Experiencing Niagara Falls Bus Tour From Toronto
On our recent trip to Toronto, I knew I had to visit Niagara Falls. We decided on a Niagara Falls Bus Tour from Toronto. There were a few things I wanted to see in the area, and this tour checked all the boxes. We booked our tour through Viator, where it had good reviews. The tour was around $150 a person. This included a trip to a winery, the falls, a boat ride, and a visit to Niagara on the Lake.
Niagara Falls Bus Tour From Toronto
This was a big bus tour. I try to avoid these, but to do everything I wanted to do that day, this was the one I found with availability. I also liked that they picked up close to my hotel. It was a 15-minute walk to the pick-up point. I will be honest, this wasn’t my favorite tour ever. It probably doesn’t help that we spent the previous day on one of the best tours we have been on with Jason at Tour Guys. You can read about that here.
Our pickup time was 9:20 at the Fairmont downtown Toronto. We arrived early to make sure we found the right spot. When the bus arrived, we lined up to get on. There were already passengers on board. The tour guy, John, started calling the larger parties first so they could get seats together. This took way longer than it should have. He also let the passengers from the first pick-up spot exit the bus to get coffee and snacks. After all the new people boarded the bus, we had to wait for everyone who got off to get back on. This took about 20 minutes. For the rest of the day, we heard we were behind.
The Winery
It was about a 2-hour drive to the first stop at a winery. We only had about 30 minutes at the winery. Which was perfect to be honest. We went to a wine college where they did a fast intro to the wines that we tasted, then we had time to do some shopping. We were given a white, a red, and an ice wine to try. I would have bought some to bring back, but it was extremely hot that day, and I didn’t want my wine to ruin sitting on a hot bus all day.
Niagara College Canada
Us trying the wine near the vineyard at Niagara College of Canada
Niagara Falls - Lunch & Boat Tour
The drive to the falls from the winery was not long. The bus dropped us off near our restaurant, which was included in our tour fee. It was a pre-selected menu. It came with soup, a choice of entree (chicken, fish, or vegetarian pasta), and dessert. The restaurant overlooks the falls. After lunch, we had over an hour to explore the falls before our boat ride.
Niagara Falls
Me and my husband with Horseshoes falls behind us
Boat Ride
Our tour included a boat ride to the falls. This was a crazy full boat with everyone wearing ponchos. Several people brought changes of clothes. I did not even think about it. Luckily our ponchos held and only our shoes got really wet. We did take our socks off before we got on the boat. I think this helped with us not being too soaked.
After the boat ride we had about 45 minutes of free time to explore the area before we headed to our next stop at Niagara on the Lake.
Niagara on the Lake
We had about an hour of free time in Niagara on the Lake. We aren’t big into shopping, even though the town was adorable. Instead, we headed to a pub with people we met on the tour and had a pint with fried pickles. We had a nice time chatting with our new friends before we headed back to Toronto.
We arrived back in Toronto around 8 pm. It was a long day. If I went back to Niagara Falls, I would probably do it a different way, but I am glad we did it this way this time. We got a lot of things marked off on our list. We only have one day free to do this, so it all worked out. I still don’t love big bus tours, but sometimes it’s the best option.
