New York Ferry – Sightseeing at its Best

The hop on hop off New York Ferry was our choice to fill in the gaps of ” The City That Never Sleeps” – there was a lot fit into the last day and we weren’t disappointed.

Day four had seen our 48 hours hop on hop off bus pass run out, so we stopped at the first  Grayline Tours vendor, at the corner of our hotel street, and bought a 24 hour Hop On Hop Off New York Ferry Tour.

In New York there are ticket sellers for these tours on every major corner in the city and most hotels are  ticket agents – meaning there’s no need to book on-line before you arrive.

The ticket price included free entry to the 88th floor of the Empire State Building for a bird’s eye view.  Couldn’t possibly leave the Big Apple without a peek from the top of this grand iconic building.

New York Ferry Terminal

The Grayline Tours Hop on Hop off bus takes you to the ferry that leaves from Pier 78 (34^thStreet and 12^thAvenue) – this is a round trip of 90 minutes, plus how much time you spend sightseeing at the stopping points.

Forgotten to eat? There are snack bars both at the terminal and on board the ferry.

Famous Landmarks

We had PERFECT WEATHER and saw just about every major New York landmark from the comfortable ferry.  Our friendly New York Ferry captain and guide shared lots of Big Apple knowledge and gave us quite a few chuckles along the way.

From the ferry we had clear views of:

• Chrysler Building

• One World Trade Centre (Freedom Tower)

• Skyscraper Museum from the New York Ferry

• Brooklyn Bridge – going under on the ferry

Sailing under the Brooklyn Bridge that spans the East River is something special plus you get the chance to see the three famous New York bridges at once.  Brooklyn first then Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge.

• Statue of Liberty – up close and personal from the ferry

A close up and personal look at the Statue of Liberty (Lady Liberty) was our priority having only seen her from a distance when cruising by a couple of weeks earlier.  The ferry captain spent at least 10 minutes circling around the famous lady to give people on both sides of the boat excellent photo opportunities.

He did ask us to be patient, i.e. not all get up and head to the other side of the ferry with our cameras. No need for another Titanic incident!

Did you know that the seven points on this great lady’s crown represent the seven continents?

The New York Ferry makes four handy stops but we stayed on for the 90-minute loop – time was running out and there was SO MUCH MORE to do and see.

DUMBO

One popular stop was at DUMBO. This acronym stands for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”.   I was glad to have this explained as all sorts of thoughts about the locals were going through my mind!

Many passengers hopped off to have lunch at the famous Grimaldi’s Pizza – again getting fantastic views from the Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Next time for me – the packet of Jatz biscuits I was snacking on was getting boring).

Then, before we knew it, we were back in dock and boarding the Midtown shuttle bus back to Manhattan to get up close and personal with the Empire State Building.

• Empire State Building – from the 88th floor.

Be warned there are always queues, whatever time of the day or night, to go up to the observation decks of the Empire State Building, but definitely worth the wait. If not on a tour and you’re calling in randomly tickets can be bought on-line to save time.

Did you know this stately sky scraper only took a short 11 months to construct back in 1931 and until 1970 it was the city’s hightest building.

The Panoramic views of the city skyline are amazing (from 1,050 ft above street level).  Your view stretches to 80 miles away and lets you see FIVE states of the USA

The self-guided multimedia tour tells you what you’re seeing from every vantage point!

View Upgrades:

We did have the chance to upgrade to from the 88^thfloor view to the 102nd Floor Observatory.

This wasn’t an option… most of the time I was on my knees trying to hold the camera lens against the glass and clicking away hoping some photos would turn out.  (Not fussed on being 88 floors up in the sky.)

Pleased to say this strategy worked and a few decent pics were captured. Many visitors do say that the best view is at night from this famous building.

Well I did see it at night from the bathroom window of our hotel two streets away.  (Wolcott Hotel)

A Sad Farewell to the City that Never Sleeps

Time to head back to the airport after a packed 5 days in New York thanks to the Hop On, Hop Off buses and ferries.

Handy Information when in New York:

• Tipping is an expectation – from 15%, 18% or even 20%. It’s no use complaining – the US pays such poor minimum wages that servers depend on tips. It’s these people you are thanking, not the system.
• Make sure you allow for taxes that are added to EVERYTHING in the USA.
• Take a stash of USD$1 notes for tips
• Keep the Museum visits for a wet day (if there any on the horizon)
• Check every tour for concession prices.
• In summer – take a hat, sunscreen, water bottle and poncho
• Why not check out my Gypsy at 60 Travel Tips?

Please contact me if you have any questions – I’d happy to help.