Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours opens for 2013 season

They're Baaaack! Drenched Tourists, Neon Boats and Big Smiles Can Only Mean One Thing...

  

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont., – Twenty-one years after its maiden voyage on the white water of the Niagara River, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours is preparing to make a splash in 2013.

The boats have already been in the water several weeks, and started running wet and dry trips at the beginning of the month.

“We’re thrilled to be back in the water for another amazing year" said Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours president John Kinney. “After spending the winter months gearing up our marketing efforts and upgrading our fleet, we can’t wait to get our boats back out on the river and give tens of thousands of visitors an experience they can’t get anywhere else in the world.”

Following three years of test drives and planning, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours officially opened its doors to the public in 1992, taking passengers for thrilling white water rides from the mouth of the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake, through the Class 5 Devil’s Hole Rapids and to just below the incredibly powerful Niagara Whirlpool.

During that first season, approximately 4,400 passengers took the trip in the company’s single jet boat. 

Twenty years later, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours has a fleet of eight 54-passenger boats and has taken more than 1.5 million visitors for unforgettable rides through the turbulent white water. Passengers can embark on trips from three departure locations: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Ont. (shuttle bus from Spanish Aero Car check-in to Queenston dock) and Lewiston, New York.

“We’ve grown to become one of Niagara’s premier tourism attractions because we offer a truly unique experience,” Kinney said. “We make a high-end whitewater experience available to everyone from four-year-old children to their 80-year-old grandmothers, and it’s all available within a mile of their four-star hotels.”

Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours offers two different types of trips — wet and dry. Guests in open-topped jet boats are guaranteed to return to the dock soaking wet, doused with gallons of water while their boat pilot powers them through the rapids at high speed and expertly spins them through the chop in a complete 360-degree turn. Passengers in the covered Jet Dome get the same thrill ride, minus the splash, and return as dry as they were at the outset.

“The early season — from opening day until about mid-June — is a great time to beat the summer crowds and take a day trip or a weekend getaway to Niagara for a ride aboard one of our jet boats,” Kinney said.

In addition to individual bookings, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours offers special rates for corporate groups, family groups and residents of Niagara. More information about tours, rates and reservations can be found at www.whirlpooljet.com.

 

About Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours:

Celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours has been giving passengers a taste of adventure on the white water of the Niagara River since 1992. Passengers experience a thrilling and educational one-hour guided tour, where there can take in the awe-inspiring scenery of the Niagara Gorge, feel the rush of the Class 5 Devil’s Hole rapids and marvel at the power of the Niagara Whirlpool. Headquartered in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the tour company’s fleet of custom-built jet boats depart from three locations: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls, Ont. (shuttle bus from Whirlpool Aero Car check-in to Queenston dock) and Lewiston, N.Y. For more information, go to www.whirlpooljet.com.

 
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