Next iconic experience on the New York adventure – the Staten Island ferry!
These super distinctive FREE orange ferries trundle their way from Whitehall in Manhattan to the St George terminal on Staten Island.
The ferry, which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, carries over 23 million passengers annually on a 5.2-mile journey and has been in operation since 1905.
On a typical weekday, five boats make 118 trips, carrying approximately 70,000 passenger and numbers are swelled by hordes of visitors – all eager to catch a free glimpse of Lady Liberty from the boat.
Each ferry gets its own personal escort out of the harbour by armed coast guards – a little disconcerting! But you also get your first real view of Manhattan from the water.
And . . . . you also get your first glimpse of that most iconic of women – Lady Liberty… albeit a rather small glimpse!!
However you do get a bit closer to the Green Goddess as the boat floats onwards.
The journey itself takes about 20 minutes from start to finish and is a favourite thing for visitors to do.
The ferry is instantly recognisable as an icon of New York and has featured in numerous films including Working Girl and The Dark Knight.
We disembark on Staten Island and, like most passengers, immediately whizz around to rejoin the queue heading back to Manhattan!
In all fairness, Staten Island probably does have some sights to check out, but with time at a premium, and a long list of sights to tick off, we don’t have time!
So back to Manhattan we head, with yet another stunning view of the Manhattan skyline.
Just time for another snap of the Staten Island ferry sign for the hubby and me!
As we leave Battery Park I am distracted, and a little entranced, by the weirdest merry-go-round I have ever seen – The Seaglass Carousel. Enjoy this surreal snippet!