Took the ferry from Battery Park to Ellis Island this morning and took the 90-minute Hard Hat tour of the hospital. Both the museum and the 90-minute tour are worth the time. The Hard Hat tour - led by Melissa - was a fascinating introduction into the history of the Ellis Island facilities and hospital, progressing from its inception to very busy facility for evaluation and care of incoming immigrants, to a coast guard hospital to present day preservation efforts. A portion of your ticket price goes to the preservation efforts. Melissa was very knowledgeable, invited questions and told interesting stories about the site's uses and history and some of the people involved. Ticketing: One thing I was confused about was the timing of the tour in relation to the time I purchased the ticket for. When I purchased the ticket online, I "assumed" an 11:30 am tour ticket was for an 11:30 am tour. Nope. The 11:30 am is the time you need to be at Battery Park or Liberty Park to get on the ferry to Ellis Island. The tour can be up to 2-1/2 hours later. And we were told that we shouldn't arrive before 11:30 am, because we would not be allowed on an earlier ferry, even if we wanted to go to Liberty Island beforehand. (I got that express direction from the tour group as a response to my specific email question.). Anyway, we arrived at 11:00 am and got the 11:30 am ferry. At Ellis island a little after 12:15 pm, we were told our tour would be at 2:30 pm. We asked if we could be added to the 12:30 pm tour, and they agreed. So we were able to do that. I think the ticketing is confusing and the rules about taking an early ferry are awkward. Maybe it's during very heavy tourist season? But today I didn't see why we were told we couldn't take an earlier ferry. The 30 minute video in the museum is worth seeing. We grabbed something to eat at the museum after our Hard Hat tour My partner got a grilled chicken sandwich, which was quite good on a fresh bun. I ordered a side salad ($5) as an entree and it was quite large, fresh and tasty. read more

Ellis Island is a historic landmark, which was the primary immigration station for immigrants who came to the US from Europe. They processed over 12 million immigrants between 1892 to 1954. You have to purchase Ferry tickets with the Statue City Cruises to get onto the island. The museum on the island is free to enter and browse. During our visit, the Journeys: The People of America section was down for renovation so we did not get to explore that part. We explored the other 2 sections of the Ellis Island Experience and New Eras of Immigration. A blend of the old and the new, and the struggles and hardships immigrants face throughout the course of the US history. Pushes and pulls that drive immigration. If you're already paying for the ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty, I recommend you also make time to drop by Ellis Island. This experience on its' own un-rushed can take a good 2 hours. Especially for those who have relatives they might want to look up in the registry. read more

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Interesting and meaningful visit to Ellis Island. Took the ferry/shuttle from Liberty State Park in NJ and stopped at Ellis Island on the way to the Statue of Liberty. Really well done restoration of certain areas where immigrants entered the US. Lots of varied exhibits and captioned photos. Self guided audio tour. Could easily spend 3-4 hours here ... or longer. read more

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Take the tour. It is worth it. We had a college student who was majoring in history. She was full of knowledge about Ellis Island and the time it represents. I was lucky to get to ask so many questions to someone who knew the answers. read more

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Often referred to as "The Isle of Hope", this is a truly remarkable place to visit and learn about; the audio guides in particular augment the visual exhibits to communicate a fascinating picture of Ellis Island and it's rich history. One of the many facts I learned while visiting here is that if an immigrant needed to be held for a time before their processing was completed, the shipping company that provided their transport was required to pay for their food and board until processing was completed. At that time, if they needed to be returned to their point of origin, the shipping company would pay for that too. Most impressive to me is how efficiently so many tens of thousands of hopeful immigrants to the US were processed through the required medical and legal checks. Doubly impressive are the stories you'll hear about how compassionate the individual immigration officers were to the concerns and problems of the immigrants. The recent events in Washington make the professionalism and compassion that characterized the immigration officials at Ellis Island (when it was operating) seem especially relevant today. read more

