One ferry lands, the rest circle. Which boat you need, what grounds, pedestal and crown
tickets each open, how early to be on board, and the guided tours that put you on the same ferry.
Autumn 2026: the National Park Service flags construction on Liberty Island that visitors will see and hear, and crown tickets sell out around 90 days ahead. Check the park alerts before you book a date. NPS alerts and conditionsChecked 1 October 2026
Independent comparisonNine New York listings, read line by line
Lands or circles, statedOnly one ferry is allowed to dock
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, per each listing
Secure checkoutBooked and paid on GetYourGuide
Tickets & tours
Choose your Statue of Liberty ticket
The official ferry ticket is the only boat that docks at Liberty Island, with pedestal and
crown options. Beside it: the same ferry with a guide who meets you at Castle Clinton, and a 50-minute cruise
that circles the statue and never lands.
A New York guide meets you at Castle Clinton, holds reserve-line ferry tickets and walks Liberty Island with you. The 4-hour option adds a guided Ellis Island; guides stay outside the museum.
What the listing includes
Round-trip reserve-line ferry tickets and a professional New York guide (as listed)
Guided tour of Liberty Island and entry to the Statue of Liberty Museum
4-hour option: guided Ellis Island plus the Immigration Museum with audio guide
Not included: pedestal or crown access, gratuities, hotel pickup; guides may not enter the monument or museums
Not wheelchair accessible per the listing; rain or shine; free cancellation up to 24 hours
The ferry itself, booked in advance: round trip to Liberty Island and Ellis Island with both museums and the audio tour. Pedestal and crown access depend on the option you pick.
What the listing includes
Round-trip ferry from Battery Park (NYC) or Liberty State Park (NJ), as listed
Liberty Island, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty Museum and the National Museum of Immigration
Self-guided audio tours on both islands in 12 languages; wheelchair accessible
Pedestal or crown access varies by ticket option; the listing says leave before 1 pm for both islands
No luggage, large bags, drones or glass; under-17s with an adult of 25 or over; free cancellation up to 24 hours
A Circle Line boat from the Seaport that pauses several times around the statue for photos and sails past Ellis Island. You never step off: this is the harbor view, not the island.
What the listing includes
Live English commentary; downloadable audio guide in 9 languages (as listed)
Large outdoor deck, climate-controlled cabins, restrooms and free Wi-Fi
Views of the Brooklyn Bridge, One World Trade Center and Governors Island
Food and drinks for purchase on board; seats first come, first served
Wheelchair accessible; runs rain or shine; free cancellation up to 24 hours
The first question is whether the boat docks. The guided tours below ride the official ferry; the
cruises and the sail circle the statue from the water. After that it is a guide or no guide, and how long you have.
Ticket or tour
Lands on the island
Best for
Length
Group
Statue City Cruises: Official Statue of Liberty Tickets
Yes, both islands
Going at your own pace, with the pedestal or crown option
Each listing here states free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The guided listings that
say so keep their guides outside the pedestal, the crown and the museums.
What you are really choosing
You are not choosing a boat. You are choosing a height.
Every boat that docks at Liberty Island is the same boat. Statue City Cruises is the only ferry the
National Park Service authorizes, and it leaves from two places: Castle Clinton in The Battery and
Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The park charges no entrance fee; the ferry ticket is the ticket, and
every guided tour on this page puts you on that ferry with a guide beside you; the ExperienceFirst and Babylon listings say their guides stay outside the monument.
What changes is how high you go. General admission is the grounds, both museums and the audio tour.
Pedestal adds the star-shaped Fort Wood level and the observation balcony, 215 steps or an elevator.
Crown adds a 162-step spiral stair from the top of the pedestal, 377 steps from the ground, stairs only,
about 500 people a day, booked months ahead. The harbor cruises sold as a Statue of Liberty cruise circle her from
the water, which is a fine hour, but a different product.
377
Steps from the ground to the crown platform, 162 of them
on the spiral stair above the pedestal. There is no elevator past the pedestal.
Grounds & museumsPedestal balconyCrownEllis Island
From the pedestal balcony the statue is 151 feet of copper, three thirty-seconds of an inch thick.
01
Does it dock?
The official ferry and the guided tours land on Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Circle Line, the sunset cruise, the schooner and the helicopter do not.
02
Which height?
Grounds and museums with general admission; the balcony with a pedestal ticket; the crown only with a crown ticket, reserved far ahead.
03
How early?
Be on a ferry before 1 pm to see both islands; the operator says entry after 2 pm leaves no time for Ellis Island. Security is airport-style.
04
Who should skip the climb?
The crown is 162 narrow steps with no elevator and a 42-inch height rule. The pedestal has an elevator; the museum and grounds are accessible.
