Niagara Falls Vacation Question

The Canadian side has a lot better view of the falls and has more to do.
(The American side park is ok but many area attractions have closed an it's kind of a run down area.)
There's the Rainbow Bridge that you can cross right there but I've never used that one myself.
Bring your passports.
Since my Mom lives south of Buffalo we always use the Peace Bridge in Buffalo to cross back and forth.
There's Marineland (part zoo part amusement park) - that's a whole day of walking in itself.
Maid of the Mist boat rides are available from both American and Canadian sides.
There's the Butterfly Conservatory, the Botanical Gardens, and many other things to see.

http://www.niagaraparks.com/niagara-falls-attractions/but...

Canadian side for sure. So much more to do and so much nicer.

We went to the Canadiadian side two years ago. We drove through Canada since it was closer for us living in MI. My husband and I needed passports to drive over the border but the kids were young enough that we only needed their birth certificates. Different rules for flying, I think. The two sides are close but sometimes there can be a wait to go over the bridge.

Don't go now - the falls are frozen on the American side! Melting won't occur until May, according to the estimates I heard on the news last night.

Are you a member of AAA? They have a free travel service, updates on deals and discounts, and a reliable hotel rating system. A lot of people forget about this service. Even if you don't book your air travel through them, you are entitled to a free guide book with all the listings, and any maps or ground travel info you'll need if you rent a car.

We flew into Buffalo and stayed on the Canadian side. (Be sure to have passports!!) We were there a week and I thought it was way too long. We went to a dinky little zoo that was ok. I think we went to a botanical gardens. A day is more than enough to see the falls. My husband and some family we traveled with did the Maiden of the Mist. I stayed in the hotel and napped with our one year old. They also went to see the falls lit up at night. I stayed behind for bedtime. The "downtown" area might be a teens' dream. Lots of arcade type places. I think there was a Ripleys place. The falls were beautiful, but overall I wasn't too impressed with the town. If we were to ever go back, Niagara would be one day of the trip and no more than a weekend. I wish we had spent time in Buffalo or something else. I think it is a trip worth taking, but not for an extended period of time there.

Fly into Buffalo.Drive to the Canadian side, it's much nicer! We drove to a place called Niagara on the Lake. It's full of wineries, beautiful old homes and fantastic restauarants. The area right around the falls is very touristy/cheesy but well worth seeing. About an hours or maybe more is the African lion Safari, kids loved that. Also you definately would want to go in the summer.

Not sure if it will matter but if your doing the canada side you need passports. We went a couple years ago. Had a good time. We saw the falls. and that is a whole day. if you do the passes thing. there is a museum, movie, ride the maiden in the mist thing. we had dinner at a hard rock cafe. It for us was a one day thing. we did some driving around site seeing but 1 day does it at the falls.