How to Ride the Free Staten Island Ferry From the Financial District

Walk it, don't ride to it. From our door at 17 John Street, head south on Broadway past Wall Street and Bowling Green and keep going until the street ends at the water. That's about 15 minutes on foot and it's a good walk, straight through the oldest part of the city. If you'd rather take the subway, the 1 ends at South Ferry and the R/W stops at Whitehall Street, both next to the terminal, and the 4/5 to Bowling Green leaves you a five-minute walk away.

There's no ticket, no turnstile, and nothing to book. You go into the terminal, watch the board for the next departure, and walk on when they open the gates. Heading out toward Staten Island, stand on the right side of the boat (the west side) for the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the harbor. Coming back, the same side gives you the Lower Manhattan skyline, which is the better half of the trip.

At St. George everyone gets off the boat. If you're only in it for the ride, follow the signs around to the departure side and board the next Manhattan-bound boat, which usually takes a few minutes. Round trip with the walk each way is about 90 minutes, so it fits neatly into a morning or the end of an afternoon.

Two practical notes. It's genuinely free, so it's the cheapest harbor view in New York, but it doesn't stop at Liberty Island. If you want to actually set foot on the island you need the ticketed boat from Battery Park instead, which we've covered separately. And the boat is windy and open on the upper deck, so bring a layer in fall and winter, when the harbor is a good ten degrees colder than John Street.