I’m not much into cruises but I do have one that’s my all-time favorite, and it just might surprise you. Even better than it being my favorite, one thing about this cruise seems to be something most people don’t know……it’s FREE! And you’ll almost cruise close enough to be able to shake hands with a very famous lady! Okay, enough with the hints. I’m talking about the Staten Island Ferry Harbor Cruise.

The Staten Island Ferry – A Free New York Harbor Cruise

You’d think there wouldn’t be much to know about the Staten Island Ferry Harbor Cruise except you get on, you cruise and see incredible New York Harbor sites, you get off. But as I recently found out, just knowing about the cruise and that it’s free is only the beginning of what you need to know to make this outing a great memorable adventure.

How to Get To the Ferry Terminal

The ferry is a commuter ferry that shuttles back and forth from The Whitehall Terminal at the tip of Manhattan to the St. George Terminal on Staten Island. You can even ride the ferry at night since it runs 24 hours a day!

The Staten Island Ferry leaves from the Whitehall Terminal, which stands on the southern tip of Lower Manhattan. I think most people get to the ferry terminal by subway. I walked there from my hotel but there are many train lines that are within walking distance as well.

• Remember, always make sure you’re not overpaying for your hotel stay!

Here are a few of the subway lines:

• #1 train to South Ferry This is literally right next to the terminal
• R train to Whitehall Street which is just a short two-block walk to the terminal
• #4 or #5 trains to Bowling Green, approximately a 7-minute walk to the terminal
• If the above lines are not convenient for you, you can use these stations, but they require about a 15 minute walk  to the terminal: J and Z trains to Broad Street OR 2 and 3 trains to Wall Street

Planning Your Trip

As I mentioned, the Staten Island Ferry is FREE so if anyone tries to sell you a ticket just smile and say you already have your ticket, thanks anyway! The ferry ride each way is approximately 25 minutes. It does not make any stops before it gets to Staten Island. You must get off at the Staten Island side and then you can join the lines to get back on the ferry. It’s likely you’ll spend an hour on the ride back and forth. This sounds more confusing than it really is.

Depending on the size of the crowd waiting to go to Manhattan, you may not be able to get back on the same ferry for the return trip to Manhattan, so plan for at least 60 – 90 minutes for your entire roundtrip once you arrive at Whitehall Terminal. The last time I did this was on a Friday night and it took just under 60 minutes roundtrip.

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Ferry Schedule

The Staten Island ferry runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Amazing, huh? You can ride it day and night. Night rides are beautiful but my favorite time of day is sunset. The schedule is pretty basic. The ferries run every 30 minutes, on the hour and on the half-hour ( 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30) with one exception. During weekday rush hours, the ferries run every 15 minutes. Rush hours are 6:00 am until 9:30 am in the morning and 3:30 pm until 8:00 pm in the late afternoon and evening. I actually enjoy going during rush hour for the sunset cruise because there’s nothing like rushing to get on the ferry with hundreds, dare I say thousands of New Yorkers!

When is the Best Time to Take the Staten Island Ferry?

If you don’t care for crowds, there are plenty of hours in between the rush hour peaks that aren’t busy. According to the Ferry’s Facebook page, the most popular weekday off-peak times are from 12 pm – 3 pm, with Wednesdays being the busiest day of the week. That means if you want a less crowded ferry, take the ferry any weekday between 9:30 am – 11:30 am or after 7 pm. If you think 7 pm is too late, remember in the summer months, the sunsets are much later.

Keep in mind that these ferries are huge. They can carry over 6000 passengers. You shouldn’t have any issues taking photos of the Statue of Liberty or other sights along the way, though. No matter when you go, the ferry ride provides truly spectacular views.

What else should you know?

• You must disembark the ferry at the Staten Island Terminal and then re-board to head back to Manhattan.
• Wifi services are available and free in each terminal and also on the ferries.
• Bikes are permitted aboard the ferry.
• Snacks and food are sold on the ferry, including beer.
• There are bathrooms on the ferry and in the terminals.
• No smoking is allowed.

What You’ll See From the Ferry 

In case you’ve never been to New York City and you’re wondering what I’m referring to when I say “spectacular views”, here’s what I mean. During the ferry ride you’ll have views of lower Manhattan, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Governors Island. You’ll also see Brooklyn and New Jersey and many of the bridges connecting Manhattan to those boroughs. You’re wondering, as I did the first time I took the ferry, about where to position yourself for the best views. Since the ferries take the same route back and forth, you will get a great view of Lady Liberty and of Ellis Island going in either direction.

Most people want to see Lady Liberty right away, so when you board on the Manhattan side, head to the right side of the ferry. The outdoor deck is upstairs. For the best Lower Manhattan views position yourself at the back of the ferry when leaving Manhattan and the front of the ferry when departing Staten Island. I do think you can still get good views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and other sites in New York Harbor from the lower decks too. These decks don’t have outside seating but you can lower the windows to get great views.

STATEN ISLAND: What to See and Do!

