Go to Niagara Falls from Toronto in via train and comeback the same-day! Great for a weekend getaway.
People don’t take trips, trips take people.
John Steinbeck
Trip Date: July 11th, 2022. A full day, from 6am -10pm
Looking for a place to go on a trip alone? I have an idea; go to Niagara Falls. I had a excellent summer trip alone at Niagara Falls using via train!!! I took some beautiful pictures on sceneries, activities, restaurants, galleries, souvenirs and more. I was a bit scared but I did not needed to be. It was very exciting and meaningful. I definitely recommend it if you want an affordable trip close by to Toronto.
Preparation
I purchased via train ticket online a day before going to Union Station. It made my life much easier, because all you have to do is to show the PDF with QR code on my phone to the ticket person.
***Bring an ID with you, because they check it before boarding.
On the train, there are power outlets you can use so bring your battery with you. (You don’t want to end up out of battery when you arrive there and looking for places to charge your phone.) Some books, a couple of Netflix series, or a song playlist will help, because it takes 2 hours to get there. Eat your breakfast and get a cup of coffee you don’t want to run out of energy like me. Bring a camera tripod with you, if you are going alone.
I suggest planning the trip in detail before because it is a day trip and tight schedule get you to more places. The night before, I personally surfed for hours on google to look for places to go and found. I went to much fewer places than I planned because of WEGO bus (local) schedule is not frequent. WEGO, it does not require you to buy ahead of time, because you can get it at the via place for $10 (adult, a day), right on the spot. It comes with a map so you can bring it around.
Attractions
Around 10am, I went to the Falls Waterfront first, of course, by taking WEGO Greenline Southbound. Just beautiful and speechless how nature can amaze you. Best water experience ever. I saw it when I was young too but I have to say I came to appreciate it now. The weather were not so bad that day and there were lot of parks and free attractions to take picture at. For example, I am at the famous Sky Wheel in that picture on the right, a 5 minute walk from the Falls’ front. It was very huge and it can make you look smaller. I regret not going there in night time, because they turn on the lights and you can get some great night photos.
You know what? I wanted to go to Niagara-on-the lake and bike around but it was not open on Monday (Check before you go!) so I went to floral clock by taking Northbound. Well… it was kind of far from the Front but there was the clock and that was about it. I suggest visiting there when you got plenty of time, or else, enjoy activities like riding the Jetboat or going to Butterfly Conservatory, if you go alone. It was alternative plan anyways, right? (sigh)
Okay, I got lost on the bus a little bit because of prior disappointment at the Floral Clock, and ended up in Table Rock Centre. mostly, it was a ticket place to Journey behind the falls and where every bus meets. If you want to see the falls from the top view for free inside the window or go to the Power Station check it out, but I found this place a little bit boring with big lineups. I took the blue line WEGO from there to go to Downtown, again.
I was a bit tired and got a little time (an hour or so) because train leaves at 5: 50. I decided to go to a theme park because it can’t take long to look around a small displays. I was deciding between Ripley’s Believe or Not or one of the Wax Museums at Downtown. Wax Museum looked to dark to take photos and it already had too many children so I decided to go to Ripley’s. If you like science, you should check it out. There were lots of tricks and gave me interesting photos (Dark lighted so you should get night mode on the phone). Ticket was overpriced though, I think ($25)
Food and Souvenirs
It was lunch time and I did not have breakfast. So, I looked up on the web, with shaking hands, for the Rainforest Café. It is famous restaurant at the heart of Niagara Downtown. Food was good. I ordered Virgin Margarita and Steak & Shrimp. It was worth it because there were lots to look at in the restaurant. If you go there with kids, they have souvenirs of their own (the frog was there signature character), fish tank, and elephants that cries out loud every 10 minutes or so.
I was running out of sugar 3hours after lunch so I got an ice cream near the Speed Race place. Ice cream or Gelato is everywhere downtown and I can’t recall the place. It was a big ice cream, typical strawberry ice-cream on cone. Warning: it can get messy on your hand in the sun. Get it at night so it does not melt too quickly.
Lastly, I went back near the bus station. There was a Hard Rock Café, originally from U.S.A. I wanted to buy their t-shirt but ended up buying the bear with its hood on it. If interested, buy a men’s t-shirt rather than women’s , it looks much better and more comfortable.) I got a Starbucks iced coffee on the way out which is right next to he café, to keep my caffeine level right. It was a street with a few people passing by, right near the bus station. Go in the afternoon to grab a drink or get photos like me.
On the way back
I can’t stress enough I enjoyed the trip so much. It was exhausting to walk around, but I count that as a successful first trip. It gave me pile of photos, which was the ultimate purpose. On the train back, I spent some time to edit and upload it to Instagram. I would come back to go to Niagara-on-the lake to see one of those winery, next time. I had a great time alone and some room to think. I would add to must-place to go if you are travelling alone. Thanks.
Helpful Links
Ticketing site: https://www.viarail.ca/en
https://wegoniagarafalls.com
Niagara Falls advertisement site for research: http://www.niagarafallstourism.com.