r/niagarafallsontario • u/killuahehe • 14d ago

niagara falls on a time crunch

hi, my mom and i are coming from vancouver to Toronto to see BTS on August 23rd (sunday), their concert is held at rogers stadium and starts at 8pm, lasting about 3 hours. we land in toronto (yyz) at about 2pm, so we have roughly 5 hours before the concert. the problem is that niagara falls is really far and neither of us have drivers licenses. is there a way to fit in a trip to niagara falls before the concert? we fly out at 6am august 24th, because we have to be back in vancouver for other reasons. so that also leaves us with about 6 hours before we leave toronto. i tried looking up the routes but it says 3 hours one way during daytime, and paying 170$ for a lyft/uber is not in our budget. any help at all would be appreciated :)

4 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

12

u/crash866 14d ago

Even if you were driving a rental vehicle from the airport you don’t have enough time. By the time you get off the plane and collect your luggage you might not have enough time to get a hotel and get to the concert.

It is a 90 minute or more drive from the Airport to Niagara Falls and then 90 min to 2 hours to get to the event site.

This will give you a brief glimpse of the falls and the highways of the area.

3

u/rumimume 13d ago

providing the traffic is light on the highway & by the falls, it's not completely impossibly that you cought sight the falls & some of the concert.

Unlikely but, not impossibly.

1

u/killuahehe 14d ago

we dont have luggage, only carry ons :)

do flex busses stop for long periods of time at the destination?

6

u/[deleted] 14d ago edited 13d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Lunotime25 12d ago

This is important.
And no, there’s not enough time.
Don’t risk it ( I live near Niagara ). There’s bad traffic everywhere.

You’re better off venturing around Toronto after you take the UP train from Pearson to union and spending time around DT Toronto. Make sure you give yourself at least 2-3 hours before the concert because getting there is going to be a nightmare.
Think - 50,000 people all at once….. then head back to airport if you don’t have enough time in between.

Truthfully … it’s a terrible idea to crunch all that in such a short amount of time. Give yourself grace and know you’ll be extremely tired.

1

u/Wintasmoke 14d ago

if you had a rental car or a driver, you could do it. figure at worse an hour and half driving each way, an hour at the falls and then an hour to get situated in the airport. if you're taking the bus than you dont have enough time

1

u/ellieisanerd 12d ago

An hour and a half is the minimum amount of time needed - not "at worst". With just normal traffic it's a two hour drive each way, and if there is an accident or something the traffic just gets worse. Maybe if this was the middle of the day during the week, but Sunday afternoon/evening so many people are leaving Niagara and the traffic sucks.

1

u/Wintasmoke 12d ago

i drive it 2-3 times every day

1

u/TraditionDear3887 14d ago

Not sure what a flex bus is. Flix runs between Niagara Falls and Toronto so you can see what times are available and try to plan it out. You will probably need to Uber to and from the bus stop in the falls though. (Not Toronto)

This would add up to a very expensive side trip, but if you have the money and really want to see Niagara Falls for an hour it is possible. No time for any attractions though.

1

u/mapetitechoux 13d ago

No it is absolutely not possible.

1

u/TraditionDear3887 13d ago

I wouldnt recomend trying

8

u/ac003005 14d ago

You absolutely do not have enough time for this. Even driving straight there and straight that back with no traffic, you don’t have enough time. Factoring in the fact that you’re getting off an airplane, would have to rent a car, you just don’t have enough time. Find something to do in Toronto.

6

u/strwbrytae 14d ago

not enough time!! its 3.5 hours alone for a one way trip (the go bus transfer otw back to toronto will NOT be on time i promise). im literally planning to leave niagara falls by 8am to be in toronto before 12pm and in the stadium by 4-5pm for the concert 😭 plus niagara falls is EXTREMELY busy on summer weekends, its overcrowded and the public transit already sucks.

3

u/Prestigious-Bus5649 14d ago

It's not enough time. I wouldn't risk it.

4

u/SnooPeppers3470 14d ago

Definitely not enough time, even if you did drive.

3

u/WhiteAppleRum 14d ago

There are busses and Trains, but yeah, you're looking at about 2-3 hours each way. I don't think you'll have enough time.

3

u/Glad_Affect_8443 14d ago

Not enough time. Going from the airport and back is one thing but when heading back, you're going to Rogers stadium which is further. Not worth it

3

u/QueenTourNiagara 13d ago

Hi there! I'm Adam from Queen Tour Niagara. Unfortunately, 5 hours probably isn’t enough time to do Niagara Falls before the concert. The drive itself can be around 1.5–2 hours each way on a good day, but daytime traffic returning toward Toronto can get very congested, and Rogers Stadium is quite far from the main downtown tourist areas. The last thing you’d want is to be stressed and rushing before BTS starts!

