When I think of India , the first thing that comes to my mind is Taj Mahal. And when I think of United States of America......its obviously the Lady with torch. When I got a chance to visit New York, I did not miss the opportunity to visit the Statue of Liberty.
There are two ways in which you can see the Statue. One is through the normal boat trips which will take you close to the Liberty island but will not take you to the island. The other one is the statue cruise which is authorized to take visitors to the island. This cruise combine the Ellis island tour with the Liberty island tour. You can find more about the cruise at www.statuecruises.com. The best part is that you can buy your tickets online avoiding the long queues in front of the counter and believe me you will feel good for this decision. The tickets were $13 per adult at that time. Once you buy the ticket online , you will receive a ticket's print out which will mention your date and travel time on it. Take a print out of it and do carry a photo identity with you. Though they did not ask for it but it is better to be safe. It is advised that you should reach the place half an hour before your scheduled time. Now you can either reach at the Battery park (New York) or at Liberty state park (New Jersey) to catch the cruise. I went through the New York side. You can reach the park by subway. I think the green line reach there. It is the last stop at the south of the New York. Get down and follow the road signs to reach to the gates.
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| view from the ferry |
At the gates show your ticket's print out and get inside. One thing you should remember these cruises are generally over packed all the time. Hence, they do not allow large bags with you. But backpacks are okay. Enter the security zone and go through the metal detector and pass your bags through the x-ray. Get into the cruise. Be careful , sometimes the tides are really strong and that can shake the plank , so its better to hold the ropes while climbing up the plank.
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| Ellis island |
If you want to avoid the sun , get into the first layer or in the shaded portion on the top floor. To get a nice view of the skyline and the approaching Statue of Liberty, I will suggest you to be in the open area of the top floor. Reach the Liberty island first, spend time there, click photos, enjoy the nice views around. There are ferries coming and leaving the island at an interval of 30 minutes. So you can take any leaving ferry to reach the Ellis island. The last ferry leaves at around 4 p.m.
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| waves crashing down |
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| Manhattan skyline at a distance |
It is true that a visit to USA without a visit to the Statue of Liberty is incomplete.
