The Water Taxi and NYC Ferry both take you around Manhattan
and to Brooklyn—but they really have 2 different functions.
The NYC Ferry (www.ferry.nyc--
and get the app to buy tickets and skip the line) is less expensive for the
trips to Brooklyn, etc. It costs just $2.75 each trip. And it can cut back
significantly on travel time to some of the more interesting places in Brooklyn.
There are different lines -the ones I most am interested in are the East River
line that takes you to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge—sort of the Soho of Brooklyn);
and Williamsburg in Brooklyn (kind of the East Village of Brookyln, mixed with
Orthodox Jews); the SB line that takes you to DUMBO and Brooklyn Bridge Park; the
Rockaway line (with bus transit shuttle
to beaches --pilot program this summer only and weekdays only for now) which is
about a 57 minute ride from the Wall Street/ Pier 11. Looking ahead, The NYC
Ferry plans to have a Coney Island line in 2021 which will be very popular—far
better than the near 2 hour ride to CI on the subway.
The Water Taxi (www.nywatertaxi.com)
– has 4 stops and you can ride as much – hop on hop off as you want in a single
day for $37—or for 2 days for $42 (20% of on the website as of summer 2019).
The Water Taxi has guides and is more for sightseeing as opposed tothe NYC
Ferry. These are the stops on the Water
taxi: 42nd Street / East River; Battery Park; South Street Seaport;
DUMBO Brooklyn; then from DUMBO, the taxi goes back around the tip on
Manhattan, past the Statue of Liberty—close enough for some great photos--- and
back up to 42nd Street. Basically as a hop- on hop- off tour, you
have the advantage of visiting Brooklyn without battling subways; it is more constricting
(and expensive ) than the NYC Ferry, though. But it also has the advantage of
betting you close to the Statue of liberty, which the NYC Ferry will not.
Also—on that ride past the Statue, you need to get on at the DUMBO stop--the
route is circular.
One great adventure it to take the FREE Water Taxi to Ikea
in Brooklyn, where you can explore Red Hook and get the experience of being on
a ferry. That said, on a short trip to NYC this would NOT be a priority. You’re
better off take the NYC Ferry to some of the more populated areas like DUMBO if
you really want a taste of Brooklyn.
Alternatively, there
are other water tours that are more Manhattan oriented. There are various
Circle Line Cruises (don’t do the all-around Manhattan ones—they are long and
the top area of Manahttan is not really that interesting; the Schooner cruises
(pick up at Chelsea Piers) near the SOL (www.sail-nyc.com)-=-
which are more expensive but highly worth it on a beautiful day-it was an
unforgettable experience for me when I took this a number of years ago. Or you
can take the ferry directly to the SOL from Battery Park if you want to
actually visit the Island (this includes and Ellis Island stop that you can get
off on…or not. It does add a lot of time to the tour); the FREE and iconic
Staten Island Ferry; and from the South Street Seaport, the Pioneer Schooner (www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org)
, an 1885 large schooner that will take you out into the harbor and back. This
is on a larger schooner than the one from Chelsea Piers—I took this with my
mother and it was a spectacular trip.
