How to Visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: Tickets, Ferries and What to See

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island sit a short boat ride from Lower Manhattan, and one ferry ticket visits both. The catch is the ticket you buy: it decides whether you stay on the island grounds, enter the pedestal, or climb all the way to the crown, and crown tickets often sell out months in advance.

We at Travelmyth, the hotel search engine that ranks stays by your interests and needs across 60 stay categories, put this guide together to make the visit simple: what each ticket level actually includes, which ferry is the real one, what you see on Ellis Island, and how much time to set aside. It is a companion to our wider guide to things to do in New York City.

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal copper-clad statue on Liberty Island, a gift to the United States from the people of France, designed by the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi with an internal structure engineered by Eiffel and Company. Titled "Liberty Enlightening the World," it was dedicated on October 28, 1886, in a ceremony overseen by President Grover Cleveland.

The figure holds a torch above her head in her right hand, and in her left carries a tablet inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, July 4, 1776, the date of the Declaration of Independence. The copper figure stands 151 feet 1 inch (46 meters) from heel to torch, and 305 feet 1 inch (93 meters) from the ground to the tip of the torch once you count the pedestal and foundation beneath it.

Your ticket comes in three levels, and it is worth deciding before you book.

• From Manhattan, a General Admission ticket gives you grounds access and takes you first to Liberty Island, where you can walk around the base and see the statue from below, then on to Ellis Island on the same ferry.
• Pedestal access adds entry to the observation balcony at the top of the pedestal.
• Crown access takes you into the interior of the statue's crown, reached by two interior spiral staircases; public access to the torch itself has been barred since 1916.

Crown tickets are the hardest to get: access is limited and subject to availability, so reserve them well in advance. Pedestal access is easier to secure but still worth booking early.

There is exactly one right way to reach the islands, and plenty of wrong ones. Statue City Cruises is the only ferry service authorized by the National Park Service to sell tickets for and carry visitors to Liberty and Ellis Islands, and a Statue City Cruises ferry ticket is required to land.

Ferries depart from two places: The Battery, at the southern tip of Manhattan, and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. Ignore the sidewalk sellers near the waterfront pitching “tours,” as boats that only circle the harbor without stopping will not let you set foot on either island. To land on Liberty Island or Ellis Island, you need the authorized ferry. Buy through the official operator, arrive early, and give yourself a buffer if you have a timed crown or pedestal slot.

Ellis Island is included on the same ferry ticket, and for many visitors it is the more moving half of the day. From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was America’s largest and most active immigration station. The station remained in operation until 1954, and more than 12 million immigrant steamship passengers were processed there. It has been part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument since 1965.

The north side of the island is now home to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration; parts of the south side, including areas of the Ellis Island Hospital complex, open to the public through separate guided tours. If a family name might trace back through this port, budget extra time here rather than rushing back to the ferry.

Treat the two islands as a half-day at minimum. Allow at least three to four hours for a short two-island visit, and four to six hours if you want to explore both museums without rushing. Add more time if you have pedestal or crown access, or if you plan to take an Ellis Island guided tour.

The sights are open year-round except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and when weather makes visiting unsafe. For the fullest visit, choose one of the first ferries of the morning, especially in summer. Queues can reach an hour or more during peak periods, including summer, weekends and holidays. Late afternoon may be quieter, but entry at 2 p.m. or later may not leave enough time for both islands. Check the current ferry schedule when you book, since sailing times shift by season.

If you are short on time or the ferry is sold out, you can still see the statue from the water for free. The Staten Island Ferry costs nothing to ride, and the crossing affords views of the Lower Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, and Ellis Island; because it runs between Manhattan and Staten Island, though, it does not stop at either of them. It is a fair substitute for the view, not for the visit: to walk the grounds, enter the pedestal, or reach the crown, you need the authorized Statue City Cruises ferry and a landing ticket. We cover the free harbor crossing in more detail in a separate guide to the Staten Island Ferry.

Basing yourself in Lower Manhattan puts the ferry terminal at The Battery within easy reach and leaves the district quiet once the day-trippers have gone. On Travelmyth you can filter New York stays using categories such as a rooftop pool, a skyscraper hotel or a stay taking steps toward sustainability, and combine two filters at once to narrow the long list to the handful that fit how you travel.