For sure Staten Island is overlooked by tourists. My aunt and uncle have lived on Staten Island for over thirty years, so if I tell you all about the Staten Island Ferry and don’t tell you more about Staten Island and how there’s a lot of fun things to see and do there, well let’s just say I’ll have to pay for my own deli the next time I’m in NYC! It is an interesting borough that most people know nothing about.

1. Staten Island Ferry Terminal 1 Bay Street

2. Staten Island Yankees 75 Richmond Terrace

Summer months only. The “Baby Bombers” are a single A, minor league baseball team affiliated with the major league New York Yankees. If you’ve never been to a minor league baseball game, they are fun! This team plays in a 7,000 seat stadium that overlooks New York Harbor, so every seat is close to the action.  The minor league season is pretty short, so check out their calendar to see if there is a game while you are in town.

3. The Staten Island September 11th Memorial

The Esplanade, located on the Northern Shore of Staten Island, has views of Manhattan’s skyline. If you walk along it from the Ferry Terminal you will come to the Postcards Memorial, completed in 2004.

This memorial was the first 9/11 memorial completed in New York City and is dedicated to the 275 Staten Islanders who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack. Each victim has a plaque with their name, date of birth, and where they worked at the time of the attack. The two fiberglass structures frame the location of the former towers across the river.

4. Staten Island Borough Hall 10 Richmond Terrace

Admission is FREE. Staten Island’s Borough Hall is 100 years old and serves as the seat of the Borough government. The building is in the French Renaissance style and has a beautiful clock tower.

The lobby is decorated with 13 murals depicting Staten Island history and were part of a Depression-Era WPA project. These murals are the largest collection of WPA artwork anywhere in New York City.

5. St. George Theatre 35 Hyatt Street

This 1800 seat theatre opened in 1929 as a vaudeville and movie house. During the day the lobby is open to the public so you can enjoy the interior, with its large chandeliers and grand staircases. The theatre presents a full schedule of performances at night, so check out St. George Theatre website.

6. Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden

I love visiting botanical gardens. You’ll have to take a 10-minute bus ride from the ferry terminal to visit the historic Snug Harbor Center. Opened in 1883 as a home for retired sailors, Snug Harbor covers 83 acres and has 20 different gardens. There is also a collection of five Greek Revival buildings, the largest group of this kind in the United States. These buildings are now museums and art galleries, and one is the second oldest concert hall in New York City. The gardens include the Victorian style White Garden and the Secret Garden, which has a hedge maze. There is also the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, which is the only one of its kind in the country. It is designed to reflect a Ming Dynasty Garden of the 18th and 19th century.

7. The Staten Island Museum 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A

This museum, opened in 1881, is home to over two million artifacts. They have an extensive art collection, ranging from Ancient Egyptian to Modern art. There is a Natural Sciences collection which includes a “Cabinet of Curiosities” and exhibits of native animals.

The collection of Native American artifacts is considered to be the most comprehensive exhibit about the Native Americans of the New York area. There are artifacts in the collection that date back 12,000 years. You can also learn about the history of the Staten Island Ferry before you get back on for your return trip.

Fun Facts About Staten Island

• Staten Island is the least populous of the five boroughs, but the third largest in terms of land size.
• Staten Island claimed to have the world’s largest landfill, called the Fresh Kills Landfill. It closed in 2001, reopened briefly to receive the debris cleared from the World Trade Center site, and is now being converted into NYC’s second largest park.
• Staten Island is the only borough not connected to the New York City Subway system………hence the ferry!
• Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad tycoon and financier of Grand Central Station, was born in Port Richmond, Staten Island, on May 27, 1794, of Dutch/English background. At 16, Vanderbilt started his own ferry service and he was the conductor of the ferries until he became one of the richest Americans in the 1800s.
• Some of the first humans passed through Staten Island about 15,000 years ago. The first permanent settlers were a Lenape tribe, about 5,000 years ago.
• The first recorded European contact with the island was by Giovanni Verrazano in 1520. He was sailing on the French ship La Dauphine and they anchored for one night. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which spans the waterway between Brooklyn and Staten Island, is named for him.
• The next European on the island was Henry Hudson, sailing for the Dutch. The island was named Staaten Eylandt (translation: States Island) in honor of the Dutch Parliament.
• Staten Island was occupied by British troops throughout the American Revolution.
• Staten Island became a part of New York City in 1898, when the five boroughs consolidated. However, it was called the Borough of Richmond at the time (Staten Island is in Richmond County). It did not begin to be commonly called Staten Island until 1975.
• Staten Island is the only borough without an NYC Department of Corrections major detention center.
• Sailor’s Snug Harbor opened in 1833, as the country’s first home for retired seamen. Today it is a public park.
• There was a movement in the 1980’s in Staten Island that favored secession from New York City.

Oh, and did I mention you can find great pizza on Staten Island. But that’s another topic for another time. If you’ve never taken the Staten Island Ferry you really have missed one of the most fun, free things you can do in NYC. Heck, even if they charged 10 cents for it, as they did when I was a kid, it would still be worth it!