Ellis Island / Taxi Question

[lucyd]

I posted at the beginning of the year regarding a trip to Ellis Island in during our first trip to NY in October. We will be staying in Manhattan. My companion is 80 years old and although Ellis Island is on her bucket list it seems as if the trip would be quite challenging.

 

I can not see us navigating the subway (especially at morning rush hour) so we would most likely need a taxi from the Manhattan/Central Park Courtyard to the Ferry.

 

Does anyone know how long this would take or how expensive this would be?

 

If we arrived for the first morning ferry to Ellis Island (Tues or Wed) - would there still be a lengthy wait in line for tickets/boarding? We do not plan on touring the Statue of Liberty but will save our energy for Ellis.

 

Lastly - a few very basic questions - how to we get a taxi for the trip to the Ferry or the return trip back to the Manhattan Hotel. I have seen many posts indicating the importance of using an "official" cab. How do we know which are official taxis and would we call a cab company from the ferry or would there be taxis waiting outside the hotel/ferry (again, how would we know which cab company to use).

[lenquixote66]

I posted at the beginning of the year regarding a trip to Ellis Island in during our first trip to NY in October. We will be staying in Manhattan. My companion is 80 years old and although Ellis Island is on her bucket list it seems as if the trip would be quite challenging.

 

I can not see us navigating the subway (especially at morning rush hour) so we would most likely need a taxi from the Manhattan/Central Park Courtyard to the Ferry.

 

Does anyone know how long this would take or how expensive this would be?

 

If we arrived for the first morning ferry to Ellis Island (Tues or Wed) - would there still be a lengthy wait in line for tickets/boarding? We do not plan on touring the Statue of Liberty but will save our energy for Ellis.

 

Lastly - a few very basic questions - how to we get a taxi for the trip to the Ferry or the return trip back to the Manhattan Hotel. I have seen many posts indicating the importance of using an "official" cab. How do we know which are official taxis and would we call a cab company from the ferry or would there be taxis waiting outside the hotel/ferry (again, how would we know which cab company to use).

 

Try calling NYC Tourist Information .They should be able to answer all your questions.

[138east]

I posted at the beginning of the year regarding a trip to Ellis Island in during our first trip to NY in October. We will be staying in Manhattan. My companion is 80 years old and although Ellis Island is on her bucket list it seems as if the trip would be quite challenging.

 

I can not see us navigating the subway (especially at morning rush hour) so we would most likely need a taxi from the Manhattan/Central Park Courtyard to the Ferry.

 

Does anyone know how long this would take or how expensive this would be?

 

If we arrived for the first morning ferry to Ellis Island (Tues or Wed) - would there still be a lengthy wait in line for tickets/boarding? We do not plan on touring the Statue of Liberty but will save our energy for Ellis.

 

Lastly - a few very basic questions - how to we get a taxi for the trip to the Ferry or the return trip back to the Manhattan Hotel. I have seen many posts indicating the importance of using an "official" cab. How do we know which are official taxis and would we call a cab company from the ferry or would there be taxis waiting outside the hotel/ferry (again, how would we know which cab company to use).

 

Could you give us a realistic appraisal of your companion's walking capabilities? At Battery Park it's about a 3-4 block walk from the street into Battery Park to the ferry pier. You can't get dropped off by a cab right in front of the SOL/Ellis Island ferry.

 

You can prepurchase timed tickets so you can bypass the ticket lines. You might want to go later in the morning to avoid rush hour traffic. There should be yellow cabs waiting in front of the Staten Island Ferry when you return. Uber would be an option for this trip as well.

[Noxequifans]

Licensed taxi cabs in NYC are recognizable by their yellow color. The doorman of your hotel can help you hail one.

 

There are also licensed car services sometimes called black car services ..... Dial 7 and Carmel are popular. They are arranged by calling ahead of time.

 

There is also Uber and others which I can't comment on as I never use them.

[mjkacmom]

You will save time and money not trying to going 6 miles downtown during rush hour. Buy your tickets in advance.