The perfect way to spend 3 days at Niagara Falls & Toronto

We arrived in Toronto on 3 May having caught a very short 1hr 40min flight over from Chicago.

In honesty, we flew to Toronto predominantly to visit the famous Niagara Falls, which is only a couple of hours drive away.

There weren’t too many sights in Toronto other than the CN Tower that we wanted to see. (We did this on the full day we had in Toronto after returning from Niagara).

Day One

It was another early start as we had paid to catch a Megabus coach over to the Niagara Falls – one of the world’s Natural Wonders of the World. It only cost $39.95 return p/p, which I thought was extremely good value.

After checking into our hotel, we made our way over to the ‘Journey Behind the Falls’ attraction – not wanting to waste anytime, as we only had one night here.

I was dubious at first, but I was impressed with how close we were able to get. The staff gave us a poncho beforehand, implying we were going to get rather wet…(but not anywhere near as wet as what we would end up later)…

Unusually, Niagara Falls is bordered by both America and Canada – meaning you need a passport to cross to either side. We needed to cross in order to get to the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat tour on the American side.

When crossing, Border Force questioned why we were wanting to cross, asking similar questions as they did when we first arrived in America. They really are quite strict, but I’d rather it be that way. We only wanted to go on a boat! I’m sure the security staff must get tired of all the tourists.

The boat tour is a short 20-minute trip which takes you right to the heart of the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls – and it gives a spectacular view (if you can manage to keep your eyes open long enough).

If we thought we got wet beforehand, then we were wrong. This time, we got drenched, but it was all part of the fun!

In the evening, we ate at ‘Massimo’s‘ – our hotel’s Italian restaurant, which provided a spectacular view of the Falls. The views from the top were stunning and we got a fantastic view of the light show from the restaurant and then later on from our room.

Day Two

The next day, the weather was much better. It was the first time I think we had seen the sun since I proposed to Emily in Central Park. For those that haven’t read about our day and my proposal, you can read all about it by clicking here.

We got our daredevil heads on and went on a zip line, which ran alongside the Falls. We’ve done a few zip line rides in our time together, but none were quite as picturesque as this one.

GoPro footage below!

Afterwards, we checked out of the hotel, got a bite to eat and then made our way over to the helipad. The helicopter tour of New York was going to take some beating, but this ride was equally as good. The trip only lasted for 12 minutes, but the views from above were well worth it!

Later that day, we made our way back to the bus terminal to catch the 16:30 Megabus back to Toronto.

Day Three

On our last day before flying over to Vancouver, we went to Canada’s most famous attraction – the CN Tower. According to the Guinness Book of Records this is the world’s tallest freestanding tower in the Western Hemisphere. However, it comes someway behind the Burj Khalifa at an whopping 2,717 feet. Hopefully, we’ll get to see it later on in our travels when we visit Dubai.

It cost $43 p/p to go to the Main Observation Level at 1136 ft and an extra $7.50 p/p to go to the SkyPod at 1465 ft.

In my opinion, it wasn’t worth the extra money to go up another few hundred feet, but at least we can say we’ve done it now, eh?

For the rest of the day we recharged our batteries at the hotel in preparation for the 11-day tour of Canada and the Rockies, which we start with Contiki on 8 May. The tour includes Vancouver, Whistler, Jasper and Banff and more. To read all about the tour click here.

(The likelihood is I won’t be posting any blog posts whilst on the tour, so I’ll see you all in a couple of weeks)!

Next stop, Canada and the Rockies!