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Original poster

Advice please about Niagara Falls area

47 replies

Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 08:15

We are flying in and out of New York next May for a seven day trip.

We are going to spend five nights in NYC then fly to see Niagara Falls, where we will spend two nights.

We need to get back from Niagara on the same day we fly home. Our flight home is at 7pm out of JFK.

My original plan was to fly to Toronto and stay there, hire a car and drive there and back in a day. I’ve provisionally booked a hotel near the airport. Flights from Toronto tend not to land at JFK, so we would need time to transfer on arrival back in New York.

However, I later realised I could fly to Buffalo and avoid the drive from Toronto.

The problem is, if we fly to Buffalo, we’d like to stay in Niagara on the Lake. I understand this is on the Canadian side, which means getting back over the border into the USA on the day we fly back to NYC.

Can anyone advise on the practicalities of this trip? The accommodation in NYC is booked and paid for, but no internal flights yet. I hope we will get back to JFK after lunch, but again it’s a long day at the airport waiting for the flight back to the Uk.

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B00dyM4ry · 26/08/2018 08:21

I would stay in New York and see Niagara on another trip - can you tell I was a bit underwhelmed. Is nothing like the Gran Canyon and the other national parks. I found it very commercialised.

flyingsaucersherbet · 26/08/2018 08:24

I agree with pp, it’s like Blackpool! All I can remember is heart shaped jaquizzis being advertised in every hotel room!

B00dyM4ry · 26/08/2018 08:26

The US side is quite deprived, the Canadian side very very gaudy/ tacky. I would only go if i were passing close by.

EarlyBird123 · 26/08/2018 08:28

We took a bus from Buffalo and stayed in Niagara on the lake for two nights. It is so much better to see the falls from the canadian side but Toronto is way too far so buffalo i definable a better option. I recommend seeing the falls at night as well so better to stay overnight in Niagara.

bellinisurge · 26/08/2018 08:33

The Falls are beautiful but the town is not. The view looks better from the Canadian side.
However, the Maid in the Mist boat journey right up to the Falls is definitely worth it.

Zoflorabore · 26/08/2018 08:33

When I was 20 I did camp America in NY state and we did this trip by car across the state with a motel stay to break up the journey. It was a long way.

It's one of the things I'm most glad I've ever seen. It's amazing op.
We went on the maid of the mist boat tour and being young and silly all packed away our ponchos as souvenirs and got soaked.
It was July though.

One of our group was South African and he wasn't allowed into Canada ( not sure why) which was awful so we all stayed over on the American side at night.

( Did go over to Canada to the Hard Rock Cafe and saw Mick Jagger ) but what i mean is we came back across to stay in a motel on the American side. It's quite bizarre to cross the bridge and be in Canada and then back in America.

Definitely worth the logistical nightmare.

ContadoraExplorer · 26/08/2018 08:36

Niagara itself is definitely not a 2 day trip, you can do it in a day, maybe even an afternoon. We stayed with friends a couple of hours out of NYC for a few days and drove up. It's nice to see it but there's not much else to do once you have.

Canada side has a much better view but the hurricane deck etc are on the US side so I would try to do both. You can walk across the Rainbow Bridge as long as you have your passports. It was relatively quiet when we did so wasn't too time consuming.

What about driving up, doing Woodbury Common outlets on the way then flying out? The bargains, even with the shitty GBP exchange rate, are excellent!

wurzelburga · 26/08/2018 08:38

If you go over to the Canadian side I would stay in Niagara on the Lake which is a far more attractive place to stay than Niagara Falls itself. As others have said Niagara Falls is seriously tacky. Falls are great though and way better from the Canadian side.!

The border crossing from Canada back to the US can be straightforward if you are EU nationals with the right paper work - think 30 minutes or so. But if you are asked to get out of the car and sent to the secondary screening queue for whatever reason you can be looking at several hours. Not always but sometimes.

We always try to go the night before our return flights.

Toronto is much further away than Buffalo.

CraftyGin · 26/08/2018 08:42

You shouldn’t have any problem getting back into the US as you will already have a 90-day stamp in your passport.

patientzero · 26/08/2018 08:47

We stayed at Niagara and drove to Buffalo which was really easy. We also drove from Toronto to Niagara and back a few times. It was low season though so not many people about.

AJPTaylor · 26/08/2018 08:49

We did Niagra in a day from Toronto by train. Pretty sure the train was an amtrak from new york. Might be worth looking? Other than that i would say go another time. It all seems a bit fraught with your plane home and all.

Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 11:20

Hmm mixed replies. Thanks for your thoughts. Our original holiday was three weeks long, in August - however I realised that the kids were only really bothered about nyc and Niagara. I’ve always wanted to see it, and go on the maid of the mist, so I think we will definitely do it as part of this trip.

I was expecting Niagara itself to be tacky - hence staying at Niagara on the lake. I think from your replies, buffalo is a better bet. Perhaps we should extend our nyc stay and only go to Niagara overnight? I expect it’s good to see the falls after dark, as somebody mentioned.

At this stage we are still able to extend our NYC stay.

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Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 11:21

Crafty gin, can you explain the bit about a 90 day stamp? Would that be the esta?

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B00dyM4ry · 26/08/2018 12:35

Canada, as it is a land border with the US doesn't count as leaving the country- so you dont need new ESTAs to go back in to the US- your time in Canada are part of your 90 day limit
www.application-esta.co.uk/VWP-visits-to-canada-and-mexico

Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 12:38

Ah! Thank you! So.....it’s worth going, and it would be ok to stay in Niagara on the lake and fly from buffalo, though better to fly back the day before we leave the USA.

Which means an extra (last) night in nyc.

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BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 26/08/2018 12:53

Niagara on the lake is lovely.
Avoid Toronto as the traffic around the airport can be horrendous

CraftyGin · 26/08/2018 14:51

When you arrive in JFK with your ESTA, you will be admitted to the USA for 90 days. If you leave to go to Canada, and return within the 90 days, you will be readmitted to the USA on the Peace/Rainbow Bridge without having to go to secondary immigration (something to be avoided at all costs). Basically, they will waive you through.

Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 14:55

Thank you for all your advice.

What do you think about leaving buffalo the same day we fly to the Uk? A morning flight would land us at jfk with the whole afternoon to spare prior to our 7pm flight home.

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CraftyGin · 26/08/2018 15:01

Couple of points - no recommendations.

Pearson Airport is about an hour from Niagara - it’s west of Toronto itself.

Niagara Falls, IMO, is one afternoon and evening. We were there last year - arrived around noon, left around 10am next morning. We stayed in the Falls View Hotel on the 20th floor - great for fireworks.

We basically has lunch, walked through town to the proper Falls stuff (past the tackiness on Clifton Street). We did a show, mooched around the gift shop, looked at the Falls. Then we returned to our hotel via the funicular for the free happy hour. We had supper at the
Applebees next door. I went back to the hotel with the DDs, and DH went to the casino.

This was the first time we stayed overnight. We have been to the Falls many times as we have family in Toronto and Cleveland, and our typical stop would be 20 minutes.

CraftyGin · 26/08/2018 15:07

If you are flying from T7 at JFK (British Airways), there is not a lot to do other than eat. The Virgin/Delta terminal is a bit more interesting, but not exactly of Heathrow standards.

I think you need to give yourself 3-4 hours, just in case the incoming flight is late.

You write it all off as a travel day and make sure your Kindle is charged and loaded.

This would be outside of my personal comfort zone. I would prefer to do Niagara Falls as part of a Canada holiday.

Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 15:11

It was originally part of a Canada holiday, but turned out the other three members of my family weren’t interested in Canada, just Niagara...fools!!! We are flying with virgin. From your replies, I’m erring towards going to Niagara for one night and returning to New York for a night, just to be on the safe side.

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Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 15:15

Should probably qualify that the only reason we aren’t flying back from Toronto is because we got return nyc flights with virgin for about £300, which was too good to pass up. Not ideal really, but...

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CraftyGin · 26/08/2018 17:26

It’s tricky, because you are spending so much time travelling - NYC to airport, two hours in JFK/LGA, 1.5hr flight, one hour in BUF, up to one hour to get settled in NF - that adds up to 7 hours, and then the similar in reverse.

Original poster
Meesh77 · 26/08/2018 17:44

I agree - which is why it’s attractive to stay two nights. I knew there wasn’t much to see at Niagara, but figured we could go on maid of the mist and see the falls at night, but also see Niagara on the lake.

It seemed to make more sense to do that, then spend the last day travelling back to nyc and home. But now I’m twitched about that plan!

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JennyHolzersGhost · 26/08/2018 17:50

I would go to Niagara for the first of your two nights and spend the second one back in NYC - with a 7pm flight you’ve still got most of the day to do something with. (Though getting to the airport is a fricking nightmare in my experience so take that into account).

I agree you don’t need more than an afternoon/evening at Niagara. The alternative to going back to NYC for the last night would be to do something else in the area but I’m not sure what tbh.