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Ellis Island is one of the most popular destinations in the National Park Service, thanks in part to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. No trip to the Statue of Liberty is complete without visiting Ellis Island Even if you don't consider yourself a museum person, this is a place I'd recommend to anyone, especially if you've never been to Ellis Island before. Ellis Island explores the history of U.S. immigration, with a specific focus on the island as a national immigration center from 1892-1954 Behind the museum, you'll find the American Immigrant Wall of Honor. On this massive wall, you can find names of immigrants who came to the U.S. Alphabetically engraved on the wall are hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from various time periods. There is also a large grassy patch that provides the perfect spot to have a picnic with views of New York City and the Statue of Liberty. read more

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It was great, our server Tammy was great, the ribs,and chicken was outstanding! Our only issue was that we were a party of 5 and asked for separate checks one for 2 and one for the 3 of us. Eventually they did , but didn't understand why it was so difficult. read more

First stop on the way to the Statue of Liberty, and its a great destination. Multiple buildings that aren't accessible to the public other than the museum and plenty of space to walk around and explore. Some great views too. Going to the Statue of Liberty is more than just the Statue of Liberty. read more

Ellis Island - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

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No trip to Ellis Island is complete without the Hard Hat Tour offered by Save Ellis Island. I've taken this tour several times and each time I have learned something different. Most recently, I took a group from the National Park Traveler's club on the tour. Our group had a dedicated guide from Save Ellis Island. Save Ellis Island is the non-profit fundraising group seeking to restore or arrest the decay of Ellis Island's south side. They receive no federal money and depend on the income from the tours they conduct to fund the preservation. After donning our hardhats, we followed the guide first to the laundry room. He then led us through the Contagious Disease Hospital, sharing the history of Ellis Island. Along the way he pointed out interesting artifacts and the art installations by JR. Some of these have worn away since the last time I visited. I also noticed more of the windows were boarded up. The guide said this is to protect the old windows. Save Ellis Island hopes to restore all 29 historic buildings, but it is an uphill battle. Since my last visit, they completed the restoration of the Outdoor Recreation Pavilion, built in 1937. read more

Ellis Island - In the laundry room - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

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If you're visiting New York, Ellis Island is a MUST! The history came to life when taking the ferry over for an afternoon. Three floors with exhibits ranging from history of Ellis Island and the restoration after it closed in 1954 to immigration before Ellis island and after. There are audio tours available in many languages that help guests make the most of the museum. read more

Ellis Island - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

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I'm glad I finally had the chance to visit Ellis Island and only wish I'd been a little less tired from visiting the Statue of Liberty. If I could do it over again, I'd visit Ellis Island first. The restored immigrant clearance areas were well-done and interesting to wander through. What an incredible history we have as a country! read more

Ellis Island is part of Statue of Liberty National Monument and one of two stops when taking a Statue ferry. Ellis Island was an immigrant inspection and processing station from the 1890's to the 1950's. You can spend a better part of the day going through all the exhibits here. I have done the full audio tour on a couple of occasions. Tickets prices usually include both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island when you purchase them. The tour tells the stories of the millions of immigrants that passed through this facility trying to come to America. They went through a series of medical and mental inspections while being processed. Not all of them made it through and many were deported. I found the experience humbling as I read and listened to the stories from those that came all the way to America to live out their dreams. I have always loved how cultured New York City is. It is said that many people in the city can trace their family roots back to this facility. Ellis Island closed as an immigration facility in 1954. I highly recommend doing the audio tour if you have time while visiting here. read more

Ellis Island - Main Building - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

