Before you begin-consider how much time
you have: The estimated time
for visiting both Liberty Island AND Ellis Island, including
wait time for ferries, etc., is about 5 hours. For visiting just
Liberty Island, including wait time for ferries: 3 hours. The actual ferry ride
to Liberty Island is only 15 minutes--but the wait on line to get on ferry can
be over two hours on a hot summer day. And if you have tickets for the Statue
platform, crown etc., you will be spending pretty much all day just getting
there, taking the tour, and coming back. So adjust time accordingly. Security
is tight for inside the SOL and can take up even more time.Thus the 3 hours
estimated time for visiting the SOL itself.
I would say pretty much everyone who comes to NYC wants to see the Statue of Liberty. And rightfully so. After almost 40 years in NYC, I still get goosebumps when I see it. But with popularity comes effort—and, as with the Empire State Building, it can take a long time to actually get into the physical location. You need to allow a great deal of time for actually visiting both these structures, because they are heavily visited (especially in summertime), and it takes a great deal of time to navigate the ferry access or the building access.
The
fact is, if you are willing to forego actually being on Liberty Island, where
the Statue is located, you can still enjoy the view of it from the water, and
still get the joy and the photos--but you don't have to deal with the massive
crowds and herding that are involved with getting in and around these two most
heavily tourist-ed sights.
Here is how to enjoy the SOL from both up-close and afar:
Here is how to enjoy the SOL from both up-close and afar:
