Niagara Falls Tour: Boat Cruise, Journey Behind Falls and Skylon
Description
Once inside the Skylon Tower you will ascend 520 ft. in a glass elevator to the observation deck where you will be treated to an incredible, birds-eye view of all three Niagara Falls (Bridal Veil Falls, Horseshoe Falls, and the American Falls), as well as the Niagara River and surrounding area. You will have descend 125 ft (approx. 40m) to explore cave-like tunnels behind the Falls at Journey Behind the Falls. This experience is a treat for the senses as you’ll be able to not only hear the falls but feel them as well. Then take the Niagara City Cruises boat cruise for an up-close look at the falls (seasonal: May to December), at which point your tour will come to a close and you and your guide will part ways. On your cruise, you will sail around the Niagara gorge and get as close as possible to the Falls. In winter and spring months, the cruise is replaced with Niagara Takes Flight.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your experience begins at the iconic Skylon Tower. After meeting your guide, ascend 775 feet in a glass elevator to the observation deck where you’ll enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of Niagara Falls, the Niagara River, and the surrounding region. Your guide will point out Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls while sharing fascinating stories about the formation of the falls and the history of tourism in Niagara.
As you make your way through the Fallsview district, you will pass Fallsview Casino Resort, one of the largest entertainment complexes in Canada. Overlooking the Niagara Falls skyline, the resort features luxury hotels, restaurants, theaters, and gaming floors. Your guide will share how this area developed into Niagara Falls’ premier tourism and entertainment hub.
Ride the Falls Incline Railway down the Niagara escarpment toward Table Rock and the brink of Horseshoe Falls. This scenic funicular ride provides incredible views of the Niagara River and the surrounding parklands while transporting visitors directly to the falls area.
From Table Rock, your guide leads the group along the Niagara Parkway toward the Niagara City Cruises dock. The Niagara Parkway follows the Niagara River and was once described as “the prettiest Sunday drive in the world.”
Located directly beside the brink of Horseshoe Falls, Table Rock is one of the closest viewpoints to the waterfall and a historic gathering place for visitors to Niagara Falls.
Your experience concludes with Niagara’s most famous attraction, the Niagara City Cruises boat ride. Sail through the Niagara Gorge and get as close as possible to the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the powerful Horseshoe Falls. Ponchos are provided as you experience the incredible mist and thunder of the waterfalls up close.
As you continue along the Niagara Parkway toward the boat dock, you will pass the historic Niagara Parks Power Station. Once the largest hydroelectric generating station on the Niagara River, this massive industrial landmark helped power cities across Ontario for more than a century.
Descend 125 feet through tunnels carved into the bedrock to experience the incredible power of the Horseshoe Falls from behind the waterfall itself. Step onto the outdoor observation deck where you’ll feel the thunderous vibration of the water crashing into the Niagara Gorge below.
Enjoy a walk through the beautifully landscaped Queen Victoria Park, known for its gardens, walking paths, and unobstructed views of the waterfalls.
Along the way, you’ll stop for stunning viewpoints overlooking Horseshoe Falls, the largest and most powerful of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls.
As you walk along the Niagara Parkway, enjoy stunning views of the American Falls. Located between Goat Island and Luna Island, this powerful waterfall drops more than 100 feet into the Niagara Gorge. Your guide will point out the unique rock formations at the base of the falls and explain how erosion has shaped this iconic section of Niagara Falls over thousands of years.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Kindly note: Niagara Takes Flight is not accessible to infants or children under 100 cm.
Reviews(640)
The best part about this tour was the skip the line portions. Our guide Shariq kept forgetting names of the things he was pointing out. Bridal Veil Falls completely slipped his mind and he had to be reminded by a group from Europe. Seems as if the guide should be the most knowledgeable? His stories also had different truths to them. After the tour researching showed he was off in the explanation of where Goat Island received its name. The sites on this tour were really cool and skipping the lines made them a little better. This is absolutely something you can do on your own for less money. Not recommended by me.
