As a local New York City tour guide with Tours by Foot NYC, I am asked all the time by my tour guests how they can get tickets to the Statue of Liberty.
I’ve been a few times over the years so I can answer that question easily.
However, the answer isn’t something that can be addressed in a few sentences because there are several ways to get tickets.
So, here is the scoop on the seven ways to get tickets to the Statue of Liberty, including Pedestal and Crown tickets and, better still, where to find deals.
- Ticket Options
- Purchase Directly
- Walk-Up Tickets
- 3rd Party Vendors
- Tourist Passes
- Bus/Boat Combo
- Take a Tour
HOW MUCH DO STATUE OF LIBERTY TICKETS COST?
Before I list the prices, let me explain the three types of tickets available for the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
All tickets include the ferry to and from Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Ferries depart from Lower Manhattan and Jersey City in New Jersey.
Both islands have activities and museums included in your ticket.
What differentiates the tickets is the level of access you will have to the statue itself.
- General Admission - access to Liberty Island and Ellis Island; no access into the statue
- Pedestal Ticket - access to Liberty Island with entry into the Pedestal, and Ellis Island
- Crown Ticket - access to Liberty Island with entry into the Crown, and Ellis Island
How to decide?
If you'll be satisfied with seeing the statue up close and visiting the interesting museum, and taking a park ranger tour, then a General Admission ticket is what you’ll want.
If you want to go inside the Statue of Liberty, you must buy either a Pedestal Access or a Crown Access ticket.
Amazingly, the Pedestal and Crown tickets cost less than a dollar more than General Admission!
What’s the catch?
There is a limited number of Pedestal and Crown tickets available each day and they sell out far in advance.
So if you want to go inside Lady Liberty, buy your Pedestal and Crown tickets as soon as you know your travel dates.
Read more about booking Pedestal tickets and Crown tickets.
I’ve been to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island a few times and on one of those visits, I went up into the Crown.
While I thought standing inside one of the most recognizable monuments in the world was a unique experience, I think I would have been happy to skip it.
I didn't think it was worth walking up 377 steps from the main lobby followed by the 162 narrow steps in a tight spiral staircase only to spend 10 minutes in the Crown.
On the other hand, I have heard from lots of my tour guests that going up in the Crown was one of the most memorable moments during their trip to NYC.
I suggest you take a look at your article, How to Get to the Statue of Liberty, which explains in-depth the three ticket types and also what you can expect from your visit.
TIP: For an enhanced experience, you can take a guided tour of both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Read more below.
General Admission
- $25.00– Adult | $16.00 – Child 5-13 | $22.00 – Senior 62+/Military | Children under 4 not allowed
Pedestal Access Tickets
- $25.30 – Adult | $16.30 – Child 5-13 | $22.30 – Senior 62+/Military | Children under 4 not allowed
Crown Access Tickets
- $25.80 – Adult | $16.80 – Child 5-13 | $22.80 – Senior 62+/Military | Children under 4 not allowed
Both Pedestal tickets and Crown tickets are limited and must be reserved ahead of time.
(Click on the links above for in-depth information on how to get these tickets).
Another good thing to know about General Admission tickets.
There is a flexible version of a General admission ticket meaning you do not have to pick a day or time.
But these are ONLY available with the purchase of a tourist pass or a tour bus company combo ticket so long as your tourist pass or combo ticket is still valid.
Sounds appealing, right? Who doesn't love flexibility?
Keep in mind that you may have to wait a while to board a ferry on busy days, and every day is a busy day during peak tourist season, esepcially in summer.
PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS DIRECTLY
While you can get General Admission tickets in a variety of ways, the only way to get Pedestal or Crown tickets is to reserve them ahead of time.
Tickets can be purchased at the Statue Cruises website. This is the official company that runs the ferries to and from the islands.
This is the easiest way to get tickets, but you won’t be able to take advantage of any promotional deals or discounts I discuss below.
WARNING: Do not buy tickets from folks with flyers hanging around Battery Park, where the ferry departs from. There are scammers out there.
Luckily, I’ve never heard from any of my tour guests that they fell for it, but some came mighty close to being ripped off.
While you can get flex tickets/general admission tickets in a variety of ways, the only way to get tickets for access to the pedestal or crown of the Statue of Liberty is to reserve them ahead of time.
If you want to reserve tickets beforehand, visit the Statue Cruises website and purchase admission directly from the source.
Although this is one of the easiest ways to get Statue of Liberty tickets, you won’t be able to take advantage of any promos.
GET WALK-UP TICKETS
If you are spontaneous like I am and suddenly decide, “Hey, let's go to the Statue of Liberty right now!”, you can get walk-up General Admission tickets at the ferry dock.
Just go to the ticket booths inside Castle Clinton in Battery Park (in Lower Manhattan) or at Liberty State Park (in New Jersey).
You cannot buy Crown or Pedestal tickets at the ticket booth. Those must be purchased online.
While spontaneity can be fun, it can also lead to disappointment.
Do not count on getting walk-up tickets in peak travel season (spring and summer).
They are in short supply to begin with and on very busy days, you may not get tickets.
Still, you never know!
If you don't get walk-up tickets, why not take the nearby Staten Island free ferry ride? You’ll pass right by Lady Liberty!
PURCHASE THIRD-PARTY TICKETS
If all online tickets from Statue Cruises sell out (and you don't want to take a chance with walk-up tickets), you may be able to snag tickets through a third-party vendor.
These legitimate companies charge a wee bit more than Statue Cruises but if you don’t have luck getting tickets, this is a good option.
Tickets are between $6-$8 more expensive but often come with concierge service to help you get your bearings upon arrival.
