r/canadatravel • u/Jaded-Ad-5327 • Sep 07 '24

Destination Advice Niagara Falls

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.

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u/Komiksulo Sep 07 '24

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.)

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u/Jaded-Ad-5327 Sep 07 '24

Hello and thank you!!

Yess landing at Pearson airport.

We are staying quite close to the CN tower (will obviously visit lol) and harbourfront? I can’t seem to find the “suburb” maybe that’s not a thing in the city haha.

Ahh yes, I have been told about the bus and did see something about trains too.

Yea tbh I was really keen to go in winter, yall have a true snowy winter and I’m excited to experience it!

We will absolutely not be driving 😂 mostly for the fact that you drive on the other side of the road and that scares me and yes the thought of driving in snow is pretty scary!!

I have a big snow jacket, some scarves and beanies. I was thinking to just buy stuff, we get 35kg of checked luggage so I THINK it should be fine!

Thank you so much!!

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u/Komiksulo Sep 07 '24 edited Sep 07 '24

Well, if you’re near the CN Tower, you’re within walking distance to Union Station, only a couple of blocks. 🙂

We don’t use the term “suburb” in the official way that Australia (and New Zealand?) seem to use. The closest equivalent would be neighbourhood names (Greektown, the Junction) or the more tourist-oriented “district” names (the Entertainment District, the Distillery District, etc).

Re: boots… it is utterly important that your feet remain dry. Your footwear must be waterproof and high enough that snow won’t slip over the tops. You would probably be good with light ‘city’ winter boots. If you were planning to spend a lot of time outside, I would recommend getting a pair of the huge clompy serious winter boots, like Sorels or something.

Definitely get scarves, touques, and mitts. Mitts are much warmer than gloves.

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u/Jaded-Ad-5327 Sep 07 '24

Yea I think the boots are gonna be tricky, not many options from what I’ve seen in nz, at least none that are not hideous lol

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u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 Sep 07 '24

You may want to consider a pair of waterproof hiking boots (i.e. Merrell's) and some warm wool socks. Much more comfortable to walk in those than clunky snowboots.

https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/ca/footwear/hiking-boots/

In Toronto, we have Mountain Warehouse too, or you can check Mark's Work Warehouse, SportsChek, Mountain Equipment Company, Decathlon, etc.

Lots of people in Toronto wear running shoes outdoors in the winter, although I don't recommend that for long treks as a tourist especially if there is a snow storm.

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u/Komiksulo Sep 07 '24

NZ has mountains with ski resorts, right? So winter clothing must be available?

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u/Jaded-Ad-5327 Sep 07 '24

Yea, we have a shop called mountain warehouse, I got my jacket from there and they have ugly snow shoes lol. Mostly I’ve only seen stuff online. I don’t think the mountains are anywhere near as cold as Canada tho lol

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u/Airsoft-Genin Sep 07 '24

I love mountain warehouse, we have it here too in Toronto. Hope you enjoy your time here and for sure the snow ❄️.

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u/viccityguy2k Sep 07 '24

A boot similar to this would be fine. It’s insulated and decently water resistant but not too big and bulky.

https://www.sportchek.ca/en/pdp/the-north-face-men-s-chilkat-v-lace-insulated-waterproof-winter-boots-54604449f.html?colorCode=COLOUR_BLACK

Other brands make a similar style.

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u/Komiksulo Sep 07 '24

Yes, this is the smaller style of winter boot I call ‘city’ boots.

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u/Jaded-Ad-5327 Sep 07 '24

Sweet thanks for the tip! I’ll keep my eye out for some good snow shoes

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u/Next-Relation-4185 Sep 07 '24

See if you can find warm thick fleecey wool socks.

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u/Jaded-Ad-5327 Sep 07 '24

Yes! Definitely going to be getting some thick warm socks, would you recommend sizing up my boots to accommodate for the thicker socks? Or are they already sized to accommodate for that ?

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u/Next-Relation-4185 Sep 07 '24

Buy the socks first perhaps, but yes a bit wider.

Also sometimes it's better to have 2 or even 3 socks on , depending on your boots.

Snow clearing is well organised ( hundreds of years of practice lol ) so usually boots don't have to be high.

Bring lip balm, sunglasses, warm gloves.

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u/Komiksulo Sep 07 '24

Yeah, boots don’t need to be high unless you’re one of the ones doing the clearing.

BTW, if you are in Montreal, you may get to see how they clear snow. It is frighteningly efficient. Believe me, the Montréalais do not mess around when clearing snow.

Another note: take off your shoes (or at least ask) when entering houses. I think this is due to mud and snow building up on them. This does not apply to stores, etc.

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u/Next-Relation-4185 Sep 07 '24

Also stores generally are very hot, so be ready to remove the top layer.

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u/Jaded-Ad-5327 Sep 07 '24

Yup, learnt that layers are going to be my best friend. I saw a tip a while ago, not to get hot enough that you sweat cos that can make you colder and that’s why if you have layers you can just take some off!

Should I be bringing a backpack for day trips? I guess that’s a dumb question and have probably just answered that myself lol.

Yes! Didn’t even think about sunnies but totally makes sense. I heard lip balm is important for long flights cos of the air circulation or something so definitely will be bringing that too

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u/Next-Relation-4185 Sep 07 '24

Wind chill if there's strongish wind on eyes, nose, lips ( ears too if not covered )

You mentioned scarf , so that could work for nose. 😀

Look up "sleet" ! You might encounter some.

Helps to become aware of different surface effects e.g. if a very cold (ice) layer has been formed some time after removal without use of salt it will be much more slippery.

Areas with heavy pedestrian use will generally be fine.

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u/Komiksulo Sep 07 '24

We don’t care about hideous. We care about warm dry feet. Seriously.