Chronosynclastic Infundibulum

In the previous post we talked about youth hostels as an affordable place to stay in Niagara Falls. In this part, lets focus on what you can do the first day at Niagara Falls.

But first, Bookings: All you need to book in advance is your accommodation. I recommend the Hosteling International youth hostel, Rainbow Hostel. Its cheap, and close to the bus terminal, train terminal, the Whirlpool Bridge (connecting USA and Canada), and close to the local bus shuttle. Cost for two nights stay: $55

Lets plan the budget itinerary for Day 1:

Arrival: Arrange to arrive in the morning. That works out best. You can still make it work if you arrive early in the afternoon. Arriving late in the evening is just paying an extra day’s accommodation at the hostel.

The first thing you should do, upon arriving at Niagara Falls is to buy the Discount Pass for the Niagara Falls attractions. It gives you tickets for four attractions: Maid of the mist, Journey behind the falls, White water walk, and Butterfly conservatory. It also includes a free one-day pass on the people mover buses. Cost: $44

The pass gives you two advantages: (1) you get a discount on each of the four attractions, and (2) you get free transportation to your youth hostel (Rainbow Hostel).

If you arrive later in the afternoon, then first check into the hostel. In order to get to the hostel, just get off at the White water walk stop on the people mover. The hostel is at a walkable distance from there. If you happen to come by bus, then walk to the hostel, it just a couple of blocks from the bus terminal. And yeah, you can buy the Discount Pass at the hostel too.

First, before jumping on all the rides/attractions. Take a good look at what you came to see. See the falls from above first! And best of all, its free to see them. I know it sounds absurd to have to pay to see the falls, but considering you have to pay for seeing everything else, this seems like a huge bonus. There are two falls: the American falls, and the Canadian horseshoe falls.

American Falls	Canadian Horseshoe Falls

Be sure to walk to the top of the falls to get a feel of the awesome power of the falls. 20% of world’s freshwater flows over the falls! Its quite a sight to behold.

Once you have has a chance to look at the falls for as long as you like, you can then proceed to the rides. The first one I’d recommend is the Journey behind the falls. In this ‘ride’, you go down an elevator for over 54 meters and see the falls from less than 9 meters away. The sheer size and roar of the falls is overwhelming at this point. This is followed by a walk into the tunnel behind the falls and you get to see from behind the falls. All you see is a white wall of water, but the roar is amazing!

The next ride that I recommend everyone take is the Maid of the mist. This is probably the most popular ride that everyone who goes to Niagara Falls takes; in part because it is offered from both the American and Canadian side. This boat ride is the oldest at Niagara Falls and takes you as close to the Canadian falls as possible without dangering either the boat or the people on it. It starts downstream at the Niagara river and starts moving upstream going past the American falls. It is on this ride that you experience the magnitude of the falls. As you go past the American Falls you are drenched in the mist that is generated from tonnes of water splashing on the rocks at the bottom of the falls. The ride then takes you upstream to the larger, and more impressive Canadian Horseshoe falls. It is virtually impossible to see through the mist generated from the water falling from a height of 54 meters on to the rocks below (hence the name ‘Maid of the Mist’. As you approach the falls, you cant help but be drenched in the perpetual rain from the mist. Its a good experience to do once. I don’t think you’d be too excited to do it again; but for doing it for the first time its a good deal.

American Falls, seen from Maid of the Mist	Canadian Falls, seen from Maid of the Mist

The above two are quite close to each other and together should take you no more than 2 hours. Adding this time to the 2 hours you spend admiring the falls from above the gorge, you will have spent about 4 hours. If you arrive in the morning, this will leave you with enough time to visit a couple of other places downstream.

Its time to ride the shuttle that you paid for in the discount pass. Ride on it all the way to the White water walk. If its later in the afternoon, then when you get off at White water walk, get to the Rainbow Hostel (its close by) and check-in.

Next, to white water walk. White water walk is essentially a walk along the bank of the Niagara river for about half a kilometer where Niagara breaks out into level 6 rapids. This is one of the most violent and dangerous rapids in the world. Though there are many stretches or rivers in the world where you will find level 6 rapids, this is the only one that you see from such close quarters. This stretch is considered virtually unnavigable, and many have lost their lives trying to make it across these rapids. It is definitely worth a dekko. If you haven’t seen rapids before, then this will definitely impress you. These rapids are as bad as they get.

At this point, its late enough to have your stomach growling. Time for lunch. Check into the youth hostel and take your groceries out. Help yourself to some quick fix TV dinner style lunch at the kitchen. Its not exactly home cooked food, but it beats having to pay $15 for lunch outside :)In the next part, we’ll talk about how to best spend the rest of the evening at Niagara Falls.Expenditure so far: $55 + $44 = $99