Islands of the New York City

New York City is built on islands. Manhattan and Staten Island are islands, Brooklyn and Queens sit on the western end of Long Island, and only the Bronx is attached to the North American mainland. Beyond those, the city's waters hold dozens of smaller islands, and a handful of them are open to visitors: Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Governors Island, Roosevelt Island and City Island are the best known, and each one shows a side of New York that the Midtown streets do not.

For the full overview, read our guide to the most famous landmarks in the USA.

This guide covers the islands of New York City you can actually visit, how to reach each one by ferry, tram, bus or subway, how much time to give it and what to do once you are there. It also explains which islands are closed to the public and why, so you do not plan a day around somewhere you cannot land. For the city's headline sights on land, see our guide to the top attractions in New York.

The short version

The cheapest skyline view in the city is the Roosevelt Island Tramway, for a standard subway fare, and the Staten Island Ferry has been free for passengers since 1997. One ferry ticket covers both Liberty and Ellis islands. Governors Island, a short ferry from Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn, is a car-free park, and City Island in the Bronx is where New Yorkers go for seafood. Ferries and outdoor time are best from late spring to early autumn. To enter the US, Visa Waiver Program nationals need an ESTA and others a visitor visa.

How many islands are in New York City

New York City has around 36 islands within its borders, ranging from Manhattan itself to small rocky islets in Jamaica Bay, the East River and Long Island Sound. Most of the small ones are bird sanctuaries, infrastructure sites or closed to the public.

That geography explains the city's bridges, tunnels and ferries. Almost every trip between boroughs, except to and from the Bronx, crosses water. For visitors this is good news: some of the best skyline views come from ferry decks, a cable car and island shorelines, and several of them cost little or nothing.

Islands of New York City you can visit

Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty

Liberty Island is the small island in New York Harbor that holds the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France dedicated on 28 October 1886. It can be reached only by the official Statue City Cruises ferry, which leaves from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. The National Park Service names Statue City Cruises as the only authorised ticket seller, so tickets from street sellers around Battery Park are for harbour cruises that do not land.

On the island you can walk around the base, visit the Statue of Liberty Museum and, with the right advance ticket, enter the pedestal or climb to the crown. Crown access is limited, sells out months ahead in summer and involves a climb of 162 steps from the statue's feet with no lift, so book pedestal or crown tickets well ahead. Security screening at the ferry is airport-style: arrive early, pack light and leave large bags at your hotel. First-time visitors should take the first ferry of the day and allow two to three hours on the island.

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Ellis Island and the immigration museum

The second stop on the same ferry, and included in the same ticket, is Ellis Island. The immigration station opened in 1892 and closed in 1954, and around 12 million immigrants passed through it in those years. The main building now houses the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.

The Great Hall, where arrivals waited for medical and legal inspections, is the centre of the visit. Exhibits explain who came, why they left home and what happened to those who were turned back, and the family history centre lets visitors search passenger records, which makes this the stop for anyone with immigrant family history. Allow at least two hours. Many people rush Ellis Island after a long morning on Liberty Island and later wish they had given it more time, so consider doing Ellis first if your ferry route allows it.

Governors Island for parks and harbour views

For about two centuries Governors Island was a military post. Today it is a car-free park a short ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, with lawns, hammocks, art installations and some of the best views of the Statue of Liberty in the city. Ferries run from the Battery Maritime Building next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Give it half a day. Walk or rent a bike, climb Outlook Hill for a view across the harbour, and explore Fort Jay and Castle Williams, both built in the early 1800s to defend the harbour. Families, cyclists and picnickers fill it on summer weekends, when food vendors, festivals and events take over the lawns; a weekday visit is much calmer.

Roosevelt Island and the tramway

About two miles long, Roosevelt Island is a narrow strip of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. The best way to arrive is the Roosevelt Island Tramway, an aerial cable car from 59th Street and Second Avenue that costs the same as a subway ride and accepts MetroCard and OMNY tap-to-pay. Cars run every few minutes, and the ride glides beside the Queensboro Bridge with Midtown towers on one side. Budget travellers and photographers get the most from it.

On the island, walk south to Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park at the southern tip, a free memorial designed by the architect Louis Kahn in the 1970s and finally completed in 2012, decades after his death. Nearby stand the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital. Cherry trees bloom along the island's west side in spring. Allow two to three hours, and return by the F train if you want to compare the two routes.

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City Island in the Bronx for seafood

A bridge links City Island, a small island in the Bronx, to the mainland. It feels like a New England fishing village, with a single main street lined with seafood restaurants, boatyards and small shops, and it makes a local-feeling half day away from Manhattan. Take the 6 train to its last stop at Pelham Bay Park, then the Bx29 bus over the bridge.

Johnny's Reef and Tony's Pier at the southern tip serve fried shrimp and clams at outdoor tables facing Long Island Sound. Nearby Pelham Bay Park, the largest park in New York City, has Orchard Beach and waterside trails, so you can combine a walk with a seafood lunch. Summer weekends are lively; outside the warm months, some restaurants keep shorter hours.

