Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is worth the ferry. Most first-time visitors get the best value from the Pedestal Reserve ticket: $26.30 per adult from Statue City Cruises, 30 cents more than the basic ferry. It puts you inside the monument and out on the balcony at the statue's feet, with an elevator most of the way. Book the crown only if standing inside it is the point of your trip, and book it three to four months out.
The statue stands 151 feet (46 meters) tall, and 305 feet (93 meters) with its pedestal. Every ticket is a round-trip ferry from Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Every ticket also includes Liberty Island, Ellis Island, both museums and an audio tour.
In our experience, the people who enjoy it most booked the first ferry and bought from the official site. The National Park Service counted 3,722,029 visits in 2024, and the security line on the mainland, not the island, is where the day goes wrong.
Snapshot
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Our pick: Pedestal Reserve, $26.30 per adult, booked as soon as your dates are set
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Location: Liberty Island, New York Harbor. Ferries from Battery Park, Manhattan, and Liberty State Park, Jersey City
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Annual visitors: 3,722,029 recreation visits in 2024, per the National Park Service
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Busiest times: the week between Christmas and New Year, July and August, spring break, and weekends all year
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Opening hours: first ferry 9:00 AM, last ferry out 3:30 PM through November 20, 2026, later in summer. Closed Thanksgiving and December 25.
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Time needed: 3 to 4 hours for Liberty Island, 5 to 6 hours with Ellis Island
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Cheapest ticket: General Admission, $26.00 per adult, $17.30 for ages 4 to 12, free under 4
Prices and hours checked November 7, 2026, on statuecitycruises.com, the only ferry operator authorized by the National Park Service. Prices are in US dollars and include the ferry, both islands and both museums.
Why Visit the Statue of Liberty
You can see the statue for free from the Battery railing and from the Staten Island Ferry. Going to the island gives you what those don't: the statue from a few yards away, the original torch, and the harbor from her pedestal.
The three things we wouldn't skip:
1. Walk the island
The path around Liberty Island takes about 20 minutes and gives you the statue from every side, with Lower Manhattan behind her. Morning light is on her face; afternoon light is on the skyline. Free ranger tours leave the flagpole through the day and run about 35 minutes.
2. The Statue of Liberty Museum
Free with any ferry ticket, and open since May 2019. The original 1886 torch stands in the last of its three galleries, and the roof deck puts the statue and the harbor in one frame. The roof closes in bad weather, so go up first if the sky is turning.
3. The pedestal balcony, or the crown
A Pedestal Reserve ticket takes you up 215 steps, or an elevator, to the balcony at the statue's feet. A Crown Reserve ticket adds 162 more steps up a spiral stair with no elevator, for about 10 minutes under the crown. Both cost $26.30; the crown needs a booking months ahead.
Also worth your time: Ellis Island, which every ticket includes. From Battery Park the boat stops at Liberty Island first and Ellis Island second, so take a ferry before 2:00 PM if you want both. The operator says a later entry doesn't leave enough time. The Ellis Island museum stays open during its current renovation, with some exhibits closed in turn.
Plan Your Visit
Opening Hours
Ferries run every day except Thanksgiving (November 26, 2026) and December 25. On the timetable posted for October 13 to November 20, 2026, the first boat leaves Battery Park at 9:00 AM and the last at 3:30 PM. The last boat back leaves Ellis Island at 5:15 PM. Summer runs to a 5:00 PM last departure. New York is on Eastern time. Hours checked November 7, 2026. See full timings.
Duration
Plan 3 to 4 hours for Liberty Island with the museum and the pedestal, and 5 to 6 hours if you add Ellis Island. The ferry from Battery Park takes about 15 minutes. Security is airport style, and forum posters report lining up an hour or more before a busy-season boat.
Best Time to Visit
The 9:00 AM ferry on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. For the months, late April to early May and September to October. The operator says the week between Christmas and New Year is the busiest of the year, ahead of July, August and spring break. The island is closed on December 25. January to March is the quietest, with the New Jersey ferry usually paused. Best times by month and day.
