Chicago to Niagara Falls, help!

[blinkblink_82]

Hi people,

I'm planning a roadtrip from Chicago to Niagara Falls. As this is my first roadtrip, I would really appreciate any advice on accomodations (there and on the way), food, mileages, possible stopovers and any other advice. A few more pressing questions:

1) Is one week enough? What is the optimal time to spend for this trip?
2) Are there any other places worth visiting along the way or there?
3) How much will mileage amount to? Should I rent a car or drive my own?
4) Is travelling solo safe?

Thanks in advance.

[PNW Judy]

Hi people,

I'm planning a roadtrip from Chicago to Niagara Falls. As this is my first roadtrip, I would really appreciate any advice on accomodations (there and on the way), food, mileages, possible stopovers and any other advice. A few more pressing questions:

1) Is one week enough? What is the optimal time to spend for this trip?
2) Are there any other places worth visiting along the way or there?
3) How much will mileage amount to? Should I rent a car or drive my own?
4) Is travelling solo safe?

Thanks in advance.

I've never done the drive so I can't answer your questions on neat places to visit and stay. But I can tell you this:

* It's about 540 miles and, per MS Streets & Trips, should take you about 9 hours to drive. This can be done in one long day. If you choose to do this, leave early and plan for several stops along the way to rest your eyes and stretch your legs. Anyway, it IS a long but doable drive for one day. Or you could stretch it into 2-3-4 days depending on the stops you make along the way. Therefore, yes, one week is enough time.

* Optimal time to spend on a trip like this? Whatever time you have. If you have a week, a week is great. Better than staying home, right? If you have 10 days or 10 months, even better. I've gone much furthe rin a week doing blitz drives. However, I do prefer a more leisurely type of trtip. As I said above, you can do this in a day so time spent is really up to your individual taste/style.

* I see no reason why you shouldn't take your own car. Unless, of course, you hate your car or it has mechanical difficulties. Why wouldn't you take your own car? What is your concern about this?

* Yes, traveling solo is very safe. You simply want to use some common sense....just like you would driving around in your own town. I mean, you're just driving in the good ole USA. Every place you go is someone else's home town. And, believe me, the folks that live there go places solo. Why should you be any less safe? There's a lot of threads on this here. You might do a search on "solo", "traveling alone" and a few other phrases like that. I'm sure you'll get a lot of threads with good advice. Just a few things off the top of my head to keep yourself safe: * Use common sense. If your intuition is saying, this area isn't safe, drive away now. Stuff like that. * Take a cell phone with you and make sure it's always charged (or have a car charger). * Have someone that you check in with regularly. When I'm by myself, I usually check in with my husband every morning and every evening so he knows where I'm staying and where I'm heading to. That way, if something does happen to me, people have an idea where to start looking. * Make sure you have ID on you with any medical information and contact information. This way, if something does happen to you, family can be contacted ASAP. * Don't go anyplace with a stranger that isn't very public. That's about it. Like I said, most of it is the same common sense personal safety things that you would do anywhere.

I hope someone else can answer your specific questions about your route, things to see/do, etc. Have a great trip and let us know how it went!

[blinkblink_82]

The trip went great! Niagara Falls, however, became boring after 2 days. There are only so many ways you can look at the Falls. Anyway, thanks for the tips!

[Midwest Michael]

Its always nice to get a post trip report, even if it is a year or two later!

The Ontario side around the falls has really become quite the tourist area, with lots of various attractions and casinos, so there's a lot more to do there other than the falls.

But personally, I've never spent more than a day there. If I had a full week, I'd spend a day or two at the falls, and then explore Toronto and nearby area for the rest of my time.

[DaveUK]

hello blinkblink, glad to hear your trip went well. could you give any details of where you went and stopped over? I was thinking of going from Chicago to Niagra Falls as part of my roadtrip. I wouldn't be spending any longer than a day in each place though.

[fee-london]

Hi - I saw your thread about planning a trip from Chicago to Niagara Falls and wondered, now that you've done it, if you could give some advice to someone from the UK that is thinking of doing that trip? I have no idea where to start but we are due to come out to Chicago for a wedding in September and where thinking of then taking a holiday by hiring a car and driving a nice scenic route from Chicago up to Niagara Falls and then ideally taking an alternative route back to Chicago before flying back home. Any tips on nice places to see and stay would be great?

Thanks