Niagara Falls, Canada

Most times the first visit of an incredible tourist attraction is always going to be the best experience you will ever have – so we absolutely made the most of this first time experience but at the end of it and when it was time to leave, I really felt I wanted to return back to view it all over again! I think Niagara Falls is going to be my exception and I think no matter how many times it’s seen, this natural phenomenon may always be as outstanding and stunning as the first visit! Below is my experience of visiting the falls.

The falls

Niagara Falls is at times referred to as the second largest waterfall in the world. The biggest is Angel Falls in Venezuela but both are very different characteristically. While Angel Falls is the tallest in the world , Niagara’s Falls has an incredible capacity of water, so is not very tall but is extremely wide –both these waterfalls are unique in their own way. The Niagara Falls actually consists of more than one waterfall: the Canadian Horseshoe Falls which is the most iconic and which really represents THE Niagara Falls, the American Falls which is on the USA border and is characterised with the rugged rocks at its feet but is not as powerful as the Canadian and the Bridal Veil falls which is the smallest of the three and also on American side between Horseshoe Falls and American Falls. It is these three falls which make up what is known as the “Niagara Falls”

My trip to Niagara Falls

We didn’t stay overnight in Niagara Falls, but there are many hotels you could choose to stay in if you do wish to stay the night in the vicinity; we travelled in from Toronto, Ontario which is another option you could take if you are in Ontario. The only problem with staying in a hotel in Niagara Falls other than the obvious that there are over-priced is that other than the falls there is not much else to do around the area – so unless you plan to spend just the night in a hotel at Niagara Falls, its best just to take a day-out there. Essentially for us, our holiday destination was Toronto with a sightseeing trip to Niagara Falls; we had rented out a car, so we were able to get to different locations quite conveniently. The driving distance between Toronto and Niagara Falls is about 70 miles and didn’t take us longer than an hour and a half.

My first impression of the falls

As we approached the vicinity of Niagara, you know the falls is just round around the corner as you can see the rising mist. Next you hear the sound! As the huge capacity of water plummets off the edge and hits the basin, the roar created is shocking and astounding in itself. It was breathtaking to watch this amazing geographical feature and to know that these falls continue to fall constantly! - the sheer volume of water and the energy is incredibly awesome. I read up a bit about these falls before I visited and apparently in the winter the flowing water of the river (not the falling water) can freeze – the water never stops falling but the basin layer can solidify on the surface. I would love to see that, though it would probably be an extremely freezing experience!

Things to do at Niagara Falls

Millions of tourists come to Niagara Falls to see the famous waterfall every year. Seeing the falls is great, but the other part of it is bit of a tourist-trap; actually since the mid 1990’s, the tourist industry and businesses have realised that there is money to be made from these millions of people visiting every year – so Niagara Falls is a mixture of natural beauty alongside an outdated man-made money making “trap”. But here’s a few things you can see and do at Niagara Falls:

* 1 ) View the Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side: This is what really brought you here – make the most of this amazing site. Take lots of pictures and don’t worry if you get soaked! And then walk up along the top of the falls, and see how calm it is at that level. It is so quiet and peaceful on the top of the falls, it is pretty stunning. When I first saw Niagara Falls I did not expect it to be as big as it was. It took me a while to take in its splendour and I literally could have stood there for hours just gazing at it! Although the sound of the waterfall is very loud, there is still something very peaceful and tranquil about being there at the site and even then I also thought there was something a little humble too as you start feeling vulnerable amongst this immense uncontrollably crashing water-fall. I loved every moment of it.

* 2 ) Really get into the Horseshoe by taking a Maid of Mist tour: This tour is a must! It is a 20 minute double-decker boat tour which sails you along a small portion of the river, past the base of the American Falls, past Bridal Veil Falls and then takes you very close to the foot of the Horseshoe Falls. The boat slows down and lingers around a bit within the horseshoe, bringing you as close as possible to the falling water – which does mean you will be overcome by the mist. But with the Maid of Mist ticket comes free plastic disposable ponchos, so prepare to be soaked. The admission fee for the tour is $13.50 which is roughly £9.00, but really worth it as it is an experience you will not forget. Just note that the busiest months around Niagara Falls is the summer months of June, July and August and so the waiting times can be a bit longer than usual, but since many boats are always running, you won’t have to wait too much; as long as you get there early, you will hardly have to wait much at all, as the queue keeps on moving along pretty well. The boats run every 15 minutes and from around 7.45am in the morning to 7.45pm in the evening.