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While Ellis Island and the Ellis Island museum are both amazing, it's the Ellis Island hard hat tours, organized and run by the Save Ellis Island Foundation, that are the most amazing. The hard hat tours are more exclusive, limited in number, but more expensive. Two tickets (for me and my friend) were 150.00. Please keep in mind that your security times and tour times are different. Our tour was at 11:30, but our security time was at 9 AM. We showed up about 10 minutes early and waited in line, but it moved fast (my first two tours had no wait time, as it was before tourism picked back up in NYC). We arrived on Ellis Island with about 45 minutes to an hour before our tour. We grabbed snacks and drinks, and that's about all we had time for. I have gone three times--once alone in 2021, with my husband in 2022, and with a friend just recently in 2024. Each time, I've seen and learned different things. The first time I visited, I saw many of the art installations by French artist, JR. On my second visit, I saw different art installations by JR, while also getting to view the psych hospital. On my third visit, I got to see the TB ward. Each tour guide was interesting and engaging without talking too fast or too much. No info overload here. The tour was relaxed, and you could tell each guide held passion for preserving this forgotten part of Ellis Island. You'll learn about the immigrants who didn't pass immediately into America. The sick, the disabled. Those who really didn't have anything wrong with them, but physicians who believed in eugenics sent them to the psych ward anyway. Because this part of Ellis Island is not being restored, rather than placed in "arrested decay," the parts of the hospital campus you'll be able to see will be based on whatever is being worked on and whatever has been recently stabilized. This is why I've managed to see and learn new things each time I've visited. All of the funds from your ticket price got to "Save Ellis Island," the non-profit in charge of this endeavor. They don't get any funds from the government or National Park Service. You won't regret ponying up a few extra bucks for this special experience. And even doing it again and again! read more

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Visiting here was an amazing and humbling experience. As a descendent of immigrants (some of who came through here), my wife and I loved touring every aspect of Ellis Island, from seeing just how the evaluation process occurred once they got here to learning more about the people who risked everything on the American Dream. The facility is quite large and it has numerous exhibits to view. We came here after touring The Statue of Liberty and it was an amazing day filled with American History. It takes more guts than you can ever imagine to leave everything you know and hope things will work out in a distance and unfamiliar land. We are both so grateful to our ancestors and this place for helping them accomplish that dream. read more

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From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 million immigrants went through here hoping to be let into the US. Today it is said that nearly 40% of the population can trace a root back through here. That seems very high to me, but it certainly is plausible. The registration room is a must-see, but a visit certainly doesn't end there. There are displays in the various rooms past registration and all of this is free for access after arriving at the island. There are audio tours available and one of the most interesting add-on options is the hard hat tour that takes you into spaces that have not been renovated for public access yet. The research area has a cost associated with it. You can bypass that fee if you sit down at home, but you still need to pay for any of the files you want to have copies of. Unless I am wrong there are no digital downloads which really turns me off. However, you can "work around" that through ancestry dot com if you really want to get into filling out your family tree with as much information as possible. Lines for the ferries can be long. I have no idea what the secret is to avoiding that fact. I have been on the past two visits here. Going during the week is probably a better bet than on the weekends. read more

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Gayle and I recently visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on the same boat ticket. Known as the National Immigration Museum, this historical place really did bring that experience to life, starting at the Great Hall and proceeding through what came next. Gayle and I were impressed with the architecture, the ongoing restoration work on the Island, and the professional exhibits. A separate one that covered the politics of immigration was especially poignant. Ellis Island is layered enough that you could spend the whole day here, or just a few hours. And if you're hungry in the middle of all this, the cafeteria was OK, with the outdoor seating being even better. Gayle was able to look at the records here and find information on family members who came through Ellis Island. My family history took another path (at least what I know), but I did find that there is more than 1 Eric Brink out there. read more

Ellis Island - Another Eric Brink! - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

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I lost my phone on Ellis island. 2 Days later someone turned it in and officer Quadrillo of the national Police called me and said that he would send it on the ferry back to the mainland. Once officer Pitt had the phone he called me and told me how I could pick it up. These two officers could not have been more helpful. I'm extremely grateful to have my phone back! read more

Outstanding self guided tour from Jersey City. Short ferry ride Friendly staff The tour includes a radio that provides history and information about each room and office. 5 stars all the way. read more

