Toronto + Ontario in 5 Days
Five days lets you add Prince Edward County to the 4-day spine (Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Hamilton/Elora, Stratford), though I’ll be straight with you about the trade-off before you book it as a fifth day rather than an overnight.
| 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 |
| 5 | Prince Edward County | Yes, no meaningful bus or train |
Book these before you go
- Book a Niagara Falls tour if you’d rather skip the GO Train and WEGO bus connections.
- Check Prince Edward County stays before you decide between a day trip and an overnight.
Day 1: Niagara Falls
Budget 1.5-2 hours each way by car, or 2-2.5 hours by GO train from Union Station, since the connections make the train slower door-to-door than driving despite being direct. 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. The Canadian side has the better view and doesn’t need a passport unless you cross to the US side. With a Niagara Parks pass and food, plan on roughly 120-175 CAD per person.
Day 2: Niagara-on-the-Lake
About 1.5 hours by car, a separate wine town with 39 wineries in the appellation. The bus into Old Town runs about 1h45 for 10-18 CAD, but the wineries need a car, a bike, or a booked tour since they sit beyond walking range. Spend the morning in town, the afternoon at two or three tastings, and head back before evening traffic builds.
Day 3: Hamilton’s Waterfalls and Elora Gorge
An early start covers both. Hamilton is just over an hour southwest, the self-declared 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 in Spencer Gorge Conservation Area. Elora is roughly another hour on, worth the gorge trail and mill village year-round, with tubing running June 26 to September 7 for 21.50-55.50 CAD depending on rental. Split it into two half-days instead if a 12-hour loop is too much.
Day 4: Stratford
About two hours by car. VIA Rail’s single daily round trip runs Toronto at 11:15am, return from Stratford at 5:40pm, roughly 2h17 each way for 19-80 CAD, so a missed return train means an unplanned overnight. As of July 6, 2026, a direct GO Train also connects Union Station to Stratford, new enough that most guides haven’t caught up. Spend the day around a matinee and a walk through town.
Day 5: Prince Edward County
Here’s the honest version: the County is 2-2.5 hours each way, home to 40-plus wineries (Sandbanks Estate and Norman Hardie among the names worth knowing) and Sandbanks Provincial Park for a beach stop. Doing it as a single day out of Toronto means 5 hours of driving for one afternoon of tasting, which is a rough trade. If you can, swap this day for a night in the County instead and drive back the next morning; if you can’t, keep the wine list to two stops and treat Sandbanks or the drive itself as the actual point of the day.
Do you need a car
Yes, for three of these five days. Niagara Falls and Stratford both work by transit; Niagara-on-the-Lake’s wineries, the Hamilton/Elora loop, and Prince Edward County all need a car, a bike, or a booked tour.
A sixth day, in the 6-day version , turns toward Georgian Bay instead of adding more driving to this stretch.