Niagara Falls On A Budget – Canadian Side

Wondering how to visit Niagara Falls on a budget? Here are ways to save money at one of Canada’s most popular tourist destinations.

The fact that I was 28 years old and had never been to Niagara Falls was surprising to me, I mean it’s a huge tourist destination in my own country. We decided to head there from Toronto, since it is not far! We were newly debt free, and I hadn’t had a chance to save up a lot for this trip, so we were headed there on a budget!

Niagara Falls can be expensive, and I was surprised how commercialized it is. We made some mistakes (mostly with food) so here are my tips for visiting Niagara Falls on a budget.

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Pick Your Hotel Wisely

Picking hotels is one of the hardest things to do when planning a vacation. You don’t want to spend too much, but you don’t want to stay so far away from everything that you are spending a lot of time (and money) getting to where the attractions are. I knew I wanted to stay central so that we could walk around easily.

We ended up picking Vittoria Hotel and I’m so glad we did! I got a good deal on Hotels.com and the location was amazing. Our room overlooked the Falls as well, couldn’t get much better than that!

Read more about my review of Vittoria Hotel and Suites

Don’t Get A Rental Car

You don’t need a car to get around Niagara Falls. As long as you stay central, everything is within walking distance. Uber is also available if you don’t want to walk somewhere. Parking is usually expensive and hard to find.

Avoid Clifton Hill

Some might love Clifton Hill, and some of you, like me, might dislike it. Whichever way you feel about it, it can be a budget buster. Full of “haunted houses”, arcades, and wax museums there are a million ways to spend money here. We avoided them all. If you really want to do the attractions here, look into getting the Fun Pass for $30, which gets you into 6 different attractions for about half the price.

Choose Restaurants Carefully

I told you everything was expensive here didn’t I? We walked into Denny’s and right back out because of the prices on the menu. Denny’s is usually pretty reasonably priced but not on Victoria Ave in Niagara Falls! Definitely head off of the main streets to find more budget friendly food, or be prepared to pay a premium price!

Walk The Gardens

Between all the gaudy haunted houses and casinos you can find quite a bit of green space. We enjoyed walking through Queen Victoria Park (right across the street from the Falls) and don’t miss Oakes Garden Theatre close to Clifton Hill.

Visit The American Side

People always say the best views are on the Canadian side, which may be true but that doesn’t mean the American side isn’t worth visiting! On the US side, it is a state park with lots of (free!) walking trails and it offers a different perspective on the Falls. I loved that it was less crowded and more relaxed.

Read more about how the USA side is different from the Canadian side

The Falls Are Free

The Falls are what you came to see right?! Luckily viewing Niagara Falls is completely free. They also have fireworks over the Falls every night in July and August, and select nights in May, June, September, October, November and December.

Fun Fact: The Fireworks are best seen between the American and Canadian Falls. We were in a spot more overlooking the Canadian side and had to run over to get a new spot, obstructed by a tree!

Pick Your Splurge

We decided to splurge a bit on the Hornblower Cruise to get up close to the Falls, and I’m glad we did! Depending on your budget, it can be a bit expensive, we paid about $65 Canadian for the 2 of us to go. We had a great time and I’m glad I did it. A lot of people say that the Journey Behind The Falls tour is worth it, but we decided it wasn’t within our budget. I would advise you to do some research and decide if splurging on a tour is right for you!

Check Packages / Groupon

When you’re planning don’t forget to check deal sites like Groupon, or check into packages like the Adventure Pass which gets you in to many popular attractions. I’m all for doing whatever you want to go on vacation, but it doesn’t hurt to save a bit of money on it if you can!

Niagara Falls Budget Final Tally

Just to help you out, I thought I would share our Niagara Falls Budget. We went at the end of July which is peak tourist season and the prices below are for 2 adults:

Bus to and from Toronto: $76.84
Vittoria Hotel 2 nights: $377.88
Uber: $14.74
Hornblower Tour: $65.43
Food: $203.02
Souvenirs: 36.13
Rainbow Bridge to USA (walking): $2
Final Tally: $776.04

We could have spent a lot less on food had we chosen different restaurants, but no regrets! We had a great time during our 2 days in Niagara Falls!

Do you have any tips for doing Niagara Falls on a budget? Let me know in the comments!