Your day
A Liberty Island visit, step by step
Whichever ticket you hold, the shape of the day is the same: screening at the dock, a short crossing,
the island at the height you booked, then Ellis Island and the boat back.
01
Screening
The time on your ticket is the time to join the security queue at Castle Clinton or Liberty State Park. No suitcases or large bags; lockers are on the island, not at The Battery.
Airport-style
02
The crossing
The ferry runs rain or shine. Stand on the open deck for the skyline behind you and the statue growing ahead.
Open deck
03
Liberty Island
The museum with the original torch, the grounds, and then the pedestal or the crown if your ticket says so. Lockers at the monument entrance take quarters.
Your height
04
Ellis Island
The same ferry continues to the Registry Room and the National Museum of Immigration, then back to where you started. Leave before 1 pm to fit it all in.
Included
Plan your visit
Plan your visit
Timing, security and bags, the pedestal and crown rules, and getting around with a wheelchair or a stroller.
No park entrance fee: the ferry ticket is the only ticket, and Statue City Cruises is the only authorized ferry.
Before 1 pm: the National Park Service says be on a ferry before 1 pm to see both islands; the operator says entry after 2 pm is too late for Ellis Island.
Open every day except Thanksgiving and 25 December; hours follow the ferry schedule, shorter in winter and very short on 24 December.
Crown: reservation only, about 500 a day, four tickets per order, one visit per person in six months, photo ID to collect.
Guided tours meet in The Battery (Castle Clinton north entrance, The Immigrants statue) or at 1 Bowling Green; check your listing.
Airport-style screening at both departure points; the time on the ticket is the time to join the queue.
Not allowed anywhere: weapons, drones, suitcases, carry-on luggage, large parcels, anything over 3 feet, audio amplifiers.
Backpacks and strollers are fine on the ferry and the grounds, but not inside the pedestal or crown.
Lockers at the monument entrance, 2 hours, quarters only; change machines on site; none at the Battery Park screening.
Bring photo ID: the official listing and most tours ask for a passport or ID card.
Pedestal: 215 steps, about ten storeys, or an elevator for two visitors at a time; the Fort Wood level and the observation balcony.
Crown: 162 steps from the top of the pedestal, 377 from the ground, each step 9 inches high; no elevator.
Height rule: children must be at least 42 inches (1.1 m) tall and cannot be carried; one adult per four children.
Carry only water in a plastic bottle, a phone, a camera and medicine to the crown; restrooms are in the lobby.
Health: the park advises against the climb with heart or respiratory conditions, mobility impairment, claustrophobia, fear of heights or vertigo.
The ferries and both islands are wheelchair accessible per the operator; three free wheelchairs are available on arrival, first come, first served.
The pedestal elevator reaches the balcony level, but wheelchairs are not permitted onto the outdoor balcony itself.
The Statue of Liberty Museum has ramps and an elevator to its rooftop deck, which closes in high wind, snow or ice.
Service animals are permitted; pets are not. American Sign Language translation is listed by the operator.
Of the tours here, the official ferry and the Circle Line cruises list wheelchair access; the guided walks mostly do not.
1 pmLast sensible departureTo see both islands, per the National Park Service.
215Pedestal stepsOr the elevator, two visitors at a time.
162Crown stepsFrom the pedestal top; 377 from the ground; no elevator.
42 inCrown height rule1.1 m; children cannot be carried up.
90 daysCrown sells outAround three months ahead, often more.
24 hFree cancellationUp to 24 hours before, as each listing states.
Where the ferry leaves
Castle Clinton, The Battery
Two docks, one ferry
Castle Clinton, 1 Battery Place, New York, NY 10004 · Liberty State Park, 1 Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305
In Manhattan the ticket office and screening are at Castle Clinton, the round sandstone fort in The Battery:
subway 4 or 5 to Bowling Green, 1 to South Ferry, R or W to Whitehall Street, buses M5, M15 and M20 to South Ferry.
In New Jersey the ferry leaves from Liberty State Park beside the old railroad terminal, with paid parking and a
Light Rail station about a mile away.
The guided tours here meet at the Castle Clinton north entrance, at The Immigrants statue south of the fort, or at 1 Bowling Green
The National Park Service warns of aggressive unauthorized ticket sellers around The Battery: buy online or at the Castle Clinton office
Circle Line cruises leave from Pier 16 and the schooner from Pier 17 at the Seaport, a different waterfront
Timing, the small things first-timers miss, weather and the fine print.
First boats: the earliest departures give the longest day and the shortest pedestal queue, which the park says can pass an hour in summer, at weekends and on holidays.
Before 1 pm for both islands; after 2 pm the operator says Ellis Island will not fit.
Winter: ferry hours shorten and the last monument entry moves earlier, down to early afternoon on 24 December.