Wonderful time, experienced a total drenching under the falls, but the punches did the job. Behind the falls walk truly shows the power.
There was a lot of walking Didn’t expect that since I have a bad knee The guide kept rushing everyone we didn’t know why The scenery was great glad I did it will be more alert next time about the amount of walking
Booked the tour for july 4. Oh my God , did not realise it was gonna be so busy and hot. We were tired with alots of walking and heat. But guess what? Our guide was amazing she offered us water and continuously checked on the entire group. Even though it was extremely busy we were able to skip lines. If you dont wanna wait make sure to book with guide. Parminder (I hope i am writing it correctly) was an angle. She is a sweet girl. Gave us history lessons and alot of jokes and fun facts. She was kid to suggest us to take an uber. Thanks to her we didn’t walked alot after journey. These small suggestions can make big difference. She even took us through casino to enjoy some a/c. 10/10 and 5 stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 to our guide Parminder.
We wanted to book for fireworks with cruise and accidentally got fireworks with tunnels and Illumination tower. Well that was fun too. We changed the colour of the fall. It felt really special and private. Big thanks to parminder our guide she was amazing. 😻 especially my kids loved her. She was kind and funny. Gave us alot of insights for the history of nigara falls. I loved the tour eve though it was not planned. 🤣🤣
The walking tour was good, it directed us to where to get on each boat, cave, and tower. The tour guide tried to keep us on schedule, but we walk quite a bit at a fast pace. I recommend getting a combination ticket and a map app on your phone. Also, tour doesn’t end up where we started, and we weren’t aware of this.
Had alot of fun with out guide Parminder. We did tour on july 4th was told and given heads up its a busiest day of the season for them. Although we were prepared for long lines however out guide was really smart she planned the talking around the tour so we could reach reach first to skip people inlines. And she was correct we waited 10 mins max and I could see other people in general lines telling they are waiting since 1 hr. It was alot of fun, she kept us engaged and entire group together. Also took photos and made suggestions for the poses and right angels. Our guide was the main highlight to be honest without her it would have been really difficult. Thanks to see sight and parminder. ❤️❤️⚡️⚡️⚡️
My family and I took this tour on July 2 with Tripadvisor (3 adults and 1 child, 10 years old), and while the attractions themselves were beautiful, the overall experience did not match the price we paid — almost $500 USD. We met the guide at the Niagara Falls entrance, and he was knowledgeable and friendly. He explained each attraction clearly and kept the group organized. However, the tour involved more than three hours of continuous walking, often under extreme heat — the temperature reached 45°C, which was overwhelming for everyone, especially my husband who is over 80 years old. By the time we reached the final attraction (the boat ride), we were all exhausted. The tour description does not clearly state how physically demanding the experience is. There was no scheduled rest period before the boat ride, which is absolutely necessary given the amount of walking and the weather conditions. Additionally, at the end of the guided portion, there was no transportation provided back to the meeting point or parking area, which made the experience even more difficult. The attractions themselves were enjoyable, but the value for the price was not there, mainly because the tour lacks transparency about the physical effort required. I strongly believe the company should clearly disclose that this is a long walking tour, include rest time, and offer transportation back to the starting point. More honesty and clarity would help travelers make informed decisions.
So worth it having a guide shepherd my family of four (along with another family) to these three sites. If we had done it ourselves it would have been lots of time trying to find out where to go and also lots of lines. Our guide, Parminder, was wonderful, sharing lots of great info that we wouldn't have gotten on our own!
This tour is nice for the convenience of obtaining your admission tickets and moving you through (some) lines quickly. Our guide was very nice and efficient, but not seemingly knowledgeable about the history (of either side) of the Falls. That's why we book tours - to learn things you can't read on the placards; so, we were disappointed to not have educated commentary/bonus material. Our tour was on a busy holiday, so lines were extremely long, which didn't leave much time for discussion, anyway. Again, great for the convenience of knocking out the highlights without fussing with ticketing lines (but this is no FastPass). Also, this tour included the top three things to do for the vistas of the Falls, so that was really nice.