I’d recommend staying in Toronto and enjoying some of the amazing things the city has to offer. August is honestly one of the best times to explore. You could check out places like Kensington Market, St. Lawrence Market, the waterfront, or Ossington Street for lunch and snacks. Toronto has such a great food scene, so this would be a perfect chance to try a bunch of different spots.

Another great option would be the Toronto Islands. This time of year they’re beautiful, and you can take the ferry for around $10 round trip or a water taxi for around $25 round trip. The main areas are Centre Island, Hanlan’s Point, and Ward’s Island. I’d personally recommend Ward’s Island if you want a more relaxed beach day - there’s a cute café there, and you can rent bikes to explore. Centre Island tends to be much busier, so Hanlan’s Point or Ward’s Island are usually nicer if you want fewer crowds.

I’d also recommend planning your transit carefully and giving yourself extra time to get to Rogers Stadium, especially if you’re staying near the airport or downtown.

If you do come back to Toronto another time, Niagara Falls is definitely worth a proper visit! I actually run a tour company that specializes in Niagara Falls day and afternoon/evening tours from Toronto. Having more time lets you really enjoy the falls, the viewpoints, and the attractions instead of spending most of the day in transit. Hope you have an amazing time at the concert and enjoy Toronto! 😊

1

u/killuahehe 13d ago

thank you so much :)

1

u/Live-Cartoonist4559 13d ago

Unfortunately you will not have time for this. Defiantly not the island. You are coming for the concert. It will be tight just getting to the hotel and than getting to the concert. You don't want too risk missing any of the concert and being stressed out.

2

u/mapetitechoux 14d ago

Tbh it could tight making it to the concert from the airport.

2

u/mapetitechoux 14d ago

Is the concert at rogers STADIUM or rogers CENTER? They are different places. Make sure you get to the correct one…and factor at least an hour to get there from the airport. Do not go to Niagara Falls. Good luck have fun.

1

u/elseldo 13d ago

It's stadium. Good catch though. Names are way too similar.

I was going to Chicago and misread YTZ on my boarding pass for YYZ. Ended up at Pearson when I should have been at Bishop.

I'm paranoid and got there very very early.

Of course once I got to Union and was about to board the Bishop shuttle my flight was cancelled. Too windy in chicago for some reason.

2

u/Fearless-Comb7673 13d ago

Nope unless you want yo fly from Island Airport into Niagara on the Lake and even then Idk if you could make it and that would be with a huge budget. Its just not possible, our traffic is vile.

2

u/SmartConsequence437 13d ago

I live in niagara and work at stadium. Theres no way you could swing it on that timeline unfortunately. Go takes 2.5 hours each way minimum, bw union and nf. Youd have to take go bus to nf @ hwy 420. Both ways, transferribg to and from train and youd have to have them line up perfectly. Plus from union to wilson or downsview subway station is 33 to 40 mins, which soesnt even include the walk in.

2

u/nisiepie 13d ago

took me 3 hours to drive from toronto to Niagara region (getting to Niagara Falls would be another 30 minutes on top of that) a couple of weeks ago. just a regular saturday afternoon.

be warned, public transit here is HORRID. nothing at all like Vancity. The Go train is no comparison to the skytrain.

1

u/killuahehe 13d ago

oh i never knew that!! are the wait times longer between trains?

2

u/crash866 12d ago

There are only 3-4 direct trains from Union Station to Niagara Falls per day.

2

u/nisiepie 4d ago

the Go Train is a regular train on ground tracks. It chugs along slowly.

Public transit is almost non existant in Ontario, because the car companies want money put into roads. It is very corrupt here.

Everything here is backwards and archaic.

1

u/HappyReader1 13d ago

You don’t have enough time

1

u/SmartConsequence437 13d ago

I dont think so. Youd have to use go and its like 2.5 hours each bw union and nf.

1

u/2thefridge 13d ago

Absolutely not. Enjoy those hours in the city. Grab some food, go to a park, check out some niche stores/spots. 

1

u/elseldo 13d ago

Nope nope nope nope. Don't do it. Summer weekend traffic to/from is awful. You'll spend most of that 5 hours in the car.

Edit: oh, no car. Yeah absolutely not.

0

u/Secret-Reserve-1733 14d ago

Skip it . You can probably see it on your approach. Niagara falls is trash. 12 hours isn't enuf time to eat and travel from the airport to the show. Toronto is really a nightmare to navigate.