CAN YOU DO NIAGARA FALLS WITHOUT A TOUR
Yes, there’s plenty you can see and enjoy in Niagara Falls without a tour, especially if you’re willing to do a little bit of research and planning ahead of time.
Niagara Falls is located in a publicly accessible area, which is available to visitors 24/7 for free.
You can drive right along the Niagara Parkway for views from your vehicle or you can park and walk right up to the edge of the horseshoe Falls.
While a guided tour of Niagara Falls is a wonderful idea to include as a key part of your visit, especially for first time visitors, it’s not absolutely essential.
PROS OF A NIAGARA FALLS TOUR
My personal philosophy when visiting a new place is to rely on local experts to help me get oriented as early in the visit as possible.
This is why we often recommend booking a tour for the first morning of your stay.
GET ORIENTED WITH NIAGARA FALLS
Learn where the key landmarks are in relation to your hotel, get to know some of the more important local customs and grow your confidence.
LEARN MORE IN DEPTH NIAGARA FALLS HISTORY
There are sights you’ll see and stories you’ll hear from your tour guide during a Niagara Falls tour that you won’t be able to experience anywhere else.
SAVES TIME ON LOGISTICS AND TICKETS
When you book a tour, everything is handled on your behalf, including the purchasing of attraction tickets.
RECEIVE DISCOUNTS AND SAVINGS
Benefit from an exclusive Niagara Falls coupon bundle as part of booking one of our Niagara Falls tour packages.
GET IDEAS FROM THE TOUR GUIDE
Your tour guide has lived and worked in Niagara all of their life. During your tour, you’ll have the chance to ask them for tips and suggestions on what things you should do (and what things you can skip).
The up sides to booking a tour of Niagara Falls are obvious and abundant, but let’s play devil's advocate and find some of the potential downsides.
CONS OF BOOKING A NIAGARA FALLS TOUR
Thanks to enjoying time and cost savings when you book a Niagara Falls tour you may not think there’s much potential downside to it but if we really try we can come up with a couple examples.
LESS FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
When you book a tour your itinerary is locked in, at least for that morning.
While most people enjoy the set schedule and lack of surprises that comes with booking a tour, a potential downside for some is that since tours are booked in for a particular date and start time it means you are less able to “wing it” the day of.
LACK OF PRIVACY
At least for a couple hours.
While sharing the experience with fellow travelers could easily be looked at as another positive of joining a group to tour Niagara Falls, some may prefer to stick entirely to their own group during their stay.
NOTE: there are private Niagara Falls tours available if you’d prefer that option.
LESS CUSTOMIZABLE
Niagara Falls tour packages, especially our own, have been carefully curated to include the best attractions and routes that appeal to the largest % of people as possible.
However everyone’s preference are unique and some people may be looking for something different.
Perhaps you have visited before and have already done the most popular attractions. Maybe you’re looking for a full day or even multi-day experience.
The point is, while our tour packages are very popular, it’s impossible to build an itinerary that is ideal for everyone so planning your own self-guided tour of Niagara Falls may be the better route for some.
RESOURCES TO AID YOUR VISIT TO NIAGARA FALLS WITHOUT A TOUR
General Niagara Falls tourism information. Click here.
Public transportation via WeGo. Click here.
Niagara Region transit. Click here.
Bundled attraction passes via Niagara Parks. Click here.
Niagara Falls hotels. Click here.
Niagara Falls parking information. Click here.
Sample itinerary - 1 day. Click here.
Sample itinerary - 2 days. Click here.
Sample itinerary - 3 days. Click here.
