagara Falls that sucks in a lot of tourists, simply pass it by and spend your time and money on the good stuff.
Depending on your interests, there are quite a few really good wineries to tour by car in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake which is itself is a charming resort town with good restaurants. It bills itself as the prettiest town in Canada and certainly has more flowers and planters than any town I have ever seen elsewhere. The Amish community is not far away which you could pass through on your way to seeing Toronto which is actually not far away.
Niagara Falls itself has a huge botanical garden worth exploring and six or eight ways to view the awesome falls each of which are fun. My college age daughter adored her wild jet boat ride - the rest of us stayed frimlt planted on land.
We flew into Buffalo, picked up a rental car and stayed in a hotel on the Canadian side (Sheraton, but the Marriot has good views too) before going out to explore the surrounding area. Be sure you get a room that has a clear view of the falls. Believe me, it is well worth the extra money and you will always remember the view - it's jaw droppingly beautiful. We actually switched hotels just to get one. Just be sure you get one above the 10th floor so the rising mist does not obscure the view.
Borrow a couple if tourbooks about the area from your local library to see what would interest you - and poke around as you are doing on the web.
One of the best things we did was to take a helicoper tour of the area. Look for a tour, not one of the ten minute falls flyover specials pushed by the hotels. Our half hour flight was fabulous! I can not remember the company's name, but it is run by a Swiss man and has been featured on the travel channel. This may be his firm: www.nationalhelicopters.com
He took us way out over the gorgeous wine country so we could see the vinyards and looped between the great lakes which we could see on both sides, then ended up with several dramatic and graceful circles of the falls themself. It was worth every penny.
There is a ticky tack section of the Canadian city of Niagara Falls that sucks in a lot of tourists, simply pass it by and spend your time and money on the good stuff.
Depending on your interests, there are quite a few really good wineries to tour by car in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake which is itself is a charming resort town with good restaurants. It bills itself as the prettiest town in Canada and certainly has more flowers and planters than any town I have ever seen elsewhere. The Amish community is not far away which you could pass through on your way to seeing Toronto which is actually not far away.
Niagara Falls itself has a huge botanical garden worth exploring and six or eight ways to view the awesome falls each of which are fun. My college age daughter adored her wild jet boat ride - the rest of us stayed frimlt planted on land.
We flew into Buffalo, picked up a rental car and stayed in a hotel on the Canadian side (Sheraton, but the Marriot has good views too) before going out to explore the surrounding area. Be sure you get a room that has a clear view of the falls. Believe me, it is well worth the extra money and you will always remember the view - it's jaw droppingly beautiful. We actually switched hotels just to get one. Just be sure you get one above the 10th floor so the rising mist does not obscure the view.
Aug 27th, 2006, 06:47 PM
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Thanks so much for your reply.We are looking for Fall foliage and other points of interest We will have 5 or 6 days to travel. We would rather not be traveling the entire time. We would be interested in Toronto and possibly Montreal, what do you think or would we be better off sticking to smaller towns. Smaller towns are fine as long as there are nice places to stay.
Aug 27th, 2006, 07:28 PM
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I'm still not getting a good idea of what you are trying to do with this trip. The only thing you've said you're interested in is fall foilage, so I'll stick with my previous recommendation of Letchworth State Park, southeast of Buffalo for a day trip. You'll see great foilage there. The Glen Iris Inn is the place to stay there. I think that Montreal is too far from Niagara Falls, and if you want to visit a city in Canada go to Toronto for 2 days. As I have previously stated, go to Niagara on the Lake for at least a day. You can do this from Niagara Falls, Canada, or you can choose to spend a night there in a bed and breakfast or one of the fantastic Inns there.
Sep 2nd, 2006, 05:09 AM
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Hi, Yellowrose!
Buffalo airport is the closest to Niagara Falls. Are you planning a 5-6 day trip in total, or are the 5-6 days above and beyond the time you will spend in Niagara Falls?
Assuming 5-6 days is your total time for the entire trip, then spend two days in NF and region, two days in Toronto, then two days touring in New York. For New York I would suggest the Finger Lakes, Letchworth State Park, or the Chautauqua region (including the Chautauqua Institute). They are all absolutely beautiful areas, especially in October. But keep in mind you may have a hard time booking accommodations so late in the game.
If you have 5-6 days to travel in addition to the time you spend in NF, then you have so many more options.
I love Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City (that one will be TOO far). You could fly into Toronto rather than Buffalo and make it more of a Canadian vacation.
OR, you could fly into Buffalo, visit the falls, then on to Toronto, then continue to Kingston in the Thousand Islands region, cross into New York State, and spend a day or two in the Adirondacks, or go down to the Finger Lakes for a few days and then back to Buffalo.
You really do have a lot of choices.
Buffalo airport is the closest to Niagara Falls. Are you planning a 5-6 day trip in total, or are the 5-6 days above and beyond the time you will spend in Niagara Falls?
Assuming 5-6 days is your total time for the entire trip, then spend two days in NF and region, two days in Toronto, then two days touring in New York. For New York I would suggest the Finger Lakes, Letchworth State Park, or the Chautauqua region (including the Chautauqua Institute). They are all absolutely beautiful areas, especially in October. But keep in mind you may have a hard time booking accommodations so late in the game.
If you have 5-6 days to travel in addition to the time you spend in NF, then you have so many more options.
I love Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City (that one will be TOO far). You could fly into Toronto rather than Buffalo and make it more of a Canadian vacation.
OR, you could fly into Buffalo, visit the falls, then on to Toronto, then continue to Kingston in the Thousand Islands region, cross into New York State, and spend a day or two in the Adirondacks, or go down to the Finger Lakes for a few days and then back to Buffalo.
You really do have a lot of choices.
Sep 2nd, 2006, 07:59 AM
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When I was at Niagara Falls, I took a hot air balloon ride and it was awesome. Not the tethered one that is on the American side, this was a free-floating one (for lack of a better description). Let me know if you want the company's info.
And I don't see it mentioned much, but I could spend hours in the aviary on the Canadian side...
And I don't see it mentioned much, but I could spend hours in the aviary on the Canadian side...
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