Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Tours
 

What are the best tours to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, hoping to avoid the lines. I'm traveling with 2 teenagers.

It is all part of the National Park system. You pay for the ferry and the parks are free. This is not a commercial enterprise.

Park Service rangers provide the Ellis Island tour for free. First come, first served.

You can't avoid the lines entirely, but the best way to do so is to book (as far in advance as possible) your ferry tickets with either the Crown or Pedestle access. To visit the crown you must book these tickets several months in advance. But you should book ferry tickets through StatueCruises.com, the only official ticket seller for this trip. Anyone else claiming otherwise is just adding fees onto your purchase.

There is no way to avoid all the liens Buying tickets far in advance (months) will reduce them. But there is still a line (with airline type security) to get on the ferry. Figure 5 to 5 hours for the whole visit from when you arrive at South Ferry.

I agree. Going from/to NYC will have long lines but maybe not so long if you are on the first or second boat going over. There was a long line before 10am. The only way to beat the lines might be to go over from NJ but that wouldn't make sense if you are staying in NYC. No need to book a tour just go to the website that Doug_Stallings posted. Anyone else will just up the price on you.