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An absolute must stop after visiting the Statue of Liberty. It is incredible to see the place that millions of immigrants crossed through while coming to America and learn all about its history and culture. We could've spend more time here than at Liberty Island, hands down. The best activity we did on Ellis Island was the Hard Hat Tour of the old hospital. It was a 90 minute tour and cost about $80/person - 100% worth it. The tour took us through multiple different wards in the hospital - contagious disease, hospice, morgue, and our tour guide was wonderful (I wish I remembered her name!). She explained in depth many of the areas and gave so much history to what it was liking going through Ellis Island (and in some cases, living on Ellis Island). If you have the time and the money, this should be a must on your list. They also have an area where you can rent computers and look for ancestors who might have come through Ellis Island. It cost around $10/30 minutes and was time well-spent looking for my ancestors. I wish we had planned more time for Ellis Island because there was an entire museum we didn't have time to visit. So if you're wondering on if you should stop, do it. And plan ample time to enjoy all it had to offer. read more

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The island is not accessible to general public via roadway. All visitors come thru ferries when visiting Statue of Liberty. Other than the museum on the island, rest of the island is not so exciting. Some of the old buildings have been scraped, some are used for official purpose. The island is not maintained that well, lots of bush and long grasses all around. It better just to stick around and in the Immigration museum on the island. read more

I have to be honest, I wasn't super excited about this ferry stop, but everyone said it was a must see. Well, my perception quickly changed. They have done such a great job on this place and the history is fascinating! We paid extra to use the database and search for relatives in their archives. Even I, a skeptic at first, found myself geeking out over all of it. I highly recommend this stop! read more

Ellis Island - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

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Ellis Island is an American treasure and I highly recommend the Hard Hat tour. If you are in the Big Apple, simply jump on the ferry and visit a piece of America's past read more

We visited on the 100th anniversary of my husband's grandparent's arrival to Ellis Island. There is so much information available to learn, and the history is fascinating. Their names on the Wall of Honor were easy to find, as the museum has a database on site that was very user friendly. We were able to walk right to their names and make etchings of them. Beautiful memorial. Worth the trip. Great way to teach your kids! Special shout out to my favorite Ranger, Sam. He was knowledgeable and fun to talk to. THANKS SAM!! read more

Ellis Island - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

This is what we were excited for on the cruise! We had a few family members come though Ellis Island so this spot has a little bit more meaning to us. While the information on your ancestors is accessible online at no fee to you, you do have to pay by the hour to use the computers. It is $10 to use them for an hour. If you want to print it out there you also have to pay per printout. We found that most of our ancestors information was east to access but a few of the manifest attached to some people didn't actually list their names. Not sure if that was an error in the info or error in the original manifest log keeping. But generally it was all there! read more

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Ellis Island is an island out in New York Harbor that was the offices that processed incoming immigrants back in the 1890s til roughly the 1950s. They do guided tours of the island now for your enjoyment read more

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The Ellis Island Museum itself is amazing. Unfortunately, standing and waiting for the ferry 2.5 hours in the hot blazing sun ruined the experience. A big thumbs down to the folks responsible for running the ferry. They need to have more boats running during peak summer months. I disagree with one of the boat crew who claimed that the 2.5 hour wait is part of the tour experience. I'm surprised that the elderly didn't pass out since there was no awning or shade for folks waiting in line. Need to do better Mr and Ms Park Ranger and the City Cruise folks. read more

This is the second stop when taking the ferry from Statue of Liberty. The national museum is a good historical location. There is an included self guided audio tour which gives lots of facts and gives you a sense of how it was like when immigrants got to NYC. You can search the passenger log and to our surprise we were able to find some members of my boyfriend's family. You can spend most of the day here as it's a large building. read more

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Ellis Island is a National Park or Government Island. Here you will find the National Immigration Museum and a bunch of Government Buildings. If you took the Statue Cruise to see the Statue of Liberty than the second stop is Ellis Island before heading back to New Jersey or Manhattan. If you pay extra you can do the Hard Hat Tour of Ellis Island. I opted out of that tour because it was a bit pricy also because I was only spending a week in NYC, I wanted to make good use of my time. It is definitely worth a visit when you are in NYC. Lots of history here. read more

