Community Forums

Wireman1 · 04-05-2018, 11:26 AM

I am staying at Liberty Harbor RV park in Jersey City N.J. I arrive on Monday June 4th and leave June 6th.

I have 1 day to see the 3 things that are on my list.

Statue of Liberty with access to the top, Ellis Island Museum, and the 9/11 Memorial with a possibility of squeezing in the museum as well.

The RV park is just north of Liberty State park.

This is my 1st trip to the NYC area and need some tips on the best way to see what's on my list.

A tour? Recommendations of any you have used?

Book tickets on my own? Probably not the best way for a novice to the area.

Is there access to SOL and Ellis Island from Liberty park?

I just need to optimize my short time frame. Please comment on the best way to do this.

Thanks.

kustom · 04-05-2018, 11:34 AM

Statue of Liberty with access to the top
you have to go online and get aproved before going or you can only go to the
base not inside
found out the hard way we went and could no go up
that's how we found out still it was a nice trip
but would of been nice to go up to the top

twogypsies · 04-05-2018, 11:37 AM

I'm sure you can get some hints from this awesome site. She made quite a few reports on the city while staying at Liberty Harbor. She also did a Liberty Harbor review and good information on how to get there. Look for the 'Clickys' directing you to other write-ups.

Can't you add on some more nights? That's a great distance and not easy to get there for only one day of touring.

https://wheelingit.us/?s=new+york+city

oatmeal · 04-05-2018, 05:18 PM

Well, #*@(%&(@. I just spent over an hour crafting a reply, and it got eaten.

Short version: You have to have advance tickets to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, and they are sold out until August. You can get a pedestal ticket at 2:00 or 3:00 on the day you'll be there, and it would include Ellis Island.

https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvis...-the-crown.htm

Maybe some tours companies buy up crown tickets and sell them only with their tour--I have no idea, but you have to have a name on each ticket, so I don't know how they'd do it, but you're talking about New York City, where the impossible happens all the time.

Liberty Harbor is fantastic if you're visiting NYC on your own, or if you're there for several days. Since you're there for just one day, you might consider Newburgh KOA, which is half the price of Liberty Harbor and has full hookups instead of electric/water, and has a tour that leaves from the campground, and it includes the Statue of Liberty (but I assume not going into it). A very hassle-free way to do a one-day visit, if you don't need to schedule for a trip to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.

There are a million tours of NYC. I found one that involves 5 miles of walking over 6 hours:

https://www.nycgo.com/tours/half-day...all-group-tour

You ride subways and take the Staten Island Ferry (not the same as the ferry that goes to the Statue of Liberty), and ends by about 4:00, so you could go to the 9/11 Museum (last entry at 6:00). Or you could skip that and use your knowledge of the subway system to go to places like Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Central Park, etc, on your own. And Times Square at night.

There are other tours that use subways and probably don't involve as much walking. Or you can take a "regular" tour; I liked the one I took some friends on on a double-decker bus with an open top.

That's the very short version. I can't believe all that I wrote went away. It was really good.

Tjclarke696 · 04-05-2018, 05:55 PM

Take the Liberty Landing Ferry which stops at the foot of Warren St which is a short walk from the RV Park. It will drop you off by the World Financial Center which is a short walk to the 9/11 museum. You can also check out the One World Observatory at the top of the Freedom Tower while your there. And of course there’s the 9/11 memorial to see as well.
All three are just a few steps apart. Make sure to get tickets ahead of your visit for the observatory and museum.
You can also get a ferry across to Liberty Island and Ellis Island from the New York side. I believe you’ll have to take the ferry back to your starting point though.

Shawn E · 04-06-2018, 07:51 AM

Another suggestion would be to take the PATH train from the Jersey side to Manhattan. It runs under the Hudson River and brings you right to the World Trade Center sight. The museum and Freedom tower were not complete when we visited so my guess is your visit will be longer if you do both. I would heed the recommendations about getting advance tickets for your activities if possible. We didn’t but instead took the Staten Island Ferry from Battery Park and it cruises right past the Statue on both trips back and forth. It doesn’t get you on Ellis island but is an easy way to at least see it. Battery Park is a few block walk from the WTC sight and was interesting watching all the street performers. Wear comfy shoes and expect to walk a lot. If you should happen to have extra time and can get to the Empire State Building (via subway or Uber) the observation deck is nice at sunset. Be prepared to wait an hour or so for access. Have fun.

Wireman1 · 04-06-2018, 08:12 AM

Thanks for the info so far.

To late to change RV parks, I'll loose 1 nights deposit. LH is very close to what I want to see.

Really can't add another day as I have RV parks booked ahead for the rest of my trip, but that is a good suggestion. It's possible, but would be a headache to try and rearrange my the rest of my trip.

Oatmeal, your probably right that the tour companies buy up the SOL crown tickets and a tour is the only way to see that.

Can anyone on this forum recommend a tour company that they were happy with and included my 3 sights to see?

Thanks.

oatmeal · 04-06-2018, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wireman1

Oatmeal, your probably right that the tour companies buy up the SOL crown tickets and a tour is the only way to see that.

Can anyone on this forum recommend a tour company that they were happy with and included my 3 sights to see?

I'm rescinding my theory that the tour companies are buy up crown tickets.

I looked around a little and didn't see any tours that include crown access. Their websites kind of say they do, but when I would drill down a little, it became clear that they were talking only about pedestal tours, at most. And even when you drill down, it's not clear to people who don't know the difference between access to the monument, access to the pedestal, and access to the crown.

There are some sites that sell crown access tickets for more than the $21.50 at the official site. I figured out what they're doing, and they won't be able to get any tickets that aren't available on the official site, and the sucker who uses them will pay $7 more for nothing.

Oh well...the National Park Service site for the Statue of Liberty says all over it to use only the official ticket seller. If you don't, then that's your problem. Too bad they can't shut them down, though.

So I'm backtracking on my theory about the tour companies. There's no way to get around having the tickets issued in the person's name, and I couldn't find a tour that actually includes crown access.

They sell only a few hundred crown tickets a day, and seem to have them locked down pretty tight.

I've been to the crown at least twice, and back then all you had to do was show up and be willing to climb the stairs. I guess there are just too many people these days.

Since you won't be going up to the crown, you might re-think your day. I strongly recommend a plan that will get you beyond lower Manhattan, whether it's with a tour or on your own.