Where do
you recommend we stay for our visit to Niagara Falls?
Choose a
hotel that faces the Falls. Although hotels with Falls views are more
expensive than ones that
don’t face the Falls, why go all this
way to NOT have a view??? Marriott, Hilton, Embassy Suites,
Renaissance, Ramada, and Radisson each have large hotels that offer Falls view. You
might as well
just get some postcards if you aren't going to see the
view of the falls. I like the Sheraton (5875 Falls
Ave) on
the Canadian side. The Sheraton is a 22-story hotel, and the rooms facing
the Falls have Juliet
balconies, and many rooms have a gas
fireplace. My guests stay there when they go to Niagara
because
they want the total Falls experience. The only thing I don’t like about
this hotel is that there
aren’t enough elevators to service the
hotel
properly.
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My
girlfriend wants to go to Niagara Falls, but I don’t understand
why. All I know about Niagara Falls
is from the Three Stooges.
What’s so great about water?
“Slowly I turned, step by step, inch
by inch.” My husband loves that bit and he drives me crazy with it.
I have no idea what he’s talking about. We live in Buffalo, NY, BTW, but I’m answering
the Niagara
questions because I love the Falls and we live real
close. Living up here means we understand nature’s
power, we know
why the Great Lakes are GREAT, and we accept that once in awhile nature
will test
us with 20 inches of snow in one day or make us live in
20 degrees below zero for a few days. We
learn to deal with
nature on her terms. The Falls are beautiful in a way you can’t understand
until you
see them. They’re not man-made, they’re not there for
any human reason – they’re there because
nature put them there.
That’s why the Falls are worth a
visit.
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I
hear that the Canadian side is better than the American side. What does
that mean?
You get a better view from Canada, that’s what that
means. The Niagara River divides the US (New
York State) and
Canada (Province of Ontario). The river is winding, not straight, and the
Falls part is
in a bend in the river and they face away from the
US. If you stand on the US side of the Niagara
River, you can see
some of the waterfalls but it’s at an angle. The falls face Canada, so on
the
Canadian side you can see them from top to bottom in all
their glory. And you get to ride the Maid of
the Mist, the boat
that takes you right up inside the Horseshoe Falls. You’ll get drenched on
the ride,
but they give you a groovy plastic poncho to protect
yourself. If you want to stay in the US, you can
still have get
the best view possible by using the Prospect Point Observation Tower,
right next to the
Bridal Veil Falls where you’re so close you’ll
get splashed by Niagara water. There’s also a 184-ft.
glass
elevator that takes you to the bottom of the Niagara
Gorge.
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How
can there be more than one waterfall?
There would be one huge
waterfall except for the islands right at the lip of the waterfall line
that diverts
the water around them. From the ground it looks like
three separate falls. The dividing line between the
US and Canada
goes right down the middle of the river but the islands don’t split the
water half-and-
half. On the US side of the river, there are two
falls: a large “American Falls” and a little one next to it
called “Bridal Veil Falls.” On the Canadian side of the river there’s
the “Horseshoe Falls”, and this is
the one that everyone ooohs
and ahhhs over. The waterfall line is not straight across the river, it’s
jagged like when you nibble a piece of bread and leave irregular
edges. The waterfall line on the
Canadian side curves into a
U-shape and looks
spectacular.
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Do
I need a passport to get to Canada to see the falls? I don’t have one. I’m
an American if that
makes a difference.
US citizens don’t
need a passport, but you need a photo ID – a driver’s license will do. If
you’re in the
USA on a visa, you need to get a "temporary
resident visa" from the
Canadian consulate in Buffalo, New York before
you cross the border (call 716-858 9591 Fax: 716-
852-2477). You
can’t get this visa at the border, you have to get it in Buffalo. But you
should really
get a passport! Application is easy, it costs about
$85, it’s good for 10 years and will let you travel
anywhere.
You can stay in the US and see the Falls if you use
the Prospect Point Observation Tower right next to
the Bridal
Veil Falls, where you’re so close you’ll get splashed by Niagara water.
There’s also a 184-
ft. glass elevator that takes you to the
bottom of the Niagara Gorge. However, you won’t get a very
good
view of the Horseshoe Falls, the big U-shaped fall on the Canadian side,
because it doesn’t face
the
US.
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Once you’ve seen the waterfall,
is there anything else to do? I have three children, ages 9 –
15.
You’re in luck! Niagara is a great place for families to
vacation together. Besides seeing the Falls,
there are lots of
options for fun. Between the river and Bridge Street you’ll find rides,
souvenir shops,
restaurants, and for the adults -- casinos.
Walking around this area is fun at night because it’s all lit up
like a G-rated Las Vegas. The Great Canadian Midway is a huge arcade
full of rides and games where
you win tickets to redeem for
prizes. There’s a Hard Rock Café and a Hershey’s Shop (yummy
chocolate), Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and a miniature golf course
with a dinosaur theme. There’s The
Falls Tower where you’ll get
an aerial panorama of the city and the Falls. The Skylon Tower is the
tallest building in the city and has a restaurant that revolves to
give you a panorama view that can’t be
beat. A mile away is
Marineland (7657 Portage Road), a groovy aquarium that’s open between May
and Oct. To show your kids some American history, go to Fort
Niagara in nearby Youngstown, NY –
it’s a 300 year old fort
preserved as it was in the 1700s.
For free, at night, the Falls are
illuminated by groovy colored lights, and in summer there’s fireworks. It
sounds corny, but it’s really not – it’s worth seeing. I love
them.
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Is
Niagara Falls a national park? Can we bring our RV? Are there cabins we
can stay in, like at the
Grand Canyon?
There is a Niagara
Falls Park but it’s a state park, not a national one, and you can’t camp
there.
Niagara Park the oldest state park in the US (yay for
NY!). It opened on July 15, 1885. Admission is
free and includes
self-guided walking tours of Goat Island, Three Sisters Island and the
American
Falls. The state parks in the Niagara region where you
can camp are: Evangola State Park in Irving,
Four Mile Creek
State Park east of Youngstown, and Golden Hill State Park in Barker. I
hear there
are also plenty of campgrounds and provincial parks on
the Canadian side of the falls, but I don’t
know
them.
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Do
I need to use Canadian money? What’s the exchange rate?
You can use
either Canadian or US money. Prices will always be quoted in both
denominations. Don’t
try to do the math and convert US dollars
into Canadian dollars – just pay US. Tell the cashier if you’
re
going to pay in US or Canadian dollars before your purchase is rung up.
Regardless of how you
pay, your change will be given in Canadian
coins. Just collect the change and at the end of your stay
leave
it for the chambermaid in your hotel as a tip. But make sure the coins add
up to at least $5 a
day! That’s the going rate for tipping a
chambermaid.
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