Book this now · America 2026

Blocking decision

Decide: is the 12–19 Sep block solo (Dan only) or all 3? Solo back half runs roughly $1,750–2,300 USD. All 3 runs roughly $3,450–4,400+ USD depending on the sub-plan. Every NYC hotel quote, Fallsview room size, and US Open/NFL ticket count is provisional until this is answered — and if Mum and Lucy are staying past the 12th, their return flights need moving too. Nobody has confirmed that happened.

This week

NYC accommodation, 12–19 Sep — New York · decide headcount first · NYFW (10–15 Sep) is inflating rates right now, every day of delay costs money Fallsview hotel (Sheraton or Marriott Fallsview) — Niagara Canada · book direct once headcount confirmed · solo ~CA$185–220/night, 3-person suite ~CA$280–450+/night · TIFF's regional pull tightens availability the longer this waits Muir Woods parking/shuttle (if keeping it) — San Francisco · gomuirwoods.com, window already open · sells out on weekends Rental car, 1 day (Oahu windward + North Shore) — Oahu · any major rental site · ~$50–90/day, rates rise closer to the date Confirm ESTA is still valid — All US legs · esta.cbp.dhs.gov · the only thing that can stop you boarding the first flight Travel insurance with weather-disruption cover — Hawaii · peak Central Pacific hurricane season, medical-only cover won't pay out for a cancelled inter-island flight

Days ahead

Niagara City Cruises (Canadian side) — Niagara Canada · book direct, days ahead in peak Sep · CA$54pp adult · do this once, do not also book Maid of the Mist on the US side Butterfly Conservatory — Niagara Canada · days ahead, can sell out · CA$28pp CN Tower timed entry — Toronto · cntower.ca · CA$43pp · busier during TIFF week Ripley's Aquarium timed entry — Toronto · ripleyaquariums.com/canada · CA$33pp Casa Loma timed entry (if it survives the day-trip cut) — Toronto · casaloma.ca · CA$52pp · pick 3–5 stops near the top of the Toronto table and stop

Cave of the Winds cannot be pre-booked at all — Niagara USA, Goat Island booth, same-day timed-entry only. Get there first thing.

Release-window items — can't book yet, mechanism matters

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve — Oahu · hanaumabaystatepark.com · opens exactly 2 days ahead, 7:00am HST, gone within minutes · closed Mon/Tue, pick a day that isn't one of those first Pearl Harbor / USS Arizona Memorial — Oahu · recreation.gov · 24hr release, 3:00pm HST the day before · the 8-week advance batch is already gone, this is the only remaining route in

Already booked

Diamond Head

Sun 30 Aug, 6:00–7:00am, 2 people only (Dan + Lucy, Mum opted out), $5pp, gostateparks.hawaii.gov

Alcatraz Night Tour

Fri 4 Sep, 3 adults, $178.95 total, paid via alcatrazcitycruises.com. Departs Pier 33, not Pier 39

Castle Ilikai Tower, Waikiki

28 Aug – 3 Sep, 6 nights

Radio City Apartments, Jersey City

7 – 12 Sep, 5 nights

San Francisco accommodation

Booked, property name unconfirmed — locate and confirm against the SF dossier's distance estimates

New costs this research turned up

US land-border entry fee, $30 USD/person (Niagara Canada only) — every crossing back into the US from Canada on foot. Raised from $6 in Sep 2025. For 3 people crossing once: $90 USD (~$153 NZD), one-way only. Pre-pay via the I-94 site or CBP One app up to 7 days ahead.
Boat ride, done once instead of twice — skipping the duplicate Maid of the Mist booking on the US side saves roughly $30–52 USD per person versus doing both sides.

Corrections this research made

MoMA's free Friday evening now requires proof of NY State residency — does not apply on an NZ passport.
Smorgasburg only runs Saturdays (Williamsburg) and Sundays (Prospect Park) — the Brooklyn day is currently planned for a Thursday.
Paradise Cove luau closed permanently at the end of 2025.
Maid of the Mist and Hornblower/Niagara City Cruises are the same 20-minute ride sold from two docks — book it once, from the Canadian side.
TIFF runs 10–20 September, not 8–18 as an earlier estimate had it.
Sausalito Art Festival (31 Aug–2 Sep) does not actually overlap the SF dates — an earlier flagged collision turns out not to be one.