Hello All,
I'm new to this forum looking for some valuable suggestions on planning my road trip to Niagara,NY from Hartford, CT by end of this month or early August.
We are 3 in our family with my 2 year old daughter trying to cover most of the must see places around Niagara in 3 days. I would like to hear some suggestions on the itinerary with proper break during the drive (around 6 hours of drive from Hartford) and also places to stay around Niagara.
Thanks,
Arun
Welcome to RTA!
The only way you will make it from Hartford to Niagara Falls in 6 hours is if you take I-91 to I-90 and drive a constant 70 mph making absolutely no stops, it's 420 miles. No bathroom stops, no toll booth stops, no gas stops, no food stops, no nothing. That's the problem with computer-generated drive times. Figure 8 hours driving the speed limit and making necessary stops. If you only have 3 days total, you won't have time to make any significant diversions off I-90 in either direction, and you will have exactly 1 day and 2 nights in Niagara. Your "proper breaks" will have to be at NY Thruway/Mass Pike service areas.
If you are planning on visiting the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (recommended) you will need passports and your daughter's birth certificate.
The absolutely beautiful town of Niagara on the Lake on the Canadian side makes crossing over a must, I think. It's just a few miles to the north of the falls, on Lake Ontario. There's a few blocks on Queen St with very good tourist-friendly shopping / browsing: art, cookware, some pretty indulgent confectionary options and so forth (I've included a picture of the window against which my nose was pressed for about 15 minutes on my last trip). It may or may not be your thing but there are various wine tours in the area — relatives of mine have enjoyed doing that on that Canadian side. Enjoy your trip!
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