About this site and our editorial standards

Sources last checked October 17, 2026.

Who is behind this site

This site is written and maintained by an independent editorial team. We do not publish individual names, and we do not claim personal experience that we do not have. We have not ridden the boats for this site, so we report what the operators, parks and government sources publish, and we label what visitors report. Pages are credited to the editorial team, and each shows the date its sources were last checked.

We are not owned by, and not endorsed by, Niagara City Cruises, Maid of the Mist, Niagara Parks or Niagara Falls State Park. All brand names belong to their owners.

What the site is for

Most Niagara Falls boat tour pages are written to sell tickets, repeat old prices or hide the differences between the operators. We set out to be the clearest, best-sourced reference for one question: which boat tour should I take, and what do I need to know before I go? That means:

• plain answers at the top of each page, followed by the evidence;
• tables for prices, hours, distances and decisions, with currency, year and checked date;
• both sides of the border covered fairly: Maid of the Mist in the US and Niagara City Cruises in Canada, plus a direct comparison;
• honest limits: who should skip the boat, what can go wrong, and what we could not verify;
• free data you can reuse, on the data page.

If you are new to the area, start with the first-time visitor guide or the boat tours guide.

Editorial standards in summary

The full method is on the methodology page. In short:

• Primary sources first. Operators, Niagara Parks, New York State Parks, treaty text and government border sites come before blogs and resellers.
• Every fact is dated. Prices carry currency, year and the date they were checked.
• Conflicts are shown. When two sources disagree, we print both and say which we trust, or say we cannot tell.
• Gaps are flagged. We would rather write "check with the operator" than guess.
• No ratings or review counts. We do not publish star scores or "voted best" claims.
• No hype. We name the specific thing instead of using superlatives.
• Changes are logged. Every price or date change gets an entry in the changelog.

Commercial disclosure

This site also sells a Toronto day tour that offers an optional paid boat add-on. You will see it in the sidebar, the footer and the day tour pages, such as the day tours hub and the Toronto to Niagara Falls day tour. That is how the site earns money. We mention the day tour only where it is relevant, for example when a reader wants a day trip from Toronto or wants to avoid driving, and we say in plain terms that the boat ride is an optional paid add-on, not part of the base price.

The boat operators are not affiliated with us. They have not reviewed or paid for any content here, and we are not paid to rank or recommend them. We do not sell boat tickets on this site. If you want to buy a ticket for either operator, use its own website or ticket plaza; our tickets guide explains how.

Corrections

We want to be told when we are wrong. Use the form on the contact page to report an error, an outdated price or a closed attraction. Please include the page, what you saw and, if you can, a link to the operator or park page that shows it. We check against the primary source, fix confirmed errors and record each price or date change, with its date, in the changelog.

What to keep in mind

Schedules, prices and operating dates change without notice, often within a season, and ice can move spring openings. Our sources were last checked on October 17, 2026. Before you travel, confirm the details that matter with the operator, and use the border agencies' own pages for documents and wait times. Nothing here is legal, medical or financial advice. For accessibility needs in particular, contact the operator or Niagara Parks directly; see our accessibility guide for what each publishes.

Contact

The way to reach us is the form on the contact page. Use it for corrections, questions about a page, data requests and questions about our Toronto day tour. We read every message, but we cannot give advice on matters that only an operator or border agency can decide, such as refunds on tickets bought elsewhere.

You may also want the FAQ, which answers 50 common questions, and the history of the boats.