Statue of Liberty: Or Not?

Ride the Staten Island Ferry for awsome views of the Statue of Liberty and that way it will not eat up your whole day.

Personally I think downtown IS the best place to stay because the best place to stay because there is so much downtown.

www.DowntownNY.com

I stayed at The Exchange Hotel for the 2005 NYC Marathon and loved it. You'll really like this hotel. Fabulous.

No tips on how to speed up the process since we took a boat from New Jersey when we went, but I did want to comment on the visit itself. We did a combination Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty and although the Statue of Liberty was neat, since we didn't go inside, I thought that it would have been just as cool to ride by on a boat as it was to go onto the island. I have heard that you can do this on the Statan Island ferry. Ellis Island was really good though and I am very glad that we took the time to go.

Agree with advice above. SI ferry for free roundtrip ride is best option for a view of both SOL and Ellis Island. IF you're going to invest the time in actually going TO the Statue, it's most worthwhile if you can get an advance booking for one of the tours that will get you inside the statue (altho you can't go up very hi) and/or add the visit Ellis Island which is on the same ferry and included in the price. General consensus is a visit to both is 4-6 hrs.

The first ferry of the morning is supposedly the fastest.

What's NOT worth the time and trouble is waiting in line etc. just to visit the outside of the statue on Liberty Island.

http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=1155

At this time of year, I'm not sure how pleasant (or frequent) some of the other boat tours would be. NY waterway does a tour and there are discounts to be had with the promotion
http://www.nycvisit.com/PaintTownSearch/index.cfm?pagePkey=1626

seasonofsavings.com is another promotion going on right now.

You might be able to use the free bus shuttle downtown
http://www.downtownny.com/gettingaround/?sid=19

Have fun!

Most of the Statue is closed for safety (not security but structural safety) reasons - so IMHO it's not really worth it to wait a long time (and it will be unless the weather is really bad) just to see the base.

Agree to either take the free Staten Island ferry for a fairly close view. (Ferry takes about 25 minutes each way.) Or - if you're going to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum the same ferry stops at Liberty Island (don;t get off - just take pix) since Ellis Island has tons more to see and do.

I would like to take the family to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on our visit in April. Is it best to order tickets online, and does that save a lot of time once you arrive at the port to get on the boat? If they say to arrive two hours ahead, how long does it take to get from Midtown to the departure point? Subway over taxi? I'm thinking there may still be rush hour traffic 2 hours ahead (8'ish).

Yeah, I don't think we will be up for a 4-6 hour commitment.

GoTravel -- thanks for the website!!! I haved stayed downtown before (again, off Priceline -- Club Quarters) and have been looking for some good restaurants in the area open weekends, so that is a big help! We are especially interested in Indian food and Lebanese... if you have any ideas!

If you stay on the same Staten Island Ferry, will it just turn around and go back, or do you need to get off and onto another boat? What I mean is could we just stay on the boat and make it an hour long round trip? Or is there anything we really should "see" in Staten Island at the expense of the b/f's first Manhattan adventure? It seems like a place better for having a car...

Yes, the boat docks in Staten Island and reverses back to Manhattan. You don't get off the boat and it is very easy.

I liked the location of the Club Quarters a little better than the Exchange Hotel but both are good.

It is scary how many hotels I've stayed in in NYC.

Unless things have changed recently, you have to get off the ferry between trips. It's still very easy, but just be aware that you can't just stay on for the return trip.

Howard, I've never gotten off the ferry.

We went on the SI ferry in October and everyone definitely DID have to get off and get on another one. Additionally, I was disappointed that we didn't get nearer the SoL. I was anticipating that the ferry sailed really close by but this is not the case. I am useless at estimating distances but the statue still looked very small!

We've always had to get off the SI ferry and reboard. We even thought about hanging out in the bathroom, but saw an employee go into one when the boat docked(although he may have been just washing his hands!).

Its the same exact boat, you just get off, go around to the line and get on again. I guess they think that if crowds are really big the waiting people get the best spots??

Many years ago you could just stay on the SI ferry, but in recent years ALL must exit and literally walk a loop in the terminal and get back on the same boat.

As others have said, there's no way to really "jump the line" for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island since boat is involved. You can purchase your tickets online and avoid the ticket-buyers line. Some have said that the line to pick up online tickets was longer than the regular line recently.

The real delay is the actual line for the boat, which includes a security check. If you don't plan to stop at Ellis Island, a late-day ferry might be a good option.

GoTravel, are you sure you weren't hiding somewhere on the ferry? When was the last time you experience the trip?

LOL maybe!

Actually the last time I rode the Ferry was the summer of 2003. I used to ride it quite frequently.

That explains it, GoTravel. You just haven't ridden the ferry since passengers have been required to get off between trips!

I love the Circle Line Ferry. They offer 2 and 3 hour tours of the island, and you go slowly right past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We got some fantastic photos. If you go towards the end of the day, around 4, you'll get to see the skyline and Statue in the daylight and then when it gets dark and everything is lit up.

Sandiemac -

The Staten Island ferry is strictly for the tens of thousands of commuters who take it to and fro work in Manhattan - it has nothing to do with the Statue of Liberty. You get a view of it just becasue it happens to be there in the nmiddle of the harbor.

Anyone who wants a close up view of the Statue has to take the Ferry to Liberty Island (long lines and security) or one of the Circle Line boat tours - which s a committment of at least 2 or 3 hours.

I'll have to disagree with nytraveler. Sure, the overwhelming majoring of riders on the Staten Island Ferry are commuters...but I would not use the term "strictly for the tens of thousands of commuters." It's also for the tens of thousands of visitors to New York City who are afforded a magnificent view of the Statue of Liberty and the lower Manhattan skyline....and it's free!