Great ride/Don’t use this service - The Maid of the Mist at night was a great experience. However, the tour company that set it up was terrible. First, the pick up point was on the US side and the tour was from the Canadian side. They never told us we was expected to walk from the NY side, over the Rainbow Bridge, and down to the entry to the Maid of the Mist. Because of my age I didn’t want to walk a mile and a half. I was then told I would be given the tickets and we could go on our own without the guide. When I received the tickets, I seen we paid twice the price of the tickets.

Fun and a good experience - The boat ride and fireworks were amazing. The walking tour was interesting, the guide was clearly knowledgeable. The only frustration is if you are staying on Canada side which we were, you have to drive to the New York side, go back to Canada side, go back to NY side to get your car and go back to Canada side.

TOUR FROM HELL! DO NOT RECOMMEND - MISREPRESENTED. - I am a seasoned traveler and I have to say that this was the worst excursion I have ever taken. The trip was supposed to meet in front of a pizza place in Niagara Falls, NY and then have 3 stops before getting on a boat in Ontario, Canada to view the fireworks and falls and then return to the starting point. NO WHERE on the advertisement did they say this was a walking tour. The advertisement said “not wheelchair accessible” and “most people can participate”. Upon our arrival at the pizza place we were met by our guide who told us she doesn’t normally guide this trip and she was filling in for a friend as a favor. There was one other family present for the tour. She then said that we would be walking to Canada. Both families looked at each other and were shocked as none of us were aware this was a walking tour. I immediately asked her how far we were walking because I am a disabled veteran with some mobility limitations (can’t really walk more than a mile without severe pain). She kept dismissing me and said, “don’t worry, you can do this”. She also said she would walk at a reasonable pace (I am not slow) and that it would be ok because the calcium ions in the water that mist up would take away any pain. I felt forced at this point to walk on the tour (we paid almost $300 to take this). She started off by taking us through Niagara Falls, NY. Her narrative was about the 40% poverty rate and how we should avoid a particular business as the owner had poured gasoline on a female patron he thought had stolen from him and lit her on fire….he had been arrested, but then let out due to bail reform within the past few days. She also pointed to a street about a block away and said we shouldn’t walk past the casino as it was very dangerous. By the time we got over the border to the boat, the walk was 3 miles! I was in so much pain, my husband had to find a wheelchair for me to be able to go any further and get on the boat. This put quite the damper on the boat ride that I was really looking forward to. I didn’t know you could book this specific extended ride directly with Hornblower (for $100 less). If I had known about the walking tour, we would have never had booked this. The guide was not going on the boat ride. She made a suggestion that she would meet us at the top of the ramp at the end and my husband could walk back the several miles with her to get the car, cross the border and come pick us up. We agreed to that plan. The boat ride was good. After the ride, I received a text message from the guide that said the other family had decided to stay in Canada and asked if we needed her to escort us back to the starting point as agreed. She also said she was at the flagpole a short distance away. I immediately texted her back and said we needed her as my husband didn’t know his way back and she also had the necessary change to purchase the pass to go across the border (only small bills or coins were accepted). She told us she had that covered at the beginning of the tour. She didn’t reply at all to me. My husband got to the flagpole within minutes and called her. She totally ghosted us – didn’t reply to texts and calls went to voicemail. My husband was in an unfamiliar area and had to figure out the way back by himself at 11 pm. My daughter and I had to wait in Ontario on the side of the road for him to return as well. Fortunately, he had an app to help get back to the car and then found a $1 bill in his pocket. Otherwise, he would not have been able to cross the border to retrieve the car. There were more things that were not ok about this trip, but these were the “highlights” of our experience. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AT ALL – THEY MISREPRESENTED THE DETAILS AND THE GUIDE ABANDONED US ON THE TOUR.

Tour not as advertised. - Tour is not advertised accurately. It reads as if you get a longer boat tour. The added time for the tour is actually a “guided” walking tour through the Niagara State Park led by an individual not associated with the park. Then they walk you across the bridge to Canada. You can tour the state park for free and cross the bridge to Canada for free. You can buy your own tickets for the boat tour for half of what this tour is charging. So incredibly disappointed that we wasted the extra money.