About 70,000 people ride the ferry every day, and you should be one of them. Without having to pay a cent, you get great views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the southern tip of Manhattan. You'll pass tugboats, freighters, and cruise ships—a reminder that this is still a working harbor. The boat embarks from the Whitehall Terminal at Whitehall and South streets near the east end of Battery Park. The ferry provides transport to Staten Island, one of the city's boroughs. But if you don't want to visit Staten Island you can usually remain onboard for the return trip. Occasionally a boat is taken out of service for a while; if you're told to disembark, walk down the main gangplank (the same one you used when you came aboard), enter the terminal, and catch the next boat back to the city.
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