Without a doubt, the Statue of Liberty is the icon of New York. Known worldwide, it is the first thing immigrants encounter when they arrive in New York by boat. Directly across the street is Ellis Island, which is where immigrants were quarantined before being allowed into the United States.

To go see the Statue of Liberty we have many options. We are going to try to list all of them, from the free ones to the most expensive ones, so that you can choose the one you like the most for your trip to New York.

Ferries To Staten Island

It’s my favorite way to see the Statue of Liberty, free and it’s one of the fastest. Every half hour a ferry leaves from Manhattan in the direction of Staten Island, the fifth borough of New York. The ferry is free and you don’t have to queue to get in, just stand in line 5 or 10 minutes before the ferry leaves to get a good spot from which to take your photos of the Statue of Liberty. It is the boat option that goes the furthest from the Statue, but close enough to take your photo to remember with Lady Liberty. In total, it will only take you between an hour and an hour and a half to do the tour, and as a gift, you will also get some beautiful views of Manhattan. For more information and advice on where to get on the ferry, I recommend you visit our article on the ferries to Staten Island.

Ferry To The Statue Of Liberty

It is the most crowded option of all those that I am going to propose, in summer and with the good weather you will have to arm yourself with patience because it is difficult for it to take less than 2-3 hours to board the ferry that takes you to the island and calculate that the visit will take you at least an entire morning. It’s the only way to touch the statue, and it also gives you access to the new Statue of Liberty Museum and Ellis Island, with a very interesting immigration museum.

Tour To The Statue Of Liberty

If you don’t have a tourist card and you want to avoid the queues of two or three hours that you may have to endure in Battery Park, a good idea is to hire a tour to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, for a little more you guarantee the time out and back to Manhattan, and that’s saying a lot if you have to stand in line in the cold winter or hot summer. On this tour you will be accompanied by a guide in Spanish, who will give you tickets for the ferry with a guaranteed time, you will go on the same ferry as in the previous option, but without waiting in line, you will have access to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and It will indicate some curiosities of the places you visit.

Water taxi

This is another very comfortable way to see the Statue of Liberty. If we want to see it as quickly as possible, I recommend boarding the Water Taxi at the stop just below the Brooklyn Bridge, in Brooklyn Bridge Park. After a stop in Red Hook, the ferry shoots off to the Statue of Liberty and you spend a good time going around there so you can take all the photos you want from a privileged position and then continue on your way to 39th St. .of Manhattan. The Water Taxi is included in the New York Pass and in the Go City New York, if not it costs $37 to be able to use it throughout the day ($31 for children from 3 to 12 years old), for more information I recommend you visit our article to discover New York by Water Taxi.

Hudson cruise

Another way to see it is to take one of the many cruises that are included in all tourist cards, you can go from a normal boat to a sailboat. I recommend the Circle Line sunset cruise, which precisely matches the sunset with its arrival at the Statue of Liberty so you can enjoy some spectacular sunset colors in your photos of the Statue of Liberty. For more information, I recommend you read the article about the New York sunset cruise.

Governor’s Island

Already open all year round, although it is best to go from May to October, Governor’s Island is a former military fort that has now been opened to the public. If you are a veteran of New York, it is worth the visit and loses a morning on the island, especially during the week. Its views from the western part of the island are fine, but you will see the Statue of Liberty a bit in the distance. For more information, visit our article on Governor’s Island.

See The Statue Of Liberty By Helicopter

The Manhattan heliport is located right next to Battery Park, so if you take a helicopter tour of New York, the first thing you will see is the Statue of Liberty. You are going to have to choose between, mainly, two options: the ride during the day or the night ride.

To hire the helicopter tour, I recommend you to book the helicopter tour in Civitatis, the entire purchase process is done in Spanish, and remember that in any case, it does not matter which operator you choose to do the helicopter tour, you will not be able to choose the seat inside it, will be assigned to you based on your weight, and that you must add airport taxes to the price of the excursion, which is about $40 per person.

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