Tickets & Prices
Buy on statuecitycruises.com, the only authorized ferry. General Admission is $26.00 per adult, $17.30 for ages 4 to 12 and free under 4. Pedestal Reserve and Crown Reserve cost 30 cents more and include everything in General Admission. The operator says crown tickets sell out about 90 days ahead and advises booking three to four months out. Compare all three tickets.
Our pick: Pedestal Reserve for most families, because 30 cents buys the balcony and the museum is free either way. For two adults with kids aged 9 and 14, that's $96.20, against $95.30 for General Admission. The crown costs the same $96.20, but everyone must be at least 42 inches tall and able to climb 162 narrow steps unaided.
How to Reach, Entrances & Accessibility
In Manhattan, ferries leave from the Battery, beside Castle Clinton. Take the 1 train to South Ferry, the
4 or 5 to Bowling Green, or the R or W to Whitehall Street. The park is a 5-minute walk from each. The
screening tent moved about 300 yards north along the waterfront on March 6, 2026, so follow the signs
rather than old directions. In New Jersey, ferries leave from the old railroad terminal in Liberty State
Park. Parking in Lot 8 costs $7, and the light rail stop is about a mile away.
The National Park Service warns of "aggressive, unauthorized ticket sellers" around the Battery, some
selling boats that never land on the island. Buy online from statuecitycruises.com or at the ticket office
inside Castle Clinton. Everyone passes airport-style screening before boarding. Bags must fit the X-ray
opening, 24.2 by 17.9 inches, and there's no storage at either dock. The time on your ticket is when you
join the security line, not when the boat leaves, and you can't join more than 30 minutes early.
For visitors with reduced mobility, elevators serve the museum roof and the pedestal, where a small lift
takes two people at a time to the top level. The official site says the outdoor balcony isn't wheelchair
accessible, and the crown is stairs only. Three wheelchairs can be borrowed free on Liberty Island with
photo ID, first come, first served. Service animals are welcome everywhere except the crown stairs.
Tours & Experiences
Most visitors don't need a tour here. Every ferry ticket includes an audio tour in 12 languages, with a family version for ages 6 to 10. Park rangers run free 35-minute tours of the grounds from the flagpole.
A paid tour makes sense in two cases. The Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour, $81 per adult from the official operator, takes you into the unrestored hospital buildings for about 90 minutes. It's for ages 13 and up. And when the official site has no ferry slot for your date, resellers such as GetYourGuide sell guided packages with the ferry included, for more than the $26 ticket. Read what's included, because no reseller can add pedestal or crown access once the official site has sold it.
Skip it if: a tour's main selling point is "skip the line". Every passenger goes through the same security screening, and a timed official ticket already sets when you join it.
Don't leave this until you reach the Battery. Crown tickets go about 90 days out, pedestal tickets sell out weeks ahead in summer and over Christmas week, and the 9:00 AM ferries fill first. Pick your date and book today.
We may earn a commission if you book through the links on this page. It doesn't change the price you pay.
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History
Édouard de Laboulaye, a French scholar, proposed the statue in 1865 as a gift for the centennial of American independence. Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed it and visited New York in 1871 to pick the site. In 1880 Gustave Eiffel's firm designed the 98-foot (30-meter) iron frame that lets the thin copper skin move in the wind.
The finished statue was presented to the US minister in Paris on July 4, 1884. It crossed the Atlantic on the French navy ship Isère and arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885. Then it waited a year while Americans paid for the pedestal. Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper campaign raised over $100,000 in 1885. Richard Morris Hunt designed the pedestal, which was finished in 1886.
President Grover Cleveland dedicated the statue on October 28, 1886. The Lighthouse Board ran it until 1901, when the War Department took over. President Coolidge made it a national monument in 1924, and Ellis Island joined the monument on May 11, 1965.
The 1984 to 1986 restoration replaced the torch with the gold-leaf one you see today; the 1886 original is in the museum. The island closed after September 11, 2001, and reopened in stages. The grounds came back on December 1, 2001, the pedestal on August 3, 2004, and the crown on July 4, 2009. The Statue of Liberty Museum opened in May 2019.
