buffalo/niagara falls question

[gleemonex]

i'll have a long layover at the buffalo-depew amtrak station on my trip from toronto to chicago in may. i was wondering if there's any easy way (public transportation, etc) to get from the station to niagara falls and back? i've got a good 8 hours to kill and would love to see the falls again and maybe some of buffalo too.

any suggestions?

[TravelGuy]

I attemped something similar once going in the opposite direction, although I used Priceline to lay over for an evening. I flew into Buffalo in the late p.m., then checked out the bar scene around Chippewa and Main streets (which was strikingly lively). In the a.m. I took a Greyhound from downtown Buffalo to Niagara Falls Ont., stowed my luggage at the bus station, spent the day at the Falls, then caught the evening train to Toronto. It worked out just fine.

It looks to me like your best bet is to get off the train before Depew. The problem with taking the train from Toronto all the way into Depew is that it's going to be 2-3 hours each way to the Falls from there using the public bus.

You can't tell this from the Amtrak timetable, but the train from Toronto, which is operated by Via Rail up to the border (using beat-up Amtrak equipment unfortunately) is going to stop at both Niagara Falls, Ont (11:34 a.m.) and Niagara Falls, NY. (1:20 p.m.)

If you get off at the Canadian side, you could spend the whole day at the Falls and from there, for a whopping $3.60, get into downtown Buffalo on the 6:15 p.m. Greyhound, which arrives at 7:25 p.m. You could then catch a city bus or cab to Depew Station. You could stow your luggage during the day at either the Via Rail station or the bus station across the street.

If you get off at the American side, you could check your luggage through to Chicago and get into Buffalo using the public bus, and maybe even have time to walk around in Buffalo for a bit. But you'll have to go through immigration checks 3 times if you want to see the Falls from the Canadian side.

[thereuare]

Just had to add my thoughts here....

The above is what this board is all about!!

TG, excellent post and information!

[gleemonex]

indeed, an excellent offering of advice, and just what i was looking for.

unfortunately, since my amtrak ticket is already paid for, they say that i'm locked into disembarking at depew, since that's where the transfer to the chicago-bound train ocurrs. if i wanted to get off in niagara falls, ontario, they said that i'd have to change the tickets with an additional cost of $30, plus they noted that the train is almost sold out for that particular schedule.

so... looks like i'll have to explore getting from depew to downtown buffalo, probably exploring there for a little bit, then catching a bus to niagara falls.

i broke down and phoned the buffalo transit system yesterday. catching a bus from depew to downtown buffalo can be done. from there, take the #40 bus to niagara falls. apparently it stops a few blocks from the entrance to the park. of course, this will take some time. good thing i've got plenty of it! :)

thanks so much for your advice and info.

[TravelGuy]

Are you sure they're going to know if you get off before Depew? :) There's an entire change of crew at the border.

If that's not workable, another possibility would be to take Greyhound from Toronto to Buffalo for $16, which, at least at the time I was looking into it, permits a free stopver at Niagara Falls (either side). This would allow for a lot more time, plus enable viewing the Falls from the Canadian side without the hassle of two extra border crossings. I don't know what the rules are for changing your ticket, but the fare savings from taking Amtrak from Buffalo to Chicago instead of from Toronto should be at least as high as the bus fare.

[Phaelon56]

I've traveled on Amtrak many times - they wil NOT pay attention to where you get off - only where you get back on.