We visit Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the Lake (NOTL) a few times every year! In this article, we share three Niagara must-try experiences that we highly recommend in the area, that are fun and picturesque! We hope you enjoy them too!
If you are visiting Niagara Falls, do not just walk to the falls or Clifton Hill! Whether visiting in the warmer months or winter, there is so much to experience in the Niagara region!
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Guided Tours
Firstly, before we discuss the three Niagara experiences we highly recommend, you may want to explore guided tours, especially if you are visiting from out of town!
There are so many tours and experiences to explore around Niagara Falls! Many can be seen with or without a guide!
In general, we usually do a combination of both on our travels! Therefore, although we travel often and love planning, sometimes it really is best to leave the details to the experts!
Tours are a great way to ensure you and your family are booked and have a guide!
We usually learn so much more on guided tours which often provides history and fun facts along the way!
Explore Niagara Falls tours from Viator here with hundreds of reviews!!
And, over the last several years, we have found booking a private tour, especially at the beginning of a trip, are really helpful and worth the cost! You choose where to go and how much time to spend there!
We have done private tours in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean and highly recommend it!
Explore Niagara private tours and reviews here!
Our 3 Niagara Must Try Experiences
1. Niagara Must Try Experience: Voyage to the Falls Boat Tour by Hornblower
We loved the Niagara Falls Hornblower boat tour!
The boat ride to the falls is truly an adventure! It really is one of the most popular experiences for good reason!
Yes, you will get wet! And yes, it will definitely be memorable! It is a thrilling adventure!
- Duration: ~20 minutes
- Recyclable Mist Poncho: to wear over your clothes, is provided, and yours to keep!
- Timed Tickets for Ride: you choose a time slot!
- During busy times, the boats leave every 15 minutes!
Two highly rated Niagara Falls tours with the Hornblower, with over one thousand positive reviews, can be booked below:
We highly recommend this incredible adventure! There were families, couples, and people of all ages!
My husband and I experienced “The Voyage to the Falls Boat Tour with Niagara City Cruises by Hornblower” in the summer, without a guided tour, since we visit the area often!
Also, the warmer months are the ideal time to experience this boat tour, especially since you will get wet! However, if we were tourists from out of town, I would want to experience this boat tour, regardless of the season! It was awesome! And we always recommend it when we have visitors from out of town!
Lastly, your shoes will get wet! Therefore, choose your footwear accordingly. You may even want to bring a small towel like we did to dry off afterward!
*Be sure to check back for our detailed review and article for more on our Voyage to the Falls Boat Tour with Niagara City Cruises by Hornblower!*
NIAGARA FALLS FROM THE U.S. SIDE
If you prefer to experience Niagara Falls from the American side, explore this very popular, highly rated tour:
Niagara Must Try Experience: Private Vineyard Dome in Niagara-on-the-Lake
If you enjoy wine, this one-hour private vineyard dome in Niagara-on-the-Lake is a must do experience! It was a truly memorable, beautiful experience in the vineyards which we highly recommend!
My husband and I enjoyed this guided experience in the summer! In fact, we loved it so much my husband and I want to experience it again, this time in the winter, or with friends and family!
The views were breath-taking! And the wine and charcuterie boards were great!
Our host, Alex, was friendly, entertaining, and so informative! We loved the guided wine experience from beginning to end!
Highlights:
- private: only you and your party
- duration: one-hour
- view: gorgeous elevated view of the vineyard and Lake Ontario
- a variety of wine tastings
- food: a variety of cheese, cold cuts, and other small bites for each person are included
- TIP: I did not want cold cuts, so after my booking, I emailed my request to exclude cold cuts from one of the two plates, which was accommodated with no issues!
- private time without the guide in the tent after the tastings! Enjoy the rest of the food and wine, take pictures, and relax in the vineyard dome!
Do not hesitate to book this vineyard dome experience – book the same wine experience here and read hundreds of positive reviews, shown below, from Viator.com:
*Be sure to check back for a detailed review with more pictures from our Private Vineyard Dome Experience in Niagara-on-the-Lake!
Book the private vineyard dome experience in advance as it does sell out!
Lastly, if you cannot book the Private Vineyard Dome experience and enjoy wine, we highly recommend visiting at least one winery and taking a winery tour in Niagara-on-the-Lake!
We have done several winery tours in the area throughout the years and always find them enjoyable! Cheers!
Niagara Must Try Experience: Visit Niagara-on-the-Lake
If you are visiting Niagara Falls, you must visit nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL)! It is worth the drive! We highly recommend staying overnight, especially in the summer, to really explore the beauty of NOTL! Read our article on how to spend a weekend in NOTL!
There are so many reasons why we continue to visit Niagara-on-the-Lake, at least once a year, every year! It is about thirty minutes from Niagara Falls.
- Historic Old Town Niagara-on-the-Lake
- beautiful small town to explore with shops and restaurants
- treat yourself and stay at one of our fave NOTL inns and bed and breakfasts! We love the gorgeous inns and hotels for a lovely getaway!
- rent a bicycle in the summer! There are beautiful trails to explore in the area!
- wineries
- so many wineries, unique and interesting to explore!
- wine tastings
- definitely book a winery tour!
- food and restaurants
- excellent dining in Niagara-on-the-Lake from casual to fine dining! Many are celebrated for their farm-to-table menus and highlight the local area and season!
- Our fave NOTL restaurants are explored in this article!
- For picturesque vineyard views while you dine, check out our fave NOTL restaurants with a beautiful view!
- Shaw Festival
- fantastic live theatre productions throughout the year! We have seen many productions and always love coming back!
- website: https://www.shawfest.com/
Enjoy Niagara Falls and the surrounding region! There is so much to explore and experience!
Happy Travels!
Popular Tours Leaving FROM TORONTO to Niagara:
If you would like to explore Niagara and staying in Toronto, explore guided tours with transportation from Toronto:
Other Popular Tours in Niagara
For other popular tours in the Niagara region, explore Viator tours and activities, with hundreds of reviews:
Our experiences described in this article were self-funded.
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