Niagara Jet Boat

Six years old and 44 inches tall for the open wet boat; four years old and 40 inches for the enclosed Jet Dome. Anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The difference between the two boats is the single most useful fact when booking for a family — a four- or five-year-old can ride the dome but will be turned away from the wet boat, and height is checked rather than taken on trust.

Completely. Riders are told to bring a full change of clothes including undergarments, and a towel. That is the operator's own advice, not caution on our part. Ponchos and splash gear are handed out in poor weather but they keep the wind off rather than keeping you dry. If you would rather stay dry, the Jet Dome is fully enclosed and does the same run — you see the same gorge through glass.

On the wet boat: things you do not mind soaking, and shoes that stay on. Sandals need a strap around the back of the ankle or they will come off. Bring a complete change for afterwards, plus a towel, and layer up on cold days because the wind on the river is the real chill rather than the water. On the dome, a light jacket or windbreaker is plenty. Leave anything you cannot get wet ashore.

The same company runs both docks — Queenston in Ontario and Lewiston in New York — and the river run is essentially the same. Pick the side you are already staying on. The real variables are the currency you pay in and whether reaching the dock means crossing the border, which is a passport question about your journey rather than about the boat. The Queenston departure is the more-reviewed of the two by a wide margin.

Around $68–73 through the booking platform, for a trip of 45 minutes to an hour. The Queenston hour-long trip and the Lewiston 45-minute trip sit within a few dollars of each other. Prices are set by the operator, so the platform is a convenience and a cancellation policy rather than a discount — what you get for booking ahead is a guaranteed seat on a boat that fills in summer.

April to October, daily in season. It does not run in winter — this is an open boat on a gorge river in Ontario and New York, and even the enclosed dome stops with the season. Late spring and September are the quieter, cheaper end; July and August fill up and are worth booking ahead.

It is genuinely rough water — the Devil's Hole rapids are graded Class V — but it is a commercial operation with a long record, life jackets and crew. The boat is designed to hit standing waves deliberately, so expect hard impacts and a lot of spray rather than a scenic cruise. People with back or neck problems, recent surgery, or who are pregnant are normally advised against it. If that describes you, the falls boats are the gentler alternative.

No — it runs the gorge downstream of the falls, not up to them. This is the most common misunderstanding about the trip. You get the whirlpool and Devil's Hole, which the falls boats do not, but you do not get the base of the Horseshoe Falls, which is what the Maid of the Mist and Niagara City Cruises exist for. If seeing the falls up close is the point, book one of those instead — or both, since they are different rivers' worth of experience.