Toronto + Ontario in 4 Days
Four days is where a Shakespeare festival finally fits. This builds directly on the 3-day plan : the same Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Hamilton/Elora days, plus a fourth day out to Stratford.
| Day | Focus | Car needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niagara Falls | No, GO Train plus WEGO bus |
| 2 | Niagara-on-the-Lake | Yes, for the wineries |
| 3 | Hamilton’s Waterfalls and Elora Gorge | Yes, no transit reaches either |
| 4 | Stratford | No, VIA Rail or GO Train both run direct |
Book these before you go
- Book a Niagara Falls tour if you’d rather skip the GO Train and WEGO bus connections.
- Stratford’s own festival bus and VIA Rail’s single daily round trip both sell fixed seats, book the leg you want before picking a show time.
Day 1: Niagara Falls
Not a subway ride, so plan around the travel time: 1.5-2 hours each way by car, or 2-2.5 hours by GO train from Union Station (the train itself is quick, but the connections make it slower door-to-door than driving). A GO Train plus WEGO bus bundle runs 22 CAD on weekend fares up to 34-40 CAD depending on the package, kids 12 and under ride the GO train free. Stick to the Canadian side, the better view of the two, and you likely won’t need a passport unless you cross to the American side. With a Niagara Parks pass and food, plan on 120-175 CAD per person for the day.
Day 2: Niagara-on-the-Lake
A separate wine town, about 1.5 hours by car, with 39 wineries in the appellation. The bus into Old Town takes roughly 1h45 for 10-18 CAD, but the wineries themselves need a car, a bike, or a booked tour, since they sit beyond walking distance from town. Morning in Old Town, afternoon at two or three tastings, back to Toronto before the evening traffic builds.
Day 3: Hamilton’s Waterfalls and Elora Gorge
An early start covers both in one long day. Hamilton is just over an hour southwest and calls itself the Waterfall Capital of the World, with Websters Falls and Tews Falls (the tallest in the city, close in height to Niagara Falls itself) three minutes apart inside Spencer Gorge Conservation Area. From there it’s roughly another hour to Elora, where the gorge trail and mill village are worth it any time of year, and tubing runs June 26 to September 7 for 21.50-55.50 CAD depending on rental, booked online only. Split this into two half-days if a 12-hour loop sounds exhausting; Hamilton alone works fine on its own.
Day 4: Stratford
About two hours by car. VIA Rail runs a single round trip daily, Toronto at 11:15am, return from Stratford at 5:40pm, roughly 2h17 each way for 19-80 CAD, so miss that return train and you’re staying the night. As of July 6, 2026, Metrolinx also runs a direct GO Train from Union Station to Stratford, new enough that most trip-planning advice hasn’t caught up yet. If you’ve got tickets for a show, the Festival’s own Stratford Direct bus runs from the InterContinental Hotel at Front and Simcoe, though seats are bundled with a festival ticket and it only returns at 5pm or 11pm. Spend the day between a matinee and a walk through town before heading back, or check Stratford hotel rates if a late show means staying over instead.
Do you need a car
For three of these four days, yes. Only the Niagara Falls day and the Stratford day have workable transit options; Niagara-on-the-Lake’s wineries and the Hamilton/Elora loop both need a car, a bike, or a booked tour.
Add a fifth day and the 5-day version works Prince Edward County into this same spine.