Private Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour

A private tour of New York’s two most iconic landmarks
When
Multiple times daily
Duration
5 hours (3.5 hours guided)

Highlights

  • Experience two of New York’s best attractions with a private guide for just your group.
  • Save time with your no-wait roundtrip tickets for the ferry.
  • Learn about America’s heritage at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, audio guide included.
  • Browse the exhibits at the Statue of Liberty Museum to discover more about this famous sculpture.
  • Capture some of the best photos of the New York skyline from the ferry.
  • Take advantage of your time with your local guide to get insider tips for the rest of your visit to NYC.

What you'll do

Explore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on a private tour designed to make the most of every moment. With reserved-time ferry tickets and a thoughtfully planned itinerary led by your expert guide, you’ll won’t miss a thing at two of New York’s most iconic landmarks.

Meet your guide at Castle Clinton and board the ferry to Liberty Island with early reserve line access. On the ride over, you’ll hear the surprising history behind the statue — stories most visitors never learn. Once on Liberty Island, your private guide walks you through the grounds and highlights what’s worth seeing, including the Statue of Liberty Museum and its exhibits on the monument and the original torch.

From there, hop back on the ferry and cruise over to Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants arrived between 1892 and 1954. Your guide will point out key sites on the grounds, including the American Immigrant Wall of Honor, and give you a preview of the Ellis Island National Immigration Museum so you know exactly what to look for when you explore it on your own.

Stay as long as you’d like on Ellis Island before catching the ferry back to Battery Park.

Note: This private tour is available for 1–8 guests, with the best per-person rate available for groups of 8.

Itinerary

  • Castle Clinton

    The former American immigration station in Battery Park, where you’ll meet your private tour guide
  • Statue of Liberty

    Including access to the Statue of Liberty Museum
  • Ellis Island

    With a guided tour of the island, including the American Immigrant Wall of Honor
  • Ellis Island Immigration Museum

    Cultural exhibits about the immigrants who passed through here on their journey to America

Reviews

Outstanding experience

The total experience was outstanding from pickup to drop off. Jay our private guide was very knowledgeable experienced and helpful. We learned amazing facts about the statue of Liberty

Had a great time with Team James!

James was our tour guide. He did an amazing job, he was personable, funny, knowledgeable about the history of the Statue & Ellis Island and shared the information in an interesting and witty manner. Loved the whole tour! Definitely worth going, ask for James!!

— Elaine

Liz is the best!

Liz was amazing! Very detailed in her knowledge. She was warm and inviting to all and had a great since of humor and took great pride in her service! I would highly recommend!!!

— Alice

Amazing experience with the best guide

The tour was really amazing and Jay has been a passionate and very knowledgeable guide. Worth a 1000% what you pay for it.

Best experience with this tour

This is the way to go, especially your first time! Tour guide Owen was so knowledgeable and so energetic about it as well. We would have never gotten the extras in this experience if we had not taken this tour! Recommend highly, especially for first timers!

— Beth

Great tour at Statue of Liberty

Tour was great ! Chris was great! Very knowledgeable and informing ! Me and wife had a blast learning all about the statue and Ellis island .

— Ronnie

The Lady and James

James was our tour guide and was EXCELLENT in providing both knowledge of the tour along with levity to make the tour fun!!! I would Highly recommend the tour and ask for James…if you can. He’s a wealth of information and experience of the city as a whole

Incredible Cris

Guide is amazing, really interesting.. he knew a lot of facts of both islands and we enjoy it very well asnonmersive experience

— Ignacio

Great tour

James was an amazing guide and funny which makes any tour better. He also told us about good restaurants to visit. Would do other tours with him if we come back to NY.

Great guide for the Statue of Liberty

Our tour guide Owen was really wonderful! We had a great day and particularly enjoyed the Ellis Island museum. It was a little chilly in January but otherwise was totally worth it.

— Brittany

Thanks Chris Lee!

Chris Lee was awesome! Thank you for a great experience! Educational tour, knowledgeable, helpful and gave great recommendations!

10/10 thanks to Chris Lee!

Chris Lee was AMAZING!!! We had the best time. Well worth the money!! Chris did an amazing job teaching us and making it fun and entertaining!! 10/10!

Sisters birthday trip to NYC

Joseph was a great tour guide and really brought the experience to life. We had a wonderful time despite the bitter cold and learned a lot in the process.

— Vickey

Great tour and guide

The tour was truly exceptional. Jim our tour guide was very knowledgeable and delivered the tour with ease. He injected just the right amount of fun and small talk around his tour making it it a pleasure to experience

Well worth it!

Great experience! And Tony was very knowledgeable. I would recommend this tour to anyone who Loves history. I would come back and bring my wife and two teenage kids.

Amazing tour with a fantastic history lesson!

Our tour guide Jason was amazing! Super knowledgeable as a native New Yorker and hilarious as well. Made the tour so exciting! Would recommend 10/10!!

Chris

Our guide was Christopher and let me tell you. His energy was very good, funny, welcoming and knowledgeable. He explained site details and answered any questions about the tour and local attractions. I will definitely recommend this tour especially is Chris is your guide.

What's included

  • A private guided tour of Liberty Island
  • Round-trip, timed-entry ferry tickets
  • Access to the Statue of Liberty Museum
  • Private guided tour of Ellis Island
  • Audio guide for the museum of immigration
  • Special perks for your NYC trips

Not included

  • Lockers for large items on Liberty Island (available for $0.25)
  • Crown and Pedestal (base) access at the Statue of Liberty, entry not included

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Hassle-free cancellation

We understand plans change. You can always change your tour 24 hours or more before you tour. We offer a 100% refund up to 24 hours prior to your tour start time. Within 24 hours of your tour, we would have incurred hard costs and therefore cannot allow rescheduling or cancellation without costs.

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    Flexible scheduling and refunds

Meeting Point

North entrance of Castle Clinton in Battery Park (entrance facing the park, not the water)

Meet your guide outside the front entrance of Castle Clinton, the round brown brick building near the water in Battery Park. Your guide will be on the steps outside of the north entrance of the castle, wearing an orange hat. This is the entrance facing the buildings in Manhattan.

Get directions

Your questions, answered

We’ll be on our feet for most of the tour. At both Liberty and Ellis islands, your guide will lead you on a walking tour of the grounds to point out the different sights - this can be modified if a private tour is booked.
This tour is accessible for strollers and wheelchairs.
Persons and property are subject to search. Prohibited items include weapons, locking blades, tools, non-folding umbrellas, tripods, laptops, tablet keyboards, coolers, luggage, drones, sewing kits, lighter fluid, and anything propelled by aerosol.
The National Park Service does not allow any guiding inside the Statue of Liberty Museum or the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. You will have time to explore these landmarks on your own during your visit after an introduction from your guide.
We understand plans change. You can always change your tour 24 hours or more before you tour. We offer a 100% refund up to 24 hours prior to your tour start time. Within 24 hours of your tour, we would have incurred hard costs and therefore cannot allow rescheduling or cancellation without costs.
Our tours run rain or shine, so please check the local forecast to plan. In rare cases when we have to cancel for extreme weather, we’ll offer you the chance to reschedule or give a full refund.
No, these are not included in your tour. Guided tours are not allowed in the pedestal or crown at the Statue of Liberty.
Yes! This tour is available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Mandarin, and Hindi. If you’re interested in taking this tour in another language, please email us at info@exp1.com.
Tips are always appreciated but never expected. They’re a great way to tell your guide they did an awesome job and show your appreciation.