Statue of Liberty. How long does it take to visit?
 

I'll be visiting New York for the first time in a couple of weeks and the guide book that I read says that a visit to the Statue of Libery takes a whole day as you have to wait in long long queues.

However, I'm think it was referring to summer time and also when you could walk to the top of the statue which I understand you can no longer do.

So ... can anyone tell me how long does it take to get on a ferry, travel to the Statue of Liberty, look around and then come back?

Thanks.

At least 2 hours. http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

But also consider Ellis Island, worthwhile too.

Not only does it depend on the time of year, but also whether you reserve ahead for the observatory tour or not. You must do this in advance. If you just want to see the statue, you can take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry (for free), pass the statue in the water and have a nice ride. You can also use the NY Water Taxi (nywatertaxi.com) as a hop on/off tour and see the statue from a distance. But if you get the observatory tour and want to visit the Ellis Island Immigration museum, it could in fact take the better part of a day. Whatever you decide, going first thing in the morning will be a help to avoiding huge lines. Security does take some time.

IMHO - you really need far for time for the Ellis Island Immigration Museum - which is fascinating - and can easily take most of the day. At the Statue there is really not that much to see - since you can no longer climb to the top. So it really depends on what you decide to see.