CRUISE on the FERRY in NY
New York City - A city of islands, harbors and boatsOne of New York City's main geographic attractions since ancient times is its natural protected harbor. What is now called New York Harbor was recognized as a haven for water travel by earliest Native Americans, 16th and 17th Century Norse and Dutch explorers, 18th and 19th Century whailing and shipping magnates as well as today's 21st Century commuters.
GUIDE TO FERRIES
1. The Staten Island Ferry
This is a FREE commuter ferry that travels between Manhattan Island and Staten Island. You need to disembark and re-embark to go back and forth. Round trip takes about one hour. It does NOT go to the Statue of Liberty , but you get a nice view of Lady LIberty to the west. The Staten Island Ferry has its own terminal, east of the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferries.
2. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry
The SOL/Ellis Island ferries are operated by Statue Cruises. You get the ferries near CASTLE CLINTON at BATTERY PARK, a 2 minute walk west of the Staten Island Ferry terminal.
If you decide to take the SOL/Ellis Island ferry, you are not required to take the tours. You may explore on your own. Also, you may choose to skip the SOL completely and simply continue on to Ellis Island and the immigration museum there.
3. Governor's Island Ferry
This ferry travels between Manhattan Island and Governor's Island. It operates only during warm weather months, approximately mid-May through the end of October. The Governors Island Ferry departs from the Battery Maritime Building located east of the Staten Island Ferry in Lower Manhattan.
As of 2007, you can now bicycle on Governor's Island, and they offer FREE bike rentals on Fridays. You can also take a guided tour of all the historic buildings.
4. NY Waterway
NY Waterway operates harbor tours and commuter ferries. You can take tours of NYC's harbor or use it to commute to work. The commuter routes travel between docks in New Jersey and various docks in Manhattan
5. New York Water Taxi
This is a different company than NY Waterway. They also operate both commuter ferries and harbor tours and cruises.
The commuter routes travel between various piers in Manhattan and four piers in Brooklyn (Wiliamsburg, Fulton Ferry Landing, IKEA in Red Hook and Brooklyn Army Terminal), one dock in Queens (Hunter's Point) and one dock in Yonkers.
They also have special seasonal ferries to Yankee Stadium and City Field during baseball season, and Bear Mountain during the fall.
Source: tripadvisor.com