Niagara Falls Boat Cruise (Voyage to the Falls)

Book the Canadian boat, not the American one

The mistake UK visitors make is assuming the two boats are the same. They aren’t. The famous Maid of the Mist sails from the New York side; the Canadian-side equivalent is Niagara City Cruises’ Voyage to the Falls (the operator everyone still calls Hornblower), and it’s the one that noses right into the cauldron of spray at the foot of the Horseshoe Falls. Buy a timed ticket online before a summer trip — the midday sailings fill and the dock queue can run past an hour in July and August. In the April-to-November shoulder you can usually walk up and pay on the day, but you’ll still want the early slot.

The poncho is not optional and it won’t keep you dry — accept that going in. You will be soaked to the skin in the roughly 20-minute sail, so leave anything you mind getting wet in the locker, and don’t wear the day’s only dry shoes. Phones survive in a sealed pocket; loose hats don’t.

The one thing at Niagara worth paying for

Take one of the first sailings around 09:00 before the Toronto coaches arrive, or go after 17:00 once the day-trippers have cleared — midday to mid-afternoon is the longest line and the flattest light. The after-dark cruise, dearer at about CA$45, sails into the illuminated falls and, on fireworks nights, under the display, which is the better pick if you’re staying over rather than day-tripping.

Of everything you can pay for at Niagara, this is the one that earns it. The view from the free Parkway promenade and Table Rock is the postcard; the boat is the only way to feel the scale of the thing, with the water roaring down on top of you. Walk the free promenade for the panorama and save your money for the boat — not the Clifton Hill wax museums.