Visitor Reviews
We read the recent New York threads on the Rick Steves travel forum, where American travelers compare notes. Two points come up again and again: the line at the Battery, and the cutoff times inside the monument.
On December 10, 2024, a poster named TheOrdinaryRebecca warned a family: "My understanding is you may have to line up an hour or more before your ferry" (Kids in New York).
On March 10, 2024, Priscilla arrived 10 minutes past the last entry time: "To my great disappointment we were not allowed to go up into the Statue of Liberty" (4 days in NYC).
On December 12, 2024, Rebecca gave the winter alternative: "Best way to see the Statue of Liberty this time of year...is from Battery Park" (same Kids in New York thread).
We couldn't open the Tripadvisor forum threads directly. Search snippets from 2026 reviews there repeat the same two themes: crown tickets gone months out, and the ticket time being a line time. The fix for all of it is the same. Book the first ferry, arrive 30 minutes before the time on the ticket, and be at the monument door before the last entry, 3:30 PM in winter. Compare the tickets.
Nearby Attractions
You can fill the rest of the day on foot from the Battery.
1. Ellis Island
Included in every ferry ticket, and about 15 minutes by boat from Liberty Island. Allow 2 hours for the National Museum of Immigration, and take a boat before 2:00 PM if you want both islands. Parts of the museum close in turn during the current renovation.
2. Battery Park
Where the Manhattan ferry leaves. The waterfront railing gives you a free view of the statue, and the Staten Island Ferry from Whitehall Terminal, a 5-minute walk, sails past her for free. In the week between Christmas and New Year, this railing is the no-line option.
3. 9/11 Memorial & Museum
About 15 minutes on foot north of the Battery. The memorial pools are free and open all day. The museum sells timed tickets and fills up, so book a slot for after your return ferry.
4. One World Observatory
Next to the 9/11 Memorial, about 15 minutes from the ferry. From the top, Liberty Island is the small green patch in the harbor, which puts the morning in perspective.
5. Wall Street
Five minutes from the Battery. The Charging Bull stands at Bowling Green, by the 4 and 5 subway entrance, and Trinity Church and the Stock Exchange are a few blocks on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to book Statue of Liberty tickets in advance?
Yes. Buy a dated ferry ticket on statuecitycruises.com, the only operator the National Park Service authorizes. Pedestal tickets sell out weeks ahead in busy months and crown tickets about 90 days ahead. The park warns against the sellers who work the sidewalks around the Battery.
Is the crown worth it?
Only if standing inside the statue is the reason for the trip. It costs the same $26.30 as the pedestal, but it means 162 narrow steps with no elevator and about 10 minutes at the top. You also need to book three to four months out. The pedestal balcony gives most people the view they came for.
Can I bring a backpack?
On the ferry, yes, if it fits the X-ray opening of 24.2 by 17.9 inches. Inside the pedestal and crown, no bags at all. Lockers near the monument entrance take a 25-cent deposit in quarters, and there's no storage at the ferry docks.
Is the Statue of Liberty open on Christmas and New Year's Day?
It's closed on December 25 and on Thanksgiving. December 24 is a short day, with the last entry inside the monument at 1:30 PM. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day run the regular winter schedule, with the last ferry out at 3:30 PM and no evening boats. Holiday hours.
Are there restrooms and food on the island?
Yes. Both islands have restrooms and a cafe, and you can bring your own food for the grounds. Nothing but water in a plastic bottle goes inside the monument.
Can children climb to the crown?
Only if they're at least 42 inches tall and can climb 162 steps on their own. They can't be carried, and children under 4 aren't allowed in the crown. Younger kids can go up to the pedestal with a Pedestal or Crown Reserve ticket.
What happens in bad weather?
Ferries sail in rain. In high wind or storms the harbor can close, and the operator refunds tickets when the islands shut. The museum roof deck also closes in bad weather.