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Amazing history and a walk through time. Beautiful stunning architecture that surrounded me Everywhere read more

Ellis Island - Museums Near Me - New York, New York

I mean, have too, it's part of me! life, liberty and the rite to freedom. all that and a bag of gift shop chips! i mean who would have thought the kids would have also enjoyed this trip? ok, they were promised treats and all, but it was pretty fascinating to say the least. you owe it to yourself to visit at least once, just know, its a federal situation, so proceed accordingly, no missiles on the ferry. america, america..... read more

After taking the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, we traveled to Ellis Island. I thought we would be there for 30 minutes. In particular, they were captivated by the Through America's Gate exhibit on the second floor. It showed via photos and artifacts the step-by-step process that immigrants were taken through to qualify for citizenship or be deemed an "undesirable alien" and face deportation. This included a medical examination, legal examination, and potentially a hearing of special inquiry. The exhibit highlighted the living conditions and the raw emotions of the immigrants in a very vulnerable time of their lives. The teens also enjoyed the Research Center where we found the immigration records for a great-grandfather who landed on Ellis Island in 1914. Ellis Island captures the beautiful diversity of ethnicity and culture of immigrants entering NY whilst also acknowledging mistakes of the past. A must see. read more

One of my favorite parts of the trip so far. I loved all the history from stepping foot on the island to being inside and seeing the large hall where all the immigrants waited. Tons of artifacts and stories and the audio guide through each room was very helpful. Clean grounds and has been restored beautifully. read more

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Ellis island is a great glimpse of what pur ancestors and immigrants, had to endure and the long grueling process of trying to enter America and even then it was no guarantee. There is 3 floors of so much history and you kind of get to relive what every immigrant had to do. Give yourself at the very least 3 to 4 hours to do this whole thing if you chose to get an audio guide from the first floor. If you don't use it then of course it will take less time! But u highly encourage you to use the audio. So much information!! read more

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When you purchase tickets to see the Statue of Liberty, a trip to Ellis Island is also included. The place itself is only able to be reached by ferry. You essentially go in between ferries to go to where you need to go. It definitely is different from the rest of New York in that regard, especially in comparison to New York City where it seems everything is connected. There's a museum on Ellis Island (to be reviewed separately) and in general is what gives you the background as to this location's historical significance. read more

We decided to follow the advice of other helpers and before our NYC trip we booked a hard hat tour of Ellis Island. Yes we had a lovely day and went to Statue of Liberty first. The ferry stops there first and the views were amazing but Ellis Island was an amazing tour. Both the Statue and Ellis Island include audio tours with your tickets. Please be careful of people trying to have you hire or buy really expensive tours in Battery Park, get your tickets straight from the source. The included audio tour was so informative, I wish we had more time for it. We had a time certain for our hard hat tour of the in-renovated side. After we signed the waivers we joined our group of 15 people past the crowds to the non-public areas. These tours are run by the Save Ellis Island non-profit and and led by a docent. We had to wear hard hats and needed sturdy closed toe shoes. If you are interested in an old hospital or amazing art by JR than I recommend this tour. Here is the article about the art. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/arts/design/jr-brings-ellis-islands-abandoned-hospital-to-life.amp.html read more

