There are several private ferry services that operate in and around New York City. They offer ferry service of interest to both daily commuters and tourists and visitors. For a complete list of local operators, as well as their respective schedules, click HERE For the tourist, once you arrive in New York you will be happy to find that our most famous ferry, the Staten Island ferry, is now free. Take a ride from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan, located near Battery Park, to Staten Island and see beautiful New York Harbor. It may well be the best tourist value in town and enjoy our new ferry terminals as well! If you're an avid shopper you can take the free ferry from lower Manhattan's Pier 11 to IKEA Brooklyn. Of course you should visit both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island at least once in your life. If you have a full day to spare, you are in luck, because one round trip ferry ticket includes visits to both Liberty and Ellis islands. Note: there can be long lines and waiting periods in the busy summer months. If you must visit at this time, plan for a wait of an hour or more. Happily, the wait can be an amusing one as ingenious New Yorkers entertain the crowd.