purple

Hi Is it worth taking a tour of the Statue of Liberty if we are not going to Ellis Island? Or should we just take the Staten Island Ferry and go past it. Also How long would the tour take from leaving the dock and returning Thanks

kbo

I can't answer all of your questions, but my brother was in NYC recently, he wanted to see the Statue but not land and do a tour, so he took a water taxi for 1/2 hour($15). It does not dock on any of the islands but goes out in the direction of the Statue and they got some really good photos of themselves with the Statue in the background. He said the Staten Island ferry was too crowded when they were there (around midday on a Saturday).

travelgirl_67

The Statue/Ellis ferry is great...you get a little history en route as well. When I was there in May, they were only allowing tours of the grounds of the Statue...apparently they had reached their limit for the day. So we just rode past the statue and went straight to Ellis as I've been to the Statue many times and wanted to have more time on Ellis as my mother had never visited the island. On Ellis, you can do a self-guided tour or there is a free tour with the park rangers. We did both as its nice to get the little extra stories from the rangers. There's also a free movie that was very informative. The length of time really depends on your pace...check the website for last departures from Ellis. If I'm not mistaken, a ferry leaves from the Statue going to Ellis about every hour.

nytraveler

If you want to go to Liberty Island and take the tour of the parts still open you need to allow several hours - since there are lines for the ferry as well as longer lines on the island itself.

If you want to just look at the statue from a distance the Staten Island Ferry is much faster. (But realize that these are enormous passenger ferries primarily for transporting commuters - and at rush hours can be mobbed.)

You other option is just to take the Liberty/Ellis Island Ferry, view the Statue from the Ferry - but don;t get off - and just go on to Ellis Island.

kswl

There used to be wonderful Circle Line tours of the island and Statue of Liberty that afforded marvellous views for picture taking, a history lesson, and no crowds. I would skip the Statue itself because the crowds will be awful. Depending upon your physical ability, the walk up can be very difficult in this heat.

I would recommend Ellis Island on another visit, perhaps. If you are the descendant of immigrants--even those who did not enter through this gateway---you will be awed and humbled by the experience. When we lived in New York this was one of our favorite "field trips."

Where2Travel

On my first trip to NYC, I went on the Staten Island Ferry. I did this mainly because most people seemed to rave about it being a good way to see the SoL. The only advantage is that it is free - you don't really get that close to the SoL.

For my next trip I went on a 2-hour Circle Line boat trip which did get right up close to the SoL. Plus you get to see lots of other bits of NYC too. They do 1, 2 and 3 hour trips.