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This was absolutely my favorite part of our Statue of Liberty experience. I strongly recommend exploring Ellis Island before you head to Liberty Island even if the ferry drops you off the LI first. I opted to purchase the hard hat tour ticket which allowed me to explore the full Island (under supervision). There is just more to see here! The part of the Island that is open to everyone is the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. I suggest planning for at least two hours to explore all three levels of the museum. I really don't know much about my ancestry and if I have family who immigrated through Ellis Island. I imagine this experience would be even more special for someone who does. Even without known direct ties, it was still amazing to explore. The hard hat tour provided a 90 minute tour of the old Ellis Island Hospital. I highly recommend spending the extra time and money for this experience. Part of me expected it to be a little "ghost tour" like, but I was actually surprised to hear stories about how much the staff loved and connected with their patients. While there were definitely a few stories of questionable practices, most of it was just because we just didn't know any better at that point in history. The cool part is that the proceeds from the tour go back to the restoration efforts of Ellis Island. Most of what we saw was just cleaned of debris not staged or attempted to be physically restored. There were multiple buildings, wings, and rooms that were inaccessible after years of abandonment. The fabulous people at the Ellis Island Foundation are working hard to preserve the history and to protect the buildings from further deterioration. After doing the 1:30 hard hat tour, we only had enough time to walk through the museum to connect the dots with the new information we learned on the tour. I hope to go back to spend more time at the museum, but the hard hat tour was worth the time sacrifice. Worth a visit! read more

Nothing I can say about Ellis Island and the Immigration Museum that hasn't been said ad nauseam and more eloquently in previous reviews. If you have no personal connection to Ellis Island, it's an amazing visit and well worth the price of admission. Add in the hard hat tour, and it's even more so. If you DO have a personal/family connection to Ellis Island, it's an invaluable experience that you couldn't possibly put a price tag on. An absolute can't miss if you're in NYC or Newark. read more

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Ellis Island was a need-to-see on my list of things to do in New York. I purchased tickets from www.statueoflibertytickets.com, and bought the Hard Hat Tour of Ellis Island tickets. After completing our time at the Statue of Liberty, we boarded the boat to get over to Ellis Island. It was a very short ride. Once on Ellis Island, there is The National Immigration Museum. There are some artifacts to look at and plenty of interesting exhibits to look at. Immigration is a huge part of our history, so getting to see that was cool. The Hard Hat Tour includes a guided 90-minute tour that takes you to select areas of the 750-bed Ellis Island Hospital, including infectious and contagious disease wards, kitchen, the mortuary, and the autopsy room. The price was $75.50 plus tax stuff. BUT - OMG. The Hat Hat Tour was really special. There were only about 20ish people in our group. There are some fascinating, blown-up portraits of former folks who were on Ellis Island. Seeing where they were made it feel much more real. The buildings themselves are intense, once you realize all the history that is held within them. There is a spot where you can see the Statue of Liberty. The guide we had was very peppy and fun. She made our tour more engaging because she was enthralled to explain so many historical things to our group. Same with the Statue of Liberty, while I thoroughly enjoyed my time on Ellis Island, once was good for me. I will treasure the time I spent on the Island. 8/10 recommend read more

What an amazing little piece of history! Best known for its' historical Immigration museum, Ellis Island was once the former inspection grounds for a multitude of immigrants dating back to the late 1800's. It's said that over 12 million immigrants passed through this island before being sent to other parts of the state or deported back to their countries. Most notable on the island are the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital, and the Ferry Building. Today, these buildings are open to the public and operate as informational museums. Boat tours are available to escort you to and from the Island during your visit. I didn't get a chance to tour the Immigration hospital since this requires a prior reservation to do so. However, I did explore the Ellis Island Immigration Museum which was most touching. If you're planning to visit Lady Liberty or NYC in general, I would highly recommend a visit to this museum. It contains vital information about immigration between the late 1800's to the mid 1900's. The views from the island are simply breathtaking. You'll have great views of Lady Liberty in the distance along with beautiful views of the Upper New York Bay and the New York City Skyline. It was truly an amazing experience to visit this island. If visiting New York, you must place a visit to the island on your to-do list. read more

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After reading about this place in history books, getting to finally visit it felt surreal. The exhibits are very informative and there's tons of relics they managed to preserve from the original Ellis Island as well. This is where the ferry stops after the Statue of Liberty (definitely get the ticket to check out the statue because it's totally worth it) before heading back to NYC. The building looks gorgeous from the outside! The models on the third floor (I think) that showed how the island evolved from just one building to multiple buildings all over the island are pretty neat. read more

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