wanttotravel4fun
Aug 2022
Very Disappointing! I booked this two-hour express tour at approximately $69 per person. The impression the description gives is that we could skip the lines (only lines were getting on and off the ferry, which we did not get to skip) and that we would be able to get into the base of the Statue of Liberty with our tickets (which was not the case). The tour itself of the grounds on Liberty Island was okay (wouldn't recommend if you have young children) but that in itself does not justify the difference between the ferry ticket of $24/pp and the $69/pp we paid. That essentially meant we paid $45/pp for a one hour talk about the history of the Statue of Liberty. There was no tour on Ellis Island--that part we were told was "on our own". My recommendation for others would be to buy a ferry ticket at the pier ($24 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $12 for children) and pick up an audio tour (FREE) once you get on the island. You can also get pedestal access once you get there for about the same amount as the ferry tickets--which would still have saved us at least $20-25 per person. I have taken other TripAdvisor Tours (Florence, Italy and Austin, TX) and felt they were both well worth the price, and I would recommend those to others. However, this felt like a complete rip-off and I would definitely NOT recommend it to anyone.
Відповідь від хоста
Sep 2022
We do appreciate your feedback and are sad to hear you did not find value in the guided tour. However, there is no indication in any of the advertising that the tour goes inside the pedestal or that guests are able to skip the security screening. Everyone who visits the islands needs to go through the same security to ensure the safety of visitors. This is the line you encountered.
The tour does provide the skipping of the ticket line which is the longest line involved in a visit to the Statue of Liberty. That is one of the many benefits of the tour.
It is kind of you to provide alternatives to people who do not enjoy guided tours. But we would like to point out to anyone who might come across this review that it is not true that you can purchase pedestal tickets on the island. It would be a shame to mislead people in that regard.