2idocs

WIll be in NYC for 4 days. Expect to ride the subway 2-3 times per day.
WIll always be together as a group.

Better to get 1 MetroCard and swipe 4X for each ride? or get each their own?

Subway directions for Port Authority to Elllis Island ferry? P.A. to 9/11 museum?

Christina

I don't know if that is allowed or not, but maybe it is. OBviously you need to swipe the card to enter, so I guess you thnk each person will then pass the card back someway to the people who haven't entered yet? yeah, I guess you can do that.

In theory, it's slightly cheaper to have one card. First, you only have to pay for one card (I think they are $1 each), plus you get a 5 pct bonus on amounts you add over $5.50.

So if that's worth it to you, it would be slightly cheaper.

AJPeabody

That's putting all your eggs in one basket. Any glitch or change of plans and one or more of you will be up the creek.

elberko

I've done a number of trips to NYC where 2 of us have shared one card, but for four, I think I'd want at least 2 cards. If nothing else, passing the card back 3 times would take time and maybe annoy others.

ellenem

And, yes, a pay-as-you-go card can be swiped up to four times in a row. The card will also track the four automatic free transfers you have two hours to use.

gardendiva

There is an app for the transit authority that I found very helpful when using the subway.

For the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island you want to get off at the Whitehall station. This station has 2 names and the directions on the Statue of Liberty website use the other name. However, the other name does not appear in the app.

The closest station to the 911 Memorial is the World Trade Center station.

doug_stallings

These instructions are going to be confusing to you because none of the subway lines from the Port Authority directly serve the Whitehall or South Ferry subway stations (two different stations for two different subway lines that are connected).

From the Port Authority, you'll have direct access only to the A/C/E subway. If you want to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum first, you have two options. 1) Take the E train (and only the E Train) to World Trade Center. That station is across the street from the entrance to the Oculus and offers underground access too; it's also a short walk above ground or underground to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 2) Take the A or C train to Fulton Street and make the slightly longer walk to the Oculus. You can do this walk underground or above ground, but the underground route from the downtown platform is always confusing to me. It's another block further from the Memorial than the E train.

To reach, the Statue of Liberty ferry, you can get back on the subway (either the 4 or 5 train at Fulton Street) and go two stops further downtown to Bowling Green, and then make a short walk through Battery Park to Castle Clinton, where you'll get your ferry tickets; definitely do this if it's raining or really cold (the exit by the Museum of the American Indian is the closest to Castle Clinton). You can also do the walk in 10 minutes or so if the weather isn't bad. It's a much more pleasant walk if you go over to the river and walk down the Battery Esplanade, but that would take at least 20 minutes since you have to go several blocks further west. You can do the entire walk to the Esplanade under ground through the mall if you follow the signs to Brookfield Place. Then you can just walk outside and you're at the Esplanade, and then you head south. One of the things you'll pass on that route is the Museum of Jewish Heritage, one of the best museums NYC has to offer and one that is often overlooked by people rushing to the 9/11 Museum

Fishnlines29

You don't need to pass the card back - the first person can swipe 4 times, then all 4 of you can walk through one after the other without passing the card back.
You can only do this with a max of 4 people.