Don’t Get Scammed Trying To Get To the Statue of Liberty

As a New Yorker who enthusiastically welcomes visitors to the city and also makes a living as a licensed tour guide, I’m frustrated and alarmed by the unscrupulous vendors who target tourists with various scams. 

Nowhere do you see this more than in Lower Manhattan as people head to the Statue of Liberty. And ongoing construction inside the park where you buy statue tickets and board the statue-bound ferries has made visitors even more vulnerable.

Here’s what you need to know about avoiding these scams so you can get to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island safely.

Only one authorized ferry to the Statue of Liberty 

The National Park Service oversees the Statue of Liberty National Monument, which encompasses Liberty Island and Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton National Monument. Castle Clinton is located in The Battery in Lower Manhattan and is also where you can find the box office to purchase ferry tickets to those islands.

The only ferry service authorized by the National Park Service to bring visitors to Liberty Island and Ellis Island is Statue City Cruises. No other vendor or service is allowed to transport you to either island. (When you buy a Statue of Liberty tour ticket from us, we include your ferry ticket as well as your local guide.) Any other ferry company claiming to take you to see the Statue of Liberty is misleading you. At best, that boat may pass near the island to give you a look from the water.

On a related note, you may have heard that taking the Staten Island Ferry is a way to see the Statue of Liberty for free. This is technically true — but only from a distance. The commuter ferry doesn’t actually go to Liberty Island itself or get very close to the statue at all.

Stay aware at The Battery

To board the ferry, you’ll need to go through The Battery, aka Battery Park, and either purchase tickets at Castle Clinton or go straight to the ferry security checkpoint if you’ve bought tickets in advance (like you can with us).

The trouble is, major construction at The Battery has created some challenges.

First, barricades and walls have shuttered several paths, complicating access to both Castle Clinton and the screening area to board the ferry. 

Secondly, that boarding zone is no longer adjacent to Castle Clinton — it’s now 300 yards south, near a restaurant called The View. The National Park Service has put up signs to help visitors, but the vendors are nonetheless exploiting the confusion. 

The video below shows how you should follow the signs to navigate around the barricades and reach Castle Clinton, where tickets to the ferry are sold. (This is also the meeting point for our tour. Your guide has your roundtrip ferry ticket, so no need to worry about that if you booked with us.)

There are plenty of signs to get you where you need to go. Just keep walking and ignore the scammers!

We’ve seen unscrupulous vendors doing several shady things, including:

• asking visitors if they need “tickets for the statue” and help getting there
• wearing lanyards and colored vests that make them look like official ferry ticket sellers
• pretending to have authority to direct pedestrian and vehicle traffic
• telling tourists that Castle Clinton is closed
• blocking access inside The Battery so that visitors can’t get to Castle Clinton
• telling people they need tickets to get into The Battery

All of these tactics can add to a visitor’s stress while trying to navigate a bustling and unfamiliar city. 

Even we New Yorkers can get overwhelmed when dealing with this. When the vendors approach me with their sales pitch, I wave my tour guide license and reply, “Do I look like I need tickets?” It gets old fast.

Tips to avoid getting scammed

Here are some helpful tips to avoid getting scammed as you plan your visit to the Statue of Liberty.

• Don’t buy any tickets from anyone on the street no matter what they tell you or how official they look. None of them sell tickets to the Statue of Liberty.
• If someone approaches you about tickets, either say you’re just exploring the park or that you already have tickets.
• If anyone other than staff from either Statue City Cruises or the National Park Service asks to “check your tickets,” ignore them — if you show them your tickets, they may try to claim the tix are fake. 
• Use a mobile app to navigate The Battery and follow official signage (shown above).
• If you need additional directions, ask a local, a police officer, or a parks employee. If you encounter an actual park ranger, chances are you’re in the right place.
• Buy ferry tickets either at Castle Clinton (the box office is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.), on the Statue City Cruises website, or from a reputable tour company that has plenty of verified reviews.

How tour operators help

Joining a tour can help provide guidance for your visit to the Statue of Liberty. Not only does your New York tour guide take care of getting your ferry tickets, join you on the ride over, and show you around Liberty Island once you arrive so you can learn all about the statue. We also send out information in advance to help you prepare for your visit.

We’ll cover what you need to look out for and give a clear meeting point so you can bypass all the scammers. No need to worry about getting tickets or the lines at Castle Clinton. Just head straight for your guide in the orange ExperienceFirst hat.

Our award-winning Statue of Liberty tours are led by top-rated expert guides and rated No. 1 on Tripadvisor from over 7,000 happy travelers.

However you choose to visit the Statue of Liberty, we hope you’ll see this incredible monument in person. Don’t let the hawkers and scammers ruffle you. You got this!