Getting to Niagara Falls....for the low.

Over Memorial Day weekend I went to Toronto. If you know me, you know I love to take full advantage of a 3 day weekend AND since I would be just a short 1.5 hour drive from the great Niagara Falls, I started trying to figure out the best way to get there, short of renting a car and driving <—— b/c that’s the best idea I had after researching options on the internet.

Of course, I could have gone with one of the 2947028974305792834 tours. The tours mostly included transportation that picks you up super early, along with everyone else and their mama. Then they herd you out towards the waterfall, making some random, uninteresting stops on the way. You’re given x hours at each stop, lunch …and then at the end of the day you’re dropped off. MY issue with the tours is that they’re restrictive. I like to tour things my way… in my own time. I’m a rebel like that.

Its easy to get caught up in the confusion of all the different tour details, how much they cost, etc….and get frustrated. What I want is a map of where we’re going, a succinct itinerary, the exact price I’ll be expected to pay….I want to see the condition of the bus I’m getting on…does it have wifi? A bathroom? air conditioning? Leg room? Is that too much to ask? Apparently. None of them give you just the information you want without trying to sell you on EVERYTHING else. Nah fam….I don’t need all that. So, again, my initial plan was to rent a car, drive myself there and back….make whatever stops I wanted to in between and mind my own business. Then, I thought, I could park the car at the apartment and take myself back to the airport the next morning. Great idea, right?

Yeah it was a great idea until I heard a much better one. Take notes, kids…this is groundbreaking.

So, the first full day we were in Toronto we did a bike ride around the city. We found the tour through Airbnb. This has become a thing….taking a bike tour led by a local. Its a good way to get a lay of the land, see some sights, and get some exercise too. Anyway, the tour guide was cool so I asked him, what ’s the best way to get to Niagara Falls?

Do you know what he said? You’re not going to believe it…….he said take the CASINO BUS.

So, I’m like explain yourself. He said that there was a bus company that picks people up from different locations around Toronto and shuttles them to Fallsview Casino right next to the falls, and I mean like steps from it. Then he says, it’s $30 DOLLARS (Canadian) ROUND TRIP. I’m like, whet?

I had my doubts…..there’s no way it could be that easy. When we got back to the apartment I commenced researching….and what did I find? It was that easy.

Here’s the skinny. Safeway Tours is the company. If you go their website, you’ll find the pick up locations and the schedule. They have a website too. We selected the Chinatown location. You have to call the number on the website, tell them what shuttle you want to take, give them your name, the number of passengers and that’s it.

THAT’S IT.

On the day of, make sure you have your ID (they’ll ask you for it a few times) and $30 CA in cash. Honestly, the hardest part about the whole process was finding the pick up location but once I called to ask, they tell you its literally on the sidewalk in front of a shopping center in Chinatown. There were other people standing out there too. I would suggest getting some snacks for the drive.

Y’all…..we stood out there for a sec, not really knowing what to expect. Then this huge red coach bus pulled up. They ask for your name, and then they let you on. It was a really nice bus, with wifi and good air conditioning….lol. The bus wasn’t full and we didn’t make any other stops. AND there were a bunch of older people headed to the casino so the bus was soooooo quiet. At some point during the first 30 mins of the ride the bus captain person came to take our money and checked our ID. They checked our ID so many times. Because there was a bit of traffic it took a little longer for us to get there but when I tell you it was such a pleasant ride….man.

You’ll see this signature red bus all over the city.

When I woke up from my nap, we were there. We pulled into the bus parking area for the casino and Niagara Falls is RIGHT THERE. Not across the street…..right there. We had to wait for people with membership cards to get off first. Then they let us off, took us inside the casino and checked our IDs again. After we told them we didn’t come to gamble they were like alright, your bus back to Toronto leaves at 8! Have fun!

It was really easy…the only thing I was annoyed by was the amount of times they checked our IDs. Otherwise, this was the best thing in the world. Once you get there, you have to figure out what to do like, how to get down to the falls, what excursions to buy or if you want to buy a package….whatever floats your boat. The maps they give you kinda suck because they don’t accurately depict where things are. If you researched ahead, like I did, the website will have you thinking that you need to drive between certain attractions but alot of the sites are within walking distance.

We took our sweet time seeing what we wanted to see, taking pics and acting silly. We ate, and then we went back to the bus depot for our scheduled departure. Also, if you wanted to leave earlier than the time they assign you, you can. You just have to let them know and they’ll add you on standby for your preferred departure time. But, you don’t lose your original departure so you’re good either way.

And that’s how I got to Niagara for the low!