Question re: Ferry to Ellis Island
 

When I called re; the ferry to Ellis Island from Battery Park, the recording said that backpacks are not allowed. Is this the case? Are there lockers to store my backpack? Not sure that I can leave my backpack in the hotel as we are doing several other things that day!

Why in the world carry a back pack all over New York? Simply leave it in the hotel - and take a normal purse with you.

You might want to reconsider a backpack because lockers are considered a place for terrorist to place explosives and may have been removed. You can access the ELLis Island website and pose your question diretly to them on their inquiry page. Hope you enjoy your NYC visit.

No, no lockers in Battery Park.

We just did the Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty Ferry on Oct. 29. They have a more elaborate x-ray screening process than most airports! All belts, watches, coats, scarves, cameras, bags had to go through the machine. I know I saw people putting through bags of all sizes.

Since you don't really want to walk around with anything of value in a backpack anyway, maybe you should consider a smaller bag to carry camera & maps etc in addition to a purse. Just be aware that it will ALL go through x-ray machine. Have a good time.

We did the ferry a couple of weeks ago and my husband took his back pack. All goes through screening like airport only you have to remove more items off your body!

I don't know this for a fact, but I believe the "backpacks" they are not allowing are the large ones that many young travelers use as a suitcase. We had no trouble getting on the ferry with our smaller daypacks. However, it is good to know about the security screening because you need to allow extra time to board the ferry.

We took the one from Liberty State Park in NJ, but I can't imagine that the rules are different. Am pretty sure people had the usual backpacks, which were examined and X-rayed, just like getting on a plane.

The poster who mentioned the big travel backpacks was probably on the right track. I mean, how do you differentiate between a backpack and a large purse? In fact, I've seen purses that are larger than backpacks.

If it's a small student-type backpack, I'd say you're OK. They probablyt ban the big ones because of space considerations on the ferry.

I agree with Marilyn - I took a small daypack on the ferry to Ellis Island in September this year and had no problem whatsoever.