[Travel] Niagara Falls, Canada Day 1. Don't pay tourist tax!

Hello! Today I will tell you about our trip to Niagara Falls, Canada!

 

We live in Michigan so arriving to Canada only takes about an hour and a half, or even closer depending on traffic. Due to Min's classes, we had to leave around 3pm and it took us about 5 hours to arrive to Niagara Falls! We stayed at the Best Western Fallsview Hotel which was just a 10 minute walk from the actual falls and other entertainment areas. I got a deal from Groupon where we also received vouchers to certain restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, The Keg, and IHOP. However, we only went to Outback Steakhouse once and we didn't even go to the other places because they were so expensive! I honestly, don't recommend getting the Niagara Fall deals through Groupon. Other hotel deals are great at times, but sometimes it's even more expensive than other hotel sites such as hotel.com.

 

The Best Western Fallsview hotel wasn't bad though! It wasn't the best hotel, but it had everything we needed and a nice bathroom. They had a nice pool and hottub which we used by ourselves most nights, and the beds were comfy. 

 

 

 

The first day we arrived, we didn't do much except unpack and eat at Outback Steakhouse. The food came out quickly and was good, except it was super duper pricey! They overprice so many restaurants and stores because of tourists so we paid around $50 in Canadian Dollars for 2 entrees and this was with our $30 voucher from the groupon deal... Too expensive for Outback Steakhouse in my opinion. 

 

 

 

ALSO! They have HST (harmonized sales tax-canadian taxes) and a tourist tax (DMF or DMDF) on the bill. So that really increases the price of the food. We didn't know that there was a tourist tax, but when we came back to our hotel and looked up what DMF was, you don't have to pay for it! You can say you don't want to pay for it and they have to take that price off your bill. We unfortunately didn't know that beforehand so that was a bummer. But it was our first night and we knew now that we can just ask to take that price off next time we see it. 

 

 

 

 

Overall, the drive was quite nice, our hotel was nice, and our first eating was not too bad! 

 

Our next blog will be on actually seeing the Niagara Falls and more!