Visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the Easy Way.

When we decided to take our road trip this Summer, the kids added seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to the list. So as I was planning this stop, I do what I always do and read a ton of comments through www.tripadvisor.com . What I discovered was that the best way to see these sites was to take a ferry from the New Jersey side at Liberty State Park. https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/liberty.html Those hours of research certainly paid off and it was a much more seamless experience than if we would have went from the NYC side.






We booked a ferry tour through the Statue Cruises website https://www.statuecruises.com/#/ and it included both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island at a 3:00 time slot. Since it was Summer and ridiculously hot, we felt that later in the day would be best to beat some of the heat at least. Upon arriving at the park, it was clean and spread out with easily accessible parking and a killer view of the skyline. Their was even a view of Lady Liberty in the distance and the best part was ..no crowds! 

The ferry itself had plenty of room whether you wanted to sit or stand and great views no matter where you were on the boat. The 1st stop was Ellis Island and once we were dropped off we noticed that the other side of the dock was the ferry from NY which happened to be jam packed with people as well as a significant line to board the next ferry to the Statue of Liberty which was right around the corner. After we de boarded, we roamed the shady, oak tree lined grounds of Ellis Island and then eventually inside to marvel at the history of the site where millions of immigrants, including our own ancestors had come to seeking a better life. There was much to see and learn about inside and the kids had many interactive displays they enjoyed.

After exploring Ellis Island and moving on to our next ferry stop at the statue, we boarded a short 5 minute ride and was dropped off at a much more crowded area. We were surprised at how many people were packed into the area surrounding Lady Liberty but we walked up and got some pics before heading back. At this point the heat had caught up to us and we noticed the lines to get back were growing exponentially. There were two lines designated for NY and for NJ. The line to get back to NY was like a Disney line times ten. Where as the line to NJ was maybe a 1/4 of that. People were complaining how ridiculous the NY side was and I was glad that I had chosen to go from NJ. We were only waiting maybe 10 minutes before we boarded back to Liberty State Park whereas the NY side was wrapped so far down the sidewalk, we couldn't even tell where it ended.

So even though it was a dead heat Summer day , we were able to do everything we wanted to do and see in a relatively easy manner. I did feel bad for the people who were stuck in line for hours so I felt compelled to blog about it. These type of trips can make all the difference in the world with great planning. So if you are ever traveling to see these infamous sights, now ya know... Jersey is the winner for a easy breezy Summer time tour.