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JMich3

Heading to Niagra Falls, what to see?

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Taking the wife to Niagra Falls for her birthday this weekend. We are only there till Sunday and I don’t want to miss any of the really good stuff. Doing the Maid of the Mist and the River walk so far, anybody have any don’t miss suggestions?

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We went a few years ago to the Canadian side. It was lovely. 

Did the maid of the mist, and the walking tour behind the falls. 

Great places to eat and drink. Have an Iron City (I think) hard cider for me. Wonderful on a hot day!

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Just went a few weeks ago, my biggest tip is get a couple hundred bucks exchanged just for the restaurants. Most places will automatically do the exchange but restaurants won't so they get a $35 tip. There is an exchange a few blocks fromthe falls right in the middle of the tourestie stuff and one right on the othere side of peace bridge. Haven't been to either one so no idea if it's free or what. Just missed the one at peace bridge being open because the Canadian boarder people held us up for 3 hours. Coming back the American dude said like 2 words to us and waived us through. 

The hornblower is on the Canadian side and the maid of the mist is on the American side, they get a little offended when you call theirs the maid of the mist.

The whirlpool thing is not what you would think but it's wort the drive if you stop along the way. The hiking trail there looks amazing but we didn't have time to do it.

Lock everything up and don't let your guad down when in the hotel area, lot's of scumbags out there.

If you like real cars there are a ton of them cruising around up there, Chevelles, Camaros, GTOs, Firebirds, vetts...

Get some Tim Hortons birthday cake timbits

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Check Groupon for deals up there before you go. 

We stayed on the Canadian side, in the Marriott at the head of the falls. We had a breathtaking view of the falls from our window. 

Do as suggested and convert some currency beforehand. 

We did hit the NY side of the falls. Honestly, I was very disappointed with the American side...it was trashy, seemed to be a crappy area, and full of nothing but cheesy gift shops selling the same old same old junk. 

We rather enjoyed the Canadian side. There was a casino (if you’re into that kind of thing...we aren’t), and plenty of very nice eateries and bars. Lots to do and see on the Canadian side. 

6F280850-3680-45EF-A7FE-4F4E37C3F554.jpeg

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41 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

We did hit the NY side of the falls. Honestly, I was very disappointed with the American side...it was trashy, seemed to be a crappy area, and full of nothing but cheesy gift shops selling the same old same old junk. 

We rather enjoyed the Canadian side. There was a casino (if you’re into that kind of thing...we aren’t), and plenty of very nice eateries and bars. Lots to do and see on the Canadian side. 

Sadly, I agree 100 percent with the commentary above! EVEN as a young kid, I was struck by how much nicer the Canadian side was... strikingly so. The Canadians fixed up the area all around the falls with nice landscaping w/gorgeous flowers, etc. Everything just looked clean and well-manicured and thriving. Whereas the U.S. side looked dirty and shabby... and I've read recently that the town on the U.S. side has hit with hard times even worse in recent years, so I'm guessing the difference between the 2 sides might be even more stark today.

It's deeply disappointing to me that on such a major tourist attraction the U.S. allows themselves to get so badly shown up by our neighbors to the north. We should be proud of our many sites of "natural wonder" - they are an integral part of our national heritage - and we should make sure they're adequately funded and maintained. 

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2 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

Check Groupon for deals up there before you go. 

We stayed on the Canadian side, in the Marriott at the head of the falls. We had a breathtaking view of the falls from our window. 

Do as suggested and convert some currency beforehand. 

We did hit the NY side of the falls. Honestly, I was very disappointed with the American side...it was trashy, seemed to be a crappy area, and full of nothing but cheesy gift shops selling the same old same old junk. 

We rather enjoyed the Canadian side. There was a casino (if you’re into that kind of thing...we aren’t), and plenty of very nice eateries and bars. Lots to do and see on the Canadian side. 

6F280850-3680-45EF-A7FE-4F4E37C3F554.jpeg

We are staying at the Hilton on the Canadian side actually. 

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1 hour ago, JMich3 said:

So what happens if i use my credit card there? Does that get hit with an exchange fee?

Very few don't whack you. Capital one is one of the few that don't.

Or you could open an online checking account with Charles Schwab. When you use their debit card, not only you don't get charged an exchange fee but also they wave any ATM fees you may incur worldwide.

 

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You need to go onto the wet deck there with your slicker and tell, us if that deck looks like the Thompsons Deck Stain and Waterproofing commercial. Because it sure did a crappy job on my deck. [emoji16]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Before you cross the boarder call your phone carrier. Check your phone and turn off use roaming, or use cellular data, a friend went over and used his phone and got hit with a huge bill. He did call, I think it was Verizon, and explained he didn't know and they refunded the bill

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We went a few years  ago, for the first time. We stayed on the Canadian side, night and day better than the run down American side. Stayed at a popular chain across from the Outback restaurant. Definitely call your mobile carrier to get international access. I called Discover and Visa, and there was no extra exchange rate with Discover. We also got some kind of combo package deal through AAA that gave us unlimited use of the bus line along with the boat ride, river walk, and behind the falls thing (they also had a kiosk near the falls offering the same package). The Skylon Tower was definitely worth it too. The falls were absolutely mesmerizing though. Have a great trip.

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Thanks for all the great tips guys. The phone thing worries me, i called my carrier and they told me international was included with my plan, fingers crossed. This place is beautiful and the falls are truly amazing, taking the Hornblower right into the Falls was probably the best touristy thing I’ve ever done.  It’s nit cheap here and Canada’s %13 HST taxes adds up quick. It’s all good though because i took a nice chunk of change with me from a hot craps table to subsidize my trip!

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9 hours ago, JMich3 said:

Thanks for all the great tips guys. The phone thing worries me, i called my carrier and they told me international was included with my plan, fingers crossed. This place is beautiful and the falls are truly amazing, taking the Hornblower right into the Falls was probably the best touristy thing I’ve ever done.  It’s nit cheap here and Canada’s %13 HST taxes adds up quick. It’s all good though because i took a nice chunk of change with me from a hot craps table to subsidize my trip!

Who is your carrier? I know that with t-mobile, either the simple choice or the One plan, Canada would be data and text free and calls are 20 cents a minute.

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4 hours ago, MartyZ said:

Who is your carrier? I know that with t-mobile, either the simple choice or the One plan, Canada would be data and text free and calls are 20 cents a minute.

We are with att, better than half the time we were connected to att US. They have towers right across the Falls. My plan says it’s all included in the description but you never know

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On 7/13/2018 at 7:20 AM, Displaced Texan said:

We went a few years ago to the Canadian side. It was lovely. 

Did the maid of the mist, and the walking tour behind the falls. 

Great places to eat and drink. Have an Iron City (I think) hard cider for me. Wonderful on a hot day!

 

I stayed on the Canadian side a few years back - it's like a mini LasVegas, lots to see and walk around and see.

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