Destinations & day trips · 2026-09-21 · 8-minute read
A Niagara Falls day trip from London, Ontario by chauffeur is 200 kilometres each way - the 401 east to Woodstock, the 403 through Brantford and Hamilton, the QEW along the lake to the 420 - two hours twenty on a normal day, and with LondonLimo.net either two fixed fares at a planning figure of $360-420 plus HST each for a business sedan or the day by the hour in an executive SUV for six at $115-135, a Sprinter for fourteen at $145-175 or a luxury sedan for a couple at $135-165, twelve hours from the door and back; the day is the Falls at Table Rock and the boat, the Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake and a winery, Clifton Hill or the Skylon for the children, Fallsview's tables for the adults, and the illumination and the fireworks before the run home with someone else driving the QEW. The Niagara Falls page has the destination; this article is the day, hour by hour, with the honest advice on its pace.
The day, hour by hour
| Time | Where | What | The chauffeur's note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:30 | London | Leave | Coffee at the Woodstock ONroute |
| 9:50 | Table Rock, the Niagara Parkway | The Falls from the rail; the Journey Behind the Falls | The Parkway's lot; the chauffeur waits |
| 10:45 | The boat's dock at Clifton Hill's foot | The boat to the Horseshoe Falls | Ponchos supplied; forty minutes |
| 12:00 | The Niagara Parkway north | The drive along the gorge to Niagara-on-the-Lake | The floral clock, the whirlpool, the Botanical Gardens |
| 12:45 | Niagara-on-the-Lake | Lunch on Queen Street; the Shaw's matinee at 2 if booked | The town's main street; the theatre's door |
| 2:30 | A winery on the Niagara Parkway or the Bench | The tasting | Booked ahead; the bottles in the trunk |
| 4:30 | Clifton Hill, the Skylon or Fallsview | The children's hour, or the tables | The chauffeur at the agreed door |
| 7:00 | The Fallsview hotels' restaurants | Dinner over the Falls | Booked through the travel desk |
| 9:00 | The Parkway | The illumination; the fireworks in season at 10 | The rail at Table Rock |
| 10:15 | The QEW | Home | London by 12:40 |
Twelve and a half hours by the hour; the Niagara Parks site has the attractions' hours and the fireworks' season.
The road, in detail
The 401 to Exit 235, the 403 through Brant County, Ancaster and down the escarpment to the Burlington Skyway, the QEW through Grimsby, St. Catharines and the Garden City Skyway to the 420 and Fallsview; two hours twenty off-peak and closer to three on a Friday at 5 through Hamilton and Burlington; the Hamilton article has the escarpment and the Ontario 511 site the Skyway's wind closures.
The Falls, and the boat
Table Rock's rail at the Horseshoe Falls' lip, the Journey Behind the Falls' tunnels, the boat from the Clifton Hill dock into the mist with the ponchos, the Whirlpool Aero Car and the White Water Walk down the gorge: the morning, with the chauffeur at the Parkway's lot and the Niagara Parks passes booked through the travel desk.
The Parkway, Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Shaw
The Niagara Parkway north along the gorge past the floral clock and the Botanical Gardens to Queenston and Niagara-on-the-Lake's Queen Street, lunch, and the Shaw Festival's matinee at the Festival Theatre or the Royal George; the theatre's door for the drop and the same door at the curtain; the Stratford article has the other festival.
The wineries
The estates along the Parkway and the Bench above Beamsville: a tasting at one or two, booked ahead by the desk, the bottles in the trunk, and Ontario's rules on alcohol aboard - none in the sedan, the SUV and the Sprinter; the wine tour page has the Niagara wine day in full and the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake site the estates.
Clifton Hill, the Skylon and Fallsview
Clifton Hill's arcades and the wax museums for the children, the Skylon's tower for the view, Fallsview's casino for the adults and the Casino Niagara floor on the Hill; the chauffeur at the agreed door at the agreed time, and the Gateway casino article has the casino night.
The illumination and the fireworks
The Falls lit from dusk every night of the year and the fireworks at 10 through the summer and on the holiday weekends; the rail at Table Rock at 9:45, and the run home at 10:15 with the family asleep by Grimsby; the Niagara Parks site has the schedule.
The overnight, and the Buffalo crossing
Fallsview's tower, the Clifton Hill hotels or a Niagara-on-the-Lake inn through the travel desk for the couple who wants two days; and the Peace Bridge to Buffalo for the airport at $460-560 on the cross-border page or the Bills at Orchard Park, with the passports scanned the week before; the Buffalo airport page has the flights.
The two fixed fares against the day by the hour
A couple who stays overnight books two fares at $360-420; a family or a group that goes and comes back the same day books the day by the hour - twelve and a half hours in an SUV at $125 is $1,560 plus HST, $260 a head for six, with the chauffeur at every door; the rates page has both and the desk does the sum.
The honest advice on the pace
Five stops and not nine; the boat in the morning before the lines; the Shaw or the winery, not both, with children; dinner booked; the fireworks only in season; and a 7:30 start; a family that lists everything is a family the desk talks down to a day it will enjoy, and the things to do article has the same advice for London.
