The Ultimate Niagara Falls Weekend!

Exploring iconic Niagara Falls has been on my bucket list for a while! As a Southern girl, I have yet to venture that far north, but I was excited to venture to a part of the US that I haven’t been to.

We went on a couple’s trip with my sister and her boyfriend, and it was a blast! In this post, I’ll share our weekend itinerary and my favorite activities!

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Getting There

Closest Airports

Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF)

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport is located approximately 30 minutes from downtown Niagara Falls, NY and has up to 100 nonstop flights per day, serving 31 airport destinations. Each year, the airport services more than five million passengers! Major carriers to the airport include: American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country, United and Vacation Express by Sunwing.

Niagara Falls International Airport (IAG)

The Niagara Falls International Airport is located within Niagara Falls’ city limits and just 15-minutes from Niagara Falls State Park. Featuring one of the longest runways in New York State, the Niagara Falls Airport offers low-cost flights to and from destinations in Florida through Allegiant Air.

By Train

The Amtrak Niagara Falls Station (NFL) is located less than five miles from Niagara Falls State Park and downtown Niagara Falls, NY. The station is served by the Empire Service and Maple Leaf train, connecting the region to the East Coast and Canada.

By Car

David and I were living in Maryland at the time, which allowed us to drive ourselves to Niagara Falls. All-in-all, the drive took about 5.5 hours with tolls (~ 6 hours without tolls per GPS). My sister and her boyfriend drove from the Washington, D.C. area, which was about a 7-hour drive.

Accommodations

You have the option to stay on the Ontario, Canada side or the New York side for your trip. We opted for an Airbnb on the New York side! There were a ton of options that were within a 10-15 minute walk to the attractions.

You can find the link to our Airbnb here. We just needed something simple for the weekend and this hit all the basics.

Itinerary

Friday Evening – Check In

Finding an Airbnb about 10 minutes from the park, we arrived late Friday evening for check-in.

My sister made a reservation at Queen Victoria Place Restaurant for dinner so we met her and her boyfriend there after dropping off our bags. Queen Victoria Place Restaurant is located in Ontario, Canada, so if you’re staying on the New York side, you’ll need to bring your passport!

Needless to say, the views from the restaurant were incredible! We sat outside on the upper patio area, giving you a full view of the falls.

I saw a few mixed reviews on Yelp, saying that the food was bland. However, our group had an overall positive experience. We all opted for their Prix Fixe menu, which includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $65.

My choices: Summer Berry Salad, Stuffed Chicken Breast, Chocolate Cheesecake

*Side note: Every night at 10 PM, you can catch a short fireworks show at the falls! We were able to view it from the balcony at the restaurant. It was so cool!

After dinner, we walked down to the falls overlook and enjoyed the changing colors.

Saturday

Saturday was our day for scheduled tours and exploring! We booked a tour through Viator with Trip Shepard, which included the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds on Goat Island. You can find the exact tour we booked here. It started at 9 AM and the tour group called us that morning to arrange a pickup spot. Communication was great and we arranged to be picked up at the Seneca Casino, which had free parking. I believe they also provide pickup from local hotels.

Our tour guide drove us to the park and provided our tickets for the first stop, Maid of the Mist. I recommend wearing something that you don’t mind getting wet. I wore a long-sleeved athletic top, athletic shorts, and sneakers. Each attraction provides ponchos which worked great, but expect from your knees down to get wet and maybe your hair too, if your hood falls off lol.

The Maid of the Mist boat ride took about 45 minutes altogether, and then we ventured out to the observation deck to get a higher view of the falls.

Afterward, we called our tour guide to pick up the group and drove to Goat Island for the Cave of the Winds tour.

This was by far my favorite part of the tour! You can get SO close to the falls and literally feel like you’re going to be blown away by the force of the water. We had a great time here and I highly recommend adding it to your itinerary.

If you don’t want to do both attractions, there are a ton of other options to choose from! You can find the exact tour we booked here.

Niagara on the Lake

We finished our tours around 1 PM, drove back to the Airbnb to change, and headed to Niagara on the Lake. Niagara on the Lake is a quaint and charming little town nestled in South Ontario. It’s roughly a 25-minute drive north of Niagara Falls. The city is also approximately one hour from Hamilton, and 1.5 hours from the Greater Toronto Area via the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW Highway). 

There is so much to do and explore.

ALSO, ALERT THE PRESS!! This came as a complete shock to me but Canada has an incredible wine country. This area is a wine-lovers HEAVEN, as there are wineries for miles and miles as you drive into town. To cap off our trip, we ended the day at Pillitteri Estates Winery, a family-run winery that offers 100% locally grown wines. They offer tours and tastings and have a separate restaurant called Barrel Head Pizza, where we ate dinner. 

Only Pillitteri Wine Club Members can make reservations at Barrel Head Pizza, so I recommend getting there a bit early if you want to avoid a long wait. We arrived around 5 PM and were able to get a table, but later on, I overheard the waitstaff saying there was around a 45-minute wait. 

Their Team Canada white wine was so crisp and refreshing alongside their wood-fired pizza. There is plenty of outdoor seating and they had live music while we were there as well. I highly recommend checking them out!

Sunday – Breakfast/Check-out day

Sunday was check-out day and we grabbed breakfast on the road at Tipico Coffee in Buffalo, NY. It was the cutest spot in a quiet little part of town. Great food and good coffee!

Overall Thoughts

I’ve seen a lot of people complain that Niagara Falls is “too touristy” and cheesy. And while, yes, it is touristy, our group still had a great time and the amount of people didn’t affect the quality of our trip. We also didn’t spend ALL of our time at Niagara Falls. We ventured out into the surrounding area and got away from the “touristy” stuff. 

If you’ve never been to Niagara Falls, I recommend making at least a weekend trip because the falls are absolutely breathtaking and having the opportunity to see one of nature’s wonders up close was a unique and memorable experience. 

Have you visited Niagara Falls? What are your favorite [or least favorite] spots?