Purchase third-party Statue of Liberty tickets.
USE A TOURIST ATTRACTION PASS
General admission/flex tickets are included with every major New York tourist pass.
These passes can save you 50% or more off full-price tickets by bundling together popular attractions and tours.
Additionally, they can also save you time through their skip-the-ticket-line benefits, which are available for most attractions and tours.
Here are just a handful of the most notable and popular attractions included with most tourist passes in New York City:
- Statue of Liberty Tall Ship Cruise
- Circle Line Statue of Liberty Cruise
- Hop-on-Hop-off Bus Tour
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- One World Observatory
- Empire State Building
- Yankee Stadium Tour
- Top of the Rock
- And more!
Just remember, tourist passes include Ground Admission tickets, not Pedestal or Crown tickets.
For those tickets, you have to reserve tickets from Statue Cruises ahead of time or upgrade on-site, though upgrades are not guaranteed.
I wouldn't count on that option since Pedestal and Crown tickets usually sell out.
For more details about this option, take a look at our post covering the most popular New York tourist attraction passes.
GET A BUS/BOAT TOUR COMBO TICKET
Some hop-on-hop-off bus tours and boat tour companies sell combination tickets that include admission to the Statue of Liberty.
These combos include only General Admission/flex tickets so you do not have to reserve a day or time to enter the Statue of Liberty, so long as your combo ticket is valid.
Check our Bus/Boat Tour combo ticket page for more details.
Here is one combo package available from time to time that includes a Pedestal ticket, rather than just a General Ticket.
TIP: If you can't get tickets or just want to get near Lady Liberty for some photos, several boats pass near the Statue of Liberty, including the free Staten Island Ferry.
TAKE A TOUR OF LADY LIBERTY
All tickets to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island include free audio tours and the option to join a park ranger tour.
If you want a deeper learning experience in a smaller group, you can take a private tour.
I’ve heard from my tour guests who have taken such private tours of the Statue of Liberty and loved the chance to ask questions and interact with their guide in a way that enhanced their visit.
I’ve also heard from guests that the park ranger tours were very good.
They aren’t long though and I felt that the ranger tour I took barely scratched the surface of the incredible story of how the Statue of Liberty was ‘born’ and how she got to America.
As for the audio tour? Well, you will learn the most basic facts, and that may be enough for some.
The audio tour are an extremely important option for non-English language speakers.
Below, I tell you a bit about the tours but our article on Statue of Liberty guided tours goes into greater detail.
PARK RANGER TALKS
Your ticket includes a free 30 to 45-minute tours on both Liberty and Ellis Islands led by Park Rangers and volunteers.
The tours are in English and depart every hour.
There’s no cap on the number of guests so groups can be pretty large in peak tourist season.
As a tour guide myself, I know that the best experiences are those that allow for interaction between the guide and guests.
The free tours allow for some of this but not on those days when the island is packed with visitors.
If you want a personalized experience, consider a private tour.
AUDIO TOURS
Your ticket includes an audio tour and can be picked up on both islands right next to the ferry landings.
Audio tours are available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Hindi, Portuguese, Arabic and Spanish.
We created our own GPS-led audio tour of both Liberty and Ellis Islands, narrated by one of our professional tour guides.
Here's an audio sample.
ELLIS ISLAND HARD HAT TOURS
Ellis Island offers a hard hat tour which visits the large, abandoned hospital complex on the island.
I took this tour and it was amazing and the guide was outstanding!
Though I know a lot about immigration history, the tour helped me put together the words I’ve read and the place where the stories took place.
If you like ‘behind the scenes’ tours of old buildings with monumental historical importance, take this tour!
Find out more and purchase tickets from Statue City Cruises.
STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND PRIVATE TOURS
There are a handful of private tour companies that offer guided tours of Liberty and Ellis Islands.
These private tours include a General Admission ticket to the island.
Most leave on the first ferry out, which is 9 am, though some have an afternoon tour as well.
Your guide meets you before you board the ferry so the learning experience begins before you have even arrived at the islands.
Below is a short chart comparing tours.
One way to see the Statue of Liberty up close without going to the island is to take a sightseeing cruise that passes close by Lady Liberty.
These cruises travel down the Hudson River to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. They also pass famous landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge, One World Trade Center and more.
Read our post on Statue of Liberty cruises and boat rides to see if any interests you.
TIP: If you are planning on purchasing a tourist attraction concession pass like the New York City Sightseeing Pass or New York Pass, keep in mind that they also include several boat cruises.
Be sure to read our post which compares the different tourist concession passes.
Chart Comparing Statue of Liberty Tours
This chart briefly compares some of the best tours of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island or both.
All of these tours are well-rated so you can expect an excellent experience from all of them.
The main differences here are in the duration and availability.
Tours run from 2 to 5 hours long. The longer the tour, the more you can expect to see and learn.
For more details or to purchase tickets, check our post covering Statue of Liberty Tours.
| Take Walks: Statue of Liberty Express Tour | Take Walks: Fully Guided Statue of Liberty Tour | Experience First: Statue of Liberty Express Tour | Experience First: Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour | |
| Price | $59/Adults (15+) $54/Children (2-14) | $69/Adults (15+) $64/Children (2-14) | $69/Adults (13+) $65/Children (4-12) | $79/Adults (13+) $75/Children (4-12) |
| Duration | 2 hours | 4 hours | 3 hours | 5 hours |
| Hours | 2 pm | 9 am and 3 pm | 9:30 am | 9 am |
| Availability | Wednesdays and Saturdays | Daily | Daily | Daily |
| Reviews | 5 stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor | 5 stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor | 5 stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor | 5 stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor |
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