The Statue of Liberty is America’s most famous landmark. A universal symbol of freedom, hope, and democracy, she stands proudly in New York Harbor greeting anyone arriving by boat.
We offer two Statue of Liberty Boat Tours: Our ‘Adventure Sightseeing Tour’, and our 'Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge Speedboat Tour’ stop right in front of the Statue so you can take the best photos and selfies with her.
Why is it best to take photos from our boat rather than going on the island? Because our captains stop the boat at a perfect distance, with photography in mind. If you’re on Liberty Island you’re looking up at her and she seems distorted by the steep viewing angle. From Manhattan she’s too far away to get a good view. Our captains position our boats for a few minutes just outside the security zone and make sure everyone aboard has the opportunity to get great photos. She faces south-east and the best lighting on her face is before 1pm. In the afternoon she’s backlit by the sun, making for great silhouette pictures. From the Statue we’ll then head towards Ellis Island retracing the route the immigrants took arriving America from Europe.
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France and opened in 1886 to the public. She was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and is clad in copper. Her torch reaches 305 feet into the sky and the tablet in her left hand reads the date of the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence. Seven spikes on her crown represent the seven seas and seven continents. Gustave Eiffel - the same guy who built some tower in Paris - designed the interior steel structure and she was shipped to America in many crates and assembled on site. The copper comes from a Norwegian mine, located in the town of Visnes in the southern part of Norway. We didn’t know this until we had passengers from that town aboard who told us about it and we thought that was a pretty cool so and we’ve added it to our narration. The pedestal, which she stands on, was funded by an early crowdsourcing initiative and is the same height as the statue itself.
The Statue of Liberty sure is a bucket-list item. If you like to go onto the island and inside her, you must take the large white ferries operated by Statue Cruises, that depart Battery Park on the very southern point of Manhattan. You should allow at least six hours for a visit. First you must go through airport-style security screening, then wait with hundreds of people in lines to board the ferries to the island, and again on the return trip. We keep hearing from our passengers that they much prefer viewing her from our boats as part of our tour, and have received many holiday cards from past passengers, stating it was the highlight of their trip to New York.
Check out our Photo Gallery of pictures we’ve taken of Lady Liberty, under brilliant sunsets and moon rises. And we hope to welcome you and your friends and family aboard!
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