Crown: book the moment your dates are fixed; the operator says it sells out around 90 days ahead.
The audio tour is included with every ferry ticket, and ranger talks on the islands are free.
The original 1886 torch is in the museum on Liberty Island, not up in the statue; the torch has been closed to visitors since 1916.
The broken chains are at her feet and cannot be seen from the ground; she faces southeast, toward the harbor mouth.
From New Jersey, Liberty State Park has parking for a fee and about 300 yards from the security tent to the boat; check its own schedule.
A pass-by cruise still gives the close-up photo; it just does not give the island.
Rain or shine: the ferry runs in most weather and posts service alerts online for severe conditions.
Rooftop: the museum's roof deck closes in high wind, snow, ice or heavy rain.
Construction: the park currently flags works on Liberty Island that visitors will see and hear.
Closed on Thanksgiving and 25 December only.
Each listing on this page states free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.
The ferry operator refunds cancellations made at least 24 hours before departure.
Crown tickets are tied to a named person with photo ID and limited to one visit per six months.
The helicopter listing adds weight and check-in rules; read them before you book.
Liberty Island · Ellis Island · New York Harbor
Copper, harbor light, and one boat that docks.
The official ferry, guided tours on the same boat and cruises that circle, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Boats land or circle. A helicopter does neither: it flies over Liberty Island and Ellis Island and
up the Hudson in a quarter of an hour, with no queue at Castle Clinton.
NYC Helicopter Tour: Statue of Liberty & Skyline
12 to 30 minutes · Narration in 9 languages · GetYourGuide
The third way to see her: from above. Flights leave the Downtown Manhattan Heliport on the East River, sweep over The Battery and Governors Island to the statue and up the Hudson. The listing sets a 250 lb (113 kg) weight limit per seat, asks for check-in 45 minutes before and does not guarantee a window seat.
Downtown HeliportLiberty & Ellis from the airHudson River
Duration12 to 30 minutesDowntown Manhattan Heliport, Pier 6Book this →
The guide
Visiting the Statue of Liberty, explained
Search for Statue of Liberty tickets and you get a hundred and more listings under one name:
ferry tickets, guided tours, harbor cruises, sunset sails, helicopter flights. Behind them sit two very
different products. One lands on Liberty Island. The other looks at it. This is how to tell them apart, and
what the three ticket levels on the island itself actually open.
The one ferry, and who is on it
The National Park Service does not charge an entrance fee for Liberty Island, Ellis Island or either museum.
What you pay for is the boat, and Statue City Cruises is the only ferry the park authorizes to sell tickets and
carry visitors to the islands. It leaves from Castle Clinton in The Battery, at the southern tip of Manhattan,
and from Liberty State Park in Jersey City. There is no other dock. Every guided tour on this page that says
"with ferry" buys that same ticket for you, adds a guide who meets you in The Battery, rides across
with you and walks the grounds. The ExperienceFirst listing says its guides may not enter the pedestal, the crown
or the museum interiors, and the Babylon listing describes its guide as not inside the statue, so those parts are
yours with the audio tour on most tours. The value of a guide is the dock, the story on the
crossing, and someone who knows where the Registry Room is.
The only boat that docks leaves from Castle Clinton and from Liberty State Park, and nowhere else.
Three heights of one island
General admission is the island at ground level: the grounds, the Statue of Liberty Museum with the original
1886 torch, the ferry on to Ellis Island and the National Museum of Immigration, and the audio tour in twelve
languages. A pedestal ticket opens the monument itself: 215 steps, or an elevator that takes two visitors at a
time, up through the star-shaped walls of Fort Wood to the observation balcony at the statue's feet. A crown
ticket continues from there up a 162-step spiral, 377 steps from the ground, with no elevator and nothing in
your hands but water, a phone, a camera and medicine. About 500 people a day make that climb. Tickets are by
reservation only, four to an order, one visit per person in six months, and the operator says they sell out
around 90 days ahead and often months before that. Children need to be 42 inches tall and cannot be carried.
The honest small print: several guided listings mention pedestal or crown access, and one
lists it under Includes while saying the opposite further down. A crown reservation is a named, dated ticket in
a daily allotment of about 500. If the crown matters to you, book it as its own ticket as early as you can, and
read exactly what the tour option at checkout says it includes.
The boats that circle
Circle Line's express cruise leaves from Pier 16 at the Seaport, pauses several times around the statue for
photographs and sails past Ellis Island in about 50 minutes. The sunset cruise does the same loop with a bar and
music; the schooner Clipper City does it under sail from Pier 17, and guests may help raise the canvas. None of
them docks, and their listings say so. They are a good answer when you have an evening rather than a day, when
someone in the group cannot manage the security queue and the walking, or when you want the picture from the
water at golden hour. They are the wrong answer if you booked them to stand on the island. The Staten Island
Ferry, free and running all day and night from Whitehall, gives a distant version of the same view without
stopping either.
