Niagara Region, Canada
- Tina Resuello
- Jun 23, 2025
- 5 min read
Niagara Falls is a beautiful site that one should visit at least once in their life. I have been there many times over the years. For this most recent extended weekend trip, I brought my mom, since she had never been. Niagara Falls can be very crowded, especially during peak season, so I chose to stay in a cottage at Niagara On The Lake. Here is a brief review of our itinerary and cost. I planned ahead most of the activities, but there were a few surprises that popped up.
The drive from Delaware to Niagara on the Lake was about 8.5hrs. I packed a lunch for the road trip and planned a stop at Stewart Park in Ithaca. A little bit of a detour, but well worth the added time. It was raining, but it was fine. I chose Stewart Park because the photos looked nice and there was a covered pavilion overlooking Lake Cayuga. After our lunch, we continued our drive towards Niagara. I ended up driving Route 89, a beautiful scenic byway around the lake. Perhaps another time, I will explore this area further.
Getting thru the border was no issue, no delays. However, even with the Global Pass and Onstar, I was not able to connect to the Canadian cell towers, even with tech support on the phone. It took 3 days for Onstar to finally connect and my Global Pass never did work on my phone. So, that is going to be a costly bill with roaming charges and I will need to figure that out before traveling again. Luckily, I am familiar with Canada and can get around relatively easy. I planned a stop at Polonia European Market and Deli in Niagara for our dinner to bring to the cottage. There is a history of Polish settlers in this region, so I wanted some authentic perogies and other goodies.
We arrived at our cottage and settled in. The host was wonderful. It is a small, quaint little place on King Street. The owner has an addition off the side of her home, which has two bedrooms, one bath, and a kitchen. Although the kitchen was small, it was efficient and had all of the amenities needed to prepare our meals. Eating every meal out in restaurants is very expensive. I know we all want a break from cooking and dishes, but it's not feasible all the time.
The homeowner is very proud of her gardens, and it was enjoyable to sit outside at night with some local wine. I didn't feel the need to go wine tasting because I could simply buy a different bottle each night from the store, which was much more economical. Also, I was traveling with two of my children. The distance from the cottage to Queen Street was just a few minutes by car. Walking to Queen Street would take about 20 minutes, but that can vary depending on who you are traveling with.
The next morning, my mom and I decided to watch the sunrise along Lake Ontario. We then drove around town taking some pictures while the streets were still quiet. Once we got back to the cottage, prepared breakfast and then brought the kids to the boutiques. I still call them kids, but they are teenagers, 12 and 16. I booked reservations at the Prince of Wales "The Drawing Room" for high tea before we left home. This was one of my pre-planned meals that I knew I was going to spend a chunk of change on. That was $300 for the four of us and we enjoyed it. Worth the price. You are going to need reservations for most of the restaurants in any of the Niagara area.
We spent most of the weekend at Niagara on the Lake, walking along the shores of Lake Ontario, Queen Street, and even went to a local Farmers Market. On Queen Street is the Maple Syrup Store, and the worker told us about the maple syrup tour at their farm, the White Meadows Farm. I thought it would be fun, so I booked it for Sunday. I am really glad I switched my days. Sunday was supposed to be Niagara Falls, but I moved it to Monday because the Maple Syrup Farm did not do tours on Monday. We enjoyed the tour, charcuterie tasting board and Taffy on Snow.
Following the Maple Syrup tour, we returned to the cottage to freshen up, then drove along the Niagara Parkway. We made stops at the Whirlpool, the Floral Clock, and the Botanical Gardens. It was certainly more bustling compared to the relaxed atmosphere we enjoyed by the lake. We strolled through the gardens, which are always nice, but decided to skip the Butterfly Conservatory since I found it a bit expensive and had visited it before. Later, we returned to the cottage to prepare dinner.
Monday, we traveled back down the Niagara Falls Parkway and followed the parking signs for Niagara Falls. We walked down to what used to be Maid of the Mist to now Niagara City Cruises. This was the other venture I preplanned. It is more expensive now than when I was there last. But if you can, you should do it once it you lifetime. I didn't take many photos or a video because you get drenched unless you remain on the first level.
Wear good walking shoes or sneakers and preplan your expenses and excursions. There are a lot of boutiques along Queen Street, so look up online and figure how much your spending budget might be.
Before we left Canada I picked up some groceries from the store and figured we would stop for lunch somewhere. I didn't have that planned out because I was thinking we would go back thru Ithaca at the same place. But I decided to follow the GPS (now that it worked again in the states) back home. Kids were getting hungry so started to look for some place that was a nice stop off to eat lunch. Drove thru a small town called Perry and then saw signs for a state park, Letchworth State Park, NY. The park ranger at the entrance booth said not to miss the falls. This park was spectacular and was just the highlight of our trip home.
Check out my videos for more photos.
All in all with gas and some boutique purchases about $2200
Cottage 4 nights $1095 USD
Prince of Wales $300 USD
Groceries $200 CAN
Niagara City Cruises $42.95 CAN per person
Maple Syrup Tour $25 CAN per person + $60 CAN charcuterie deluxe tasting board
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