Rapid Travel Chai

The soaring opening to 1980s hit film Working Girl with Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) on the Staten Island Ferry heading to conquer Wall Street unveils a great way to see views of Liberty Island and Manhattan.

Sure there are cruises from companies like the Circle Line, but they are not cheap (Circle Line’s cheapest is $27), time consuming, and relatively infrequent. Those who want a leisurely cruise should by all means look into such cruises. But those who want a great view on the cheap have other options.

Staten Island Ferry:

Running every 15-30 minutes around the clock, the ferry is FREE. Located on the southern tip of Manhattan near Battery Park, the South Ferry subway stop for the 1 and R trains is right outside