The 1886 torch, closed to visitors since 1916 and replaced in 1986, now stands in the museum on Liberty Island.
Timing the day
The time printed on a ferry ticket is the time to join the security queue, which is airport-style at both
docks. The park says to be on a boat before 1 pm to see both islands with time to spare; the operator says a
departure after 2 pm will not leave enough for Ellis Island. The official listing suggests allowing four to six
hours in all. Pedestal queues can pass an hour in summer, at weekends and on holidays, so the first boats are
the easiest. Suitcases and large bags are not allowed at all; backpacks and strollers are fine on the ferry and
the grounds but not inside the monument, where lockers take quarters. Bring photo ID, and buy from the
official site, a GetYourGuide listing or the Castle Clinton office: the park warns about unauthorized sellers
working the paths of The Battery, some of them selling boats that do not land.
Twenty-five windows and 162 steps: the crown is the one part of the visit that cannot be bought on the day.
Straight answers to what visitors ask most about Statue of Liberty tickets and tours.
Do you need a ticket to visit the Statue of Liberty?
You need a ferry ticket. The National Park Service charges no entrance fee for Liberty Island, Ellis Island or their museums, but the islands are reached only by the Statue City Cruises ferry, and that ticket is what you buy. See how the tickets work.
Which boat actually lands on Liberty Island?
One: Statue City Cruises, the only ferry the National Park Service authorizes, leaving from Castle Clinton in The Battery and from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. The guided tours on this page put you on that same ferry with a guide. Circle Line, sunset cruises, the schooner and the helicopter circle the statue and do not land. See cruise or ferry.
What is the difference between general admission, pedestal and crown?
General admission covers the ferry, both islands, both museums and the audio tour, with no access inside the monument. A pedestal ticket adds the Fort Wood level and the observation balcony, 215 steps or an elevator. A crown ticket adds the 162-step spiral from the top of the pedestal, 377 steps from the ground, stairs only.
How far in advance should I book crown tickets?
As early as you can. The ferry operator says crown tickets sell out around 90 days ahead and often months ahead, about 500 people a day go up, orders are capped at four tickets, and each person may visit the crown once in six months. Read the crown guide.
Can children go up to the crown?
If they are at least 42 inches (1.1 m) tall and climb themselves: children cannot be carried, every member of the party including under-fours needs a crown ticket, and the park asks for one adult per four children. See visiting with kids.
How long does a Statue of Liberty visit take?
The official ticket listing says to allow 4 to 6 hours for both islands and to leave before 1 pm; the operator says a departure after 2 pm leaves no time for Ellis Island. The pass-by cruises take 50 to 90 minutes.
Where does the Statue of Liberty ferry leave from?
Two places only: Castle Clinton in The Battery, Lower Manhattan (subway 4/5 to Bowling Green, 1 to South Ferry, R or W to Whitehall Street), and Liberty State Park in Jersey City (New Jersey Turnpike exit 14B, paid parking, Light Rail about a mile away). See getting there.
Is Ellis Island included?
Yes. Every ferry ticket includes Ellis Island and the National Museum of Immigration; the Hard Hat Tour of the hospital complex is a separate booking through Save Ellis Island. See the Ellis Island guide.
Is the Staten Island Ferry a good free alternative?
For a view, yes: it is free, runs 24 hours a day between Whitehall Terminal and St. George, and passes the statue at a distance. It does not stop at Liberty Island, so it is a look, not a visit.
Can I bring a bag or a stroller?
On the ferry and the grounds, a backpack and a stroller are fine; suitcases, large parcels and anything over 3 feet are not. Inside the pedestal and crown no backpack-style bags, strollers or tripods are allowed; lockers at the monument entrance take quarters, and there are none at the Battery Park screening.
Is the Statue of Liberty in New York or New Jersey?
Liberty Island is federal land within the jurisdiction of New York under the 1834 compact between the two states, although it sits in New Jersey waters. The 1998 Supreme Court ruling about New Jersey concerned the filled land of Ellis Island, not Liberty Island.
Can I cancel if the weather is bad?
The ferry runs rain or shine and posts service alerts for severe weather. Each listing on this page states free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start; read the listing for anything shorter.
Ready to book
Pick your height, pick your boat.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, as each listing states.
The ferry that landsStatue City Cruises: Official Statue of Liberty TicketsBook this
Same ferry, with a guideStatue of Liberty & Ellis Island Guided Tour with FerryBook this
Fifty minutes from the waterStatue of Liberty Express Skip-the-Box-Office CruiseBook this
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Guide in an orange hat
2 or 4 hoursShared or privateFree cancellation