* 3 ) View the falls from the USA: Viewing the falls from the American side will mean that you will get a view from a different angle of the Horseshoe Falls. If you want to get to the American side, you will need to walk (or you can drive) over Rainbow Bridge which is the huge steel bridge you can see over the Niagara River gorge. Obviously you will be crossing a border, so to enter into USA you will need to have your passport and also there is a toll payment to be made when going into Canada of just 50 cents which amounts to just 30p. Overall from the USA side of the falls, you will get to experience being closer to all three of the falls – Horseshoe, American and Bridal, but truthfully, the Canadian side is the better side, as here you can take excursions to get to the base of the falls and have amazing panoramic views of the main Horseshoe Falls –either way though, both sides has its bonuses and both have striking views.

* 4) Walk along Clifton Hill…for food!: This is the very touristy promenade filled with casinos, arcades, amusements such as haunted house and Ripley’s Believe it or not, gift shops, fast food restaurants and snack shops, a Hard Rock Café, and a wax museum – what most of that has to do with the falls is anyone guess, but I think as long as there is a place that you could quickly grab some food then everyone’s happy. It was nice to just wander along the promenade just to see what is around, it does look very old-fashioned and out-dated and really not that appealing, but other than that, we just kept this part of Niagara Falls to a minimum as it is a bit predictable and a bit of a time-waster. There are lots of gift shops located at Clifton Hill and since it is Canada, you will notice the shops to be selling Canadian themed items, like maple sauce and other maple products and of course lots of Niagara Fall themed gifts. You could pick up some Niagara gifts from here, but if not, just move on back to the falls!

* 5 ) Skylon Tower observation deck: A great way of seeing the falls from a great height without taking a helicopter tour is from the Skylon Observation Tower. From the deck you will be 775 feet high overlooking the falls and you will have the most incredible view in its entirety. We came here in the evening, and the views where fantastic, being so high up, you will see areas of the falls you couldn’t see when standing at ground level. You will see Goat Island from here, the top of the falls, and also the Maid of Mist boats which look incredibly tiny as they make their tour along the river, before returning back. It is a view you will not see any other way, so would recommend viewing from this famous Niagara Fall landmark. The prices to get up to the tower is around $14.00, roughly £9.00 but if you buy your tickets online from your hotel like we did, then you will have a discounted ticket price of around $11.00 instead, so it is worth pre-purchasing the entrance tickets.

* 6 ) Glide over the Whirlpool on an Aero-car: This was an amazing experience, one of my favourites. The Whirlpool can be found at Whirlpool State Park and is where the river turns and spins 90 degrees in order to create this whirlpool. This Whirlpool areo-car has actually been in operation since the early 1900’s. It involves getting into cable car which slides along a line and travels around about one kilometre for about 10 minutes. You can move around in the car and look over the railing and also be prepared to get soaked...there is a recurring pattern of this at Niagara Falls! It is a stimulating experience really, as the whirlpool below is very active and powerful and looks incredibly breathtaking when you are in an open cart hanging just above it and feeling a little too vulnerable than you’d like! It is around 4 miles away from the falls but is still on the Canadian side of the river. The prices are around $12.00 which is around £8.00. I have to say I really enjoyed this but it does charge more to ride this for its 10 minutes than did the Maid of Mist tour for 20 minutes so just take that into consideration. Anyway in the end though you will take away a unique experience, and if this is what floats your boat, then I would go for it as it is a thrilling one-off ride!

* 7 ) Finish of the day by viewing the falls at night: When night comes, Niagara Falls displays a brightly coloured light show. It’s entertaining, unusual, a little corny, but still fabulous. All it really involves, is powerful spot lights of different shades of colours shone onto the falling water and with the movement of the water plunging down and all the mist created, the lights appear to glow amongst it all. Don’t give your camera a break yet – take some photos and you may get out of it the most magnificent surreal and “artificial” picture of the Niagara Falls. For some reason, at night, it the falls just seems to sound a lot louder and gave off a whole new atmosphere, so being there at the falls at night, felt like a different experience – one worth being there for.

Overall

This was the first time I saw the falls, and I did love every moment of it – although it seems like seeing Niagara Falls is a free experience, there are so many opportunities and tours that are offered around you to help you see the falls better or to enhance your experience of viewing the falls. This is why lots of people see it as a tourist trap and I think this is true on some level, but it’s a good idea to decide what you want to get out of your visit to Niagara Falls beforehand. After a day of touring on the Maid of Mist, the Observation deck and the Whirlpool car, altogether we did end up spending more than we expected but the entrance fees were pretty reasonable so every bit of it seemed was worth it and in the end we did in actual fact end up experiencing the falls in ways we couldn’t have if we didn’t pay those entrance fees.

Overall Niagara Falls is an exceptional natural wonder, there is nothing like it in the world and I would definitely travel half way across the world again to see it all over. As with the promenade, I think this sort of thing can be found at any tourist attracting area, but I think it’s down to tourists to decide how they want to spend their money. If you stay away from casinos and arcades then I think you’re going to be fine! I can’t wait to return to this amazing part of the world again – I’ll bring my money, my passport and will stay away from Clifton Hill!