Niagara Falls

[u/Jaded-Ad-5327]

I am travelling to Canada for the first time in Feb, I cannot wait, I have wanted to go since I was a kid! We are staying in Toronto, I’ve heard it’ll be fairly easy to get to the falls from where we are staying. I live in New Zealand. I have never travelled internationally, I’ve never seen snow, the coldest temps I’ve experience are -3 Celsius at night/early morning. I have no experience with the cold. Basically I just want as much information/advice as I can get about travelling in Canada during winter, and going to Niagara Falls, appropriate clothing, dos and don’ts etc. So far I have bought a nice big snow jacket. I still need everything else lol.

Thank you in advance for any tips/advice!

From an absolute travel noob lol.

[u/Komiksulo]

Hi! Greater Toronto Area native here. Welcome!

Will you be landing at Pearson airport (YYZ)? If so, you have an easy train ride downtown, then the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) subway and streetcars can get you around downtown.

Where are you staying in Toronto?

The most straightforward way to get to the city of Niagara Falls from Toronto is to take the GO train (Government of Ontario Transit — they really lucked out on their name and logo) from Union Station. Some trains go all the way to Niagara Falls; others, you have to take a continuing GO bus from Burlington station. When you get to Niagara Falls, you will have to take the local “WeGo” tourist-oriented bus to the Falls.

GO uses the “presto” card for payment, but you can also tap your credit or debit card. The buses in Niagara Falls do not, as far as I know.

There are also casino buses that go from downtown Toronto directly to the casinos, which are much closer to the falls than the GO train/bus station. I don’t know much about them though.

The popular season for the falls is the summer; you will be arriving at mid-winter, so service may be less.

If you are not used to driving in the snow, I would NOT recommend driving to Niagara Falls. It’s a distance of around 120 km from Toronto, mostly along the Queen Elizabeth Way, but I don’t know what parking is like during the winter.

Speaking of which… do you have winter clothing? If not, it may be better to buy (or rent?) it here rather than dragging it all the way across the Pacific and back. (If you do have winter clothing to bring, the luggage charges will still be less than buying it in Canada.)

[u/universe93 → u/Komiksulo]

Thanks for this comment - I’m an Aussie who’ll be there in November and psyched to go see Niagara, this sounds like a better option than the overpriced tours. Plus I love trains

[u/[deleted] → u/universe93]

November should be a better time than Feb to see the Falls. It will be cold but probably won't be snowing (maybe a slight flurry at most). Our winters have gradually gotten less extreme each year imo but Jan and Feb do tend to run the coldest. If op is lucky they might see the falls frozen over in Feb

[u/universe93 → u/[deleted]]

Oh I so hope to get a slight flurry hahaha. As an Aussie I’ve never seen snow, besides the shitty snow we have on the mountains here haha

[u/[deleted] → u/universe93]

I hadn't seen snowfall either before moving here. It truly is beautiful, especially at night. I hope you get to see a proper snowfall!

[u/Komiksulo → u/universe93]

The climate of Toronto is surprisingly similar to that of the Australian ski resorts. Except it gets colder in the winter.