hovercraft toronto niagara

Soon you might be able to take a hovercraft from Toronto to Niagara

The trip from Toronto to Niagara might soon be faster and more fun. According to the St. Catharines Standard, a company known as Lake Ontario Express plans to use hovercrafts to link Niagara-on-the-Lake and Port Dalhousie to Toronto.

Two hovercrafts with a capacity of 40 people each would operate 18 hours a day, making the trip between Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake in approximately one hour. That's far faster than a standard boat, though roughly the same amount of time that the trip would take by car in ideal traffic conditions.

The lure of the service would be how much faster the trip could be made during rush hour (when it could take far longer than an hour to drive) and the sheer thrill of riding on a hovercraft. Niagara is one of Toronto's chief tourist destinations with over 15,000 trips made between the two cities/regions.

A one-way trip on a hovercraft would cost $25.

Lake Ontario Express still faces a few hurdles before it can get up and running. Namely, it needs to secure permission for use of docks in both Niagara-on-the-Lake and Port Dalhousie. Governmental support appears likely to follow once this is resolved.

The aim is for the service to be up and running by 2018.

Lead photo by

Henry Burrows


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