Three Niagara days, as they went
A family of five, a Saturday in July. Byron at 7:30, Table Rock at 9:50, the boat, the Parkway, lunch in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Clifton Hill at 3, dinner at Fallsview, the fireworks at 10, home at 12:45. The SUV for thirteen hours.
A couple and the Shaw, a Wednesday in August. Old North at 8, the Falls at 10:20, lunch, the matinee at 2, a winery at 5, a Niagara-on-the-Lake inn, home on Thursday at 4. Two sedan fares and the travel desk's inn.
Fourteen friends and the wineries, a Saturday in October. Masonville at 8 in the Sprinter, the Falls at 10:30, three wineries, dinner on the Bench, home at 10. Fourteen hours.
Booking it
The day is one email or call to the desk with the date, the numbers, the stops and the vehicle; two fixed fares are on the reservation engine; the Niagara Falls page has the destination.
Three questions the desk is asked about the Niagara day
Is the American side worth crossing for? For the state park's view of the American Falls and the Cave of the Winds, some say yes; it needs passports and the cross-border page's rules, and most London families keep to the Canadian side's better view.
Can we do Niagara and Toronto in one weekend? Yes - Niagara on Saturday with a Fallsview overnight, Toronto on Sunday by the QEW, and home by the 401; the travel desk books both hotels and the desk the car by the hour for two days.
When are the fireworks? Nightly through the summer and on the holiday weekends, at 10; the Niagara Parks site has the season and the FAQ the rest.
The 403 and the QEW, in detail
The 401 to Exit 235, the 403 through Brant County and Ancaster, the escarpment's descent, the Burlington Skyway over the bay, the QEW east through Grimsby, Beamsville and St. Catharines, the Garden City Skyway over the canal, and the 420 east to Stanley Avenue and Fallsview; two hours twenty at 7:30 and three on a Friday at 5; the Hamilton article has the escarpment and the Skyway's wind rule.
Table Rock and the boat, in detail
Table Rock's welcome centre at the Horseshoe Falls' lip with the rail, the Journey Behind the Falls' elevator and tunnels and the Niagara Parks' passes; the boat's dock at Clifton Hill's foot with the incline railway from the Fallsview ridge, the ponchos and the twenty minutes in the mist; the chauffeur at the Parkway's lot by Table Rock and the Niagara Parks site has the hours.
The Parkway, in detail
The Niagara Parkway north from the Falls along the gorge's rim past the Whirlpool Aero Car, the White Water Walk, the floral clock and the Botanical Gardens with the butterfly conservatory, Queenston Heights and Brock's monument, and the river's flat run to Niagara-on-the-Lake; forty minutes at the Parkway's pace, and the chauffeur stops where the family asks.
Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Shaw, in detail
Queen Street's shops and restaurants, the Prince of Wales hotel, the lakefront park at the river's mouth with Fort Niagara across it, and the Shaw Festival's Festival Theatre on Queen's Parade, the Royal George on Queen Street and the Jackie Maxwell Studio; a 2 o'clock matinee with lunch before and the theatre's door for the drop and the curtain.
The wineries, in detail
The Parkway's estates between Queenston and the town and the Bench's above Beamsville and Vineland; a tasting booked ahead by the desk, forty-five minutes at each, the bottles in the trunk, and the wine tour page has the Niagara wine day with four or five estates for the group that comes for the wine alone.
Clifton Hill and Fallsview, in detail
Clifton Hill's arcades, the wax museums, the SkyWheel and the haunted houses for the children; the Skylon's tower and its revolving restaurant; Fallsview's casino, hotels and the restaurants over the Falls; Casino Niagara on the Hill; the chauffeur at the agreed door and the Caesars and Fallsview article has the casino night.
The Buffalo crossing, in detail
The QEW to Fort Erie and the Peace Bridge to Buffalo with the passports scanned the week before, the Buffalo airport's cheaper US fares at $460-560 on the cross-border page, the Bills at Orchard Park and the Sabres downtown; the Buffalo airport page has the flights and the Buffalo article the run.
Booking checklist for the Niagara day
The date; the numbers and the children's ages; the pickup; the stops the family wants; the Shaw or the winery; dinner; the overnight if any; the vehicle; the card. Nine lines to the desk and the travel desk books the passes, the tickets and the table.
The honest summary
Two hours twenty each way and a day of five stops between, with the fireworks at the end and someone else driving the QEW home; the Niagara Falls page has the destination and the hourly page the day's rate.
A worked example: the day the desk shortened
A Byron family of six sent the desk a list of eleven stops for a July Saturday; the desk sent back five - Table Rock and the boat, the Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake for lunch, the butterfly conservatory, Clifton Hill, dinner at Fallsview and the fireworks - and the family took it; the SUV left at 7:30 and was home at 12:40, thirteen hours at $125, $1,625 plus HST, and the children were asleep by Grimsby. The rates page has the SUV's hour and the things to do article the same advice for London.
The desk's rule of thumb
Five stops; the boat in the morning; the Shaw or the winery with children, not both; dinner booked; the fireworks in season; a 7:30 start; two fares with an overnight and the day by the hour without; and the passports for Buffalo. The Niagara Falls page has the destination.
Booking it, in one line
The day is one email or call to the desk with the date, the numbers, the stops and the vehicle; two fixed fares are on the reservation engine.
