After crossing the US for four weeks we stayed in NYC for one week. It's my third time in this town...but i never went to Liberty Island yet.
This time we went and I didn't regret it at all. For only a few dollars you'll get the ticket which gets you to Liberty Island. If you want an Audio Tour included you will have to pay more.
Depends on how many people are waiting you'll get on the boat somewhen. Security will check your bags...don't bring bottles with.
It's a nice boat ride to Liberty Island. On the way there, people will fight for the nicest spots on the ship to take pictures. But if you wait for the boat ride back, you will see, that on this way, almost nobody takes pics anymore. So the way back is your chance to get good pics without getting a headache. The view is the same anyway.
Once you landed on Liberty Island you can walk around free. You can purchase some gifts, get historical infos or just enjoy the walk....and of course take pics of Lady Liberty.

Even there's a lot of people, it's not really hard to get nice pics. You also get a nice view of lower Manhattan.
Walk around the statue to get different angles....take lots of pics...you can choose the best ones later. Walk around the Island, it's not very big....

Whenever you get enough, get back to the boat, which will take you to Ellis Island (jump out if you like to) and back to Manhattan.

We really had a good time here and great pics! We came quite early in the morning. Ticket lines were short....maybe 20 yards. And after getting the ticket we got to the boat right away! After we came back...the Line was maybe 200 yards long...or even more!

So if you can do....come early!
Wanna know more about my trip?
route66traveler.jimdo.com

I ordered a ticket via the parks online site. Based on the reviews read here and what their site, it said we needed to be there at 7:30 am and the ferry leaves at 8:45 am. NOT.. we ventured down to Battery Park as suggested and got there in the rain and 56 degree weather at 7:30 am. One of the park employees was sitting in the alcove of where you purchase tickets. Let me tell you, this man gives New York a very bad name... he so rude, and all we asked him was is "we bought our tickets online where do we go" I wish I would have gotten his name.!!

The doors opened at 8:30 am and we had to go to Will Call to get our tickets waiting for us, they didn't ask us for anything besides our names. We got our ticket and headed to the next line to wait...we then found out the ferry didn't leave til 9:30 am, they didn't starting boarding until 9:15 am, after we were put through security, note here: watches and belts off.. Once onboard we promptly went up to the 2nd floor to take pictures from the bow. Once you have those head back to where you originally boarded because that's where you'll get off once you get to the island.

You want to be one of the first off because you want to be first in line at the next area you wait which holds you before going into the area just before the statue base. If you don't hurry off the ferry and into this area, yes, it will take a long time. My girlfriend and I were 1st and 2nd through. Its a big time consuming security area because they are also testing for chemical traces with some fancy machine that takes awhile to reset itself, and there are only 3 of these.

We got off the ferry and jogged to this area actually, but because it was rainy and 56 degrees and we were freezing. But we sure are glad we did...else we would of waited forever.

Once through this area you are in the base and get to view the area, a museum and then up the stairs 5 flights, (156 steps) to the top of the base where you can look out over the cities. The steps aren't for the weak, thats for sure...wheww...

The views were spectacular... I wish it wasn't as cold as it was, or that I was better prepared for it, but would say it was well worth its asking price to me, where else you going to go and see toes as big as hers, (hint.. you get to see the casts etc for them).

Have fun, but dress WARM if its winter...........

We bought advance tickets for this tour for the 1:30-4:00 tour and this still was a frustrating trip for us. If you hadn't bought tickets ahead of time, there was a 1 hour wait to buy tickets on Sat Oct. 13 at noon. Will Call was very fast. Then, we got to wait in another line for an hour for security clearance. We missed a ferry and waited 1/2 hour for the next one. We thought we were free and clear, but there is another line to get into the statue! This one was agonizingly slow, and the security workers were rude and oblivious to the tourists. They were joking around, and clearing 1 person at a time even with 3 machines. Any time there was a security problem, i.e. someone with food or water, there was a wait until that person was explained the rules. This was a short line that took over an hour to get through. Once inside the statue there is a very nice museum with no people in it! Everyone was outside trying to still get in. You can climb to the top of the pedestal with a nice view of the city-but not worth it.

My recommendations for the next time and anyone reading this are: 1) Book online the first time slot and arrive early 2) Check the ferry schedule prior to going since there is sometimes a 1/2 hour wait for ferries. 3) Enjoy the view from the ferry as you come to Liberty Island and enjoy the island. Forget going inside. 4) Plan on 1/2 day at Ellis Island. There is a lot to do there. 5) This is an all-day event to see the statue and Ellis Island 6) No food or water can be taken inside the statue.

Hope this helps with your visit.

You can buy tickets in advance on [--] which is the official site. Don't forget to print the confirmation page or to note the booking reference because they don't send confirmation e-mails. They ask for a login and password but I couldn't find where to login again after buying the tickets in order to see my account. If someone knows, please tell me ...