Staten Island and the free ferry

The city's most suburban borough is reached by one of the best bargains in New York: the Staten Island Ferry, free for passengers since 1997. The 25-minute ride from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan passes the Statue of Liberty (sit on the right side going out) and gives a postcard view of the downtown skyline. Ferries run around the clock, and sunset is the time to go.

On the island, Snug Harbor Cultural Center has a Chinese scholar's garden and historic buildings, and Historic Richmond Town shows village life from earlier centuries. Many visitors simply ride over and back in about an hour, which is fine, though you do have to leave the boat at St. George and re-board.

The crossing covers 5.2 miles (8.4 km). Boats leave every 15 to 20 minutes at rush hour and every 30 minutes at other times, including overnight and at weekends. Bicycles ride free: both terminals have a ground-level bike entrance, and you walk the bike on and off. At St. George the terminal connects with the Staten Island Railway and with the NYC Ferry St. George route, an alternative way back to Manhattan.

Other islands of New York City worth knowing

Randall's and Wards Islands, long since joined into one under the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, have sports fields and a waterfront path you can reach on foot from East Harlem, popular with runners and cyclists.

Hart Island has been the city's public cemetery since 1869. More than a million people are buried on its roughly 131 acres, and the Parks Department took full control from the Department of Correction in July 2021. NYC Parks now runs free public visits with advance registration for anyone interested in the city's social history; visitor numbers on each trip are capped, so register well ahead.

Broad Channel is the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay, and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge nearby is a major stop for migrating birds, which brings birdwatchers. North Brother Island, abandoned since the 1960s, is now a protected bird sanctuary. It cannot be visited, but you see it from boats and the Bronx shore.

A one-day island-hopping plan for New York

You can see four New York City islands in one day: Liberty and Ellis Islands in the morning by ferry from Battery Park, Governors Island in the afternoon from the Battery Maritime Building, and a 6 p.m. round trip on the Staten Island Ferry for the skyline in evening light. The Roosevelt Island Tramway after dark is an optional finish.

One day, four islands

• 8:30 a.m., Liberty and Ellis Islands: Take an early ferry from Battery Park. Two hours on Liberty Island, two on Ellis Island.
• 1:30 p.m., Lunch in Lower Manhattan: Back at Battery Park, eat near the Financial District or Stone Street.
• 3 p.m., Governors Island: Ferry from the Battery Maritime Building for a walk and the harbour views from Outlook Hill. The Hills, opened in 2016, top out at Outlook Hill, 70 feet (21 m) high, and the island has stayed open year-round since 2021.
• 6 p.m., Staten Island Ferry: Ride over and back from Whitehall Terminal for the skyline in evening light. Outside rush hour boats leave every 30 minutes, so check the next departure before you head over.
• Evening, Roosevelt Island Tramway: Optional: cross Midtown and ride the tram after dark for the city lights. The Manhattan station is on Second Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets. The ride takes three to four minutes, costs the standard $3.00 fare by OMNY or MetroCard, and runs every 7.5 minutes at rush hour and every 15 minutes otherwise.

Where to stay for an island-focused New York trip

For an island-focused trip, stay near the southern tip of Manhattan, because the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferries, the Governors Island ferry and the Staten Island Ferry all leave from there. The Financial District and Battery Park City are the closest bases; Long Island City and Downtown Brooklyn are the easier places to find hostels and simple hotels.

Budget

Hostels and simple hotels are easiest to find in Long Island City in Queens, one stop from Manhattan, on the Upper West Side and in Downtown Brooklyn near the ferries. Check the total price including taxes.

Mid-range

For 3 and 4-star hotels, look in the Financial District, a short walk to Battery Park, in Midtown East near the Roosevelt Island Tramway, or in Brooklyn Heights for Governors Island ferries. Weekend rates downtown are often lower.

Luxury

Five-star and harbour-view rooms are in Battery Park City, in Midtown towers with river views and in the waterfront hotels of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Book well ahead for summer and December.

Choose the base by the boats you will use most. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferries, the Governors Island ferry and the Staten Island Ferry all leave from the southern tip of Manhattan, and Whitehall Terminal connects with the subway at South Ferry and Bowling Green, so a Financial District or Battery Park City hotel removes the morning commute on your island day. If Roosevelt Island is the priority, the tram station on Second Avenue at 59th and 60th Streets is a short walk from most Midtown East hotels.

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Tips for visiting the islands of New York City

Buy Liberty and Ellis tickets only from Statue City Cruises, the one authorised seller; street sellers usually offer cruises that do not land. Airport-style security applies at the Liberty ferry and large bags are not allowed on the islands, so travel light.

Tap a contactless card or phone (OMNY) for the subway, bus and the Roosevelt Island Tramway. Ferries and island facilities run reduced schedules in winter, so check the operator before you go, and ride the Staten Island Ferry near sunset for the best skyline light.

Sort entry early. Most visitors need either an approved ESTA (Visa Waiver Program nationals) or a US visitor visa. Read our visa section and the United States page.

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