Staten Island and Staten Island Ferry, New York City

Taking the Staten Island ferry is definitely a Must Do activity for new visitors to NYC. I've actually done it on two different trips and enjoyed the 2nd time as much as the 1st!

The trip for foot passengers is absolutely free. For cars it's only $3.00 each way.

The trip provides a glorious view of New York harbour and the NYC skyline. Highly recommended!

4 more images

Being that I spend so much time in the city, I am constantly looking for cheap things to do. The Staten Island Ferry is great because it is free! The ferry travels between Whitehall St. in lower Manhattan and St. George in Staten Island on the hour and every half hour throughout the day. Many passengers use the ferry to commute to work everyday. The ferry is not just for residents though. The 5 mile journey takes about 25 minutes and provides passengers with outstanding views of the Statue of Liberty, the New York Harbour, and the city skyline.

3 more images

If you want to see the Statue of Liberty for free then take the Staten Island Ferry. It runs back and forth by the Statue of Libery to Ellis Island. The best part is it`s free! The pier is in lower Manhatten in Battery Park. We got confused because there are a lot of different piers running along there but there are signs posted to point you in the right direction.

4 more images

After our expensive lunch at Carnegie Deli, we were glad to find something in NYC that didn't cost ANY money, the ride on the Staten Island Ferry is FREE and gives a really nice view of the Statue of Liberty, downtown Manhattan and the harbor. We got on one of the rush hour ferries which was crowded but we were still able to get a seat on the main floor. If you are not planning on staying on Staten Island, you must still get off the ferry and get on the next return ferry. On the way back we went up to the 2nd level on the side but it looked like the best spot for the view was at the front of the ferry but I think you may have to stand, I didn't check it out with my bum ankle.

We took line R to the Whitehall St. station to get there and it was about 3-4 blocks away, on the way back we took line 1 which was right next to the Ferry Terminal.

1 more image

IT IS FREE! The ferry to Staten Island leaves every 30min. There were extremely long queues for the harbour cruises and ferries to Statue of Liberty. Although you do not stop at the Statue of Liberty, you get very good views of the Lady and fantastic views of Manhattan. Another advantage is that these ferries can take a lot of passengers, so there is not a very long waiting time.

1 more image

Haven't got much money? Want to see the Statue of Liberty?

Just take the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island and back. It's free and whilst you will not be able to set foot on the island itself, you'll still get quite a good view of the Statue of Liberty from the sea. You will also get a great view of downtown Manhattan.

Once you arrive in Staten Island, you need to leave the ferry, but you can join the queue to go back to Manhattan straightaway (or, of course, you can spend some time and discover Staten Island!).

And it's free (I needed to repeat that).

Departs roughly every 30 minutes during the day.

4 more images

On the rare occasions when I take the time to make the trip, I wonder once more, why I don't do this more often. It's only a half hour ride each way; an hour round-trip. Yet time is always the issue. It is the recurring New York "problem," too many things to do and too little time.

No inside seat for me, I remain on deck the entire voyage, speechless while I suck in the serenity of the almost cloudless azure blue sky and gently rippling waves dappled with sunlight. The view of the skyscrapers that crowd the shore near Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty is truly thrilling. Never quite prepared, but always anxious for the moment when I cross over to the opposite deck and my eyes are caught, arrested might better describe it, by the sublime beauty and graceful line of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It never fails to take my breath away.

Yes, the Golden Gate, London Bridge, and Brooklyn Bridge are magnificent engineering achievements, but they cannot compare with the Verrazano's compelling elegance.

Standing at the mouth of Upper and Lower New York Bay it overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Its long lilting cables and slender towers painted in "battleship gray,” make it appear to melt into the skyline and become a natural part of the landscape rather than something man-made.

Experience the Verrazano's majestic beauty and enjoy the waters refreshing cool during this heat spell. The Staten Island ferry departs almost every half hour every day from Whitehall Terminal. And, I'm surprised most people don't know this, it is free!

Best time to avoid the crowds, early Sunday morning, the ferries almost empty. Once on Staten Island, don't rush back; There's lots to explore, like the Staten Island Botanical Garden, with its Chinese Scholars Garden, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Alice Austen House and the Garibaldi Meucci Museum.

The great majority of the people come back to Manhattan in the following ferry without seeing anything more,but is worth to walk a while by S.George,a very quiet little town.It's unbelievable.Just 20 minutes from the busy,noisy Manhattan.And there is museum (2$) at 5 minutes walking from the port.

4 more images

They say there's no such thing as a free ride, Staten Island ferry is free and gives you a fantastic views of Lower Manhattan as you leave and of course the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
We didnt stay on Staten Island, we just hopped off the ferry into the terminal and back on again, I think everyone did the same ( not allowed to stay on the boat ). The weather was wonderful, sunny with a fresh nip in the air, water was calm and the views of NYC were magnificent, there are viewing areas outside on two levels front and back of ferry. Obviously the world and his brother try to get to these first for best views and great photographs, dont worry you can sit outside at the side of the ferry and still get great views, also from inside. You pass within a couple of hundred metres from the Statue, its a great experience.

The ferry terminal NY side is modern spacious with big glass panels so that you an see the big orange ferry approaching, dont be put off by big crowds, the ferry holds 100's.

We got the underground from Penn Station, $2.20 per person for a single ride, think the line was red #1 and the stop is South Ferry

This is FREE!

These are big and nice ferris and there is a lovely terminal for them. It goes right past the statue of Liberty, and if you go outside of the terminal at Staten Island you can look back across the water at the famous New York skyline. It take 20 minutes / half an hour and is well worth a look!

Ferries run regularly (timetable on their web site) but aviod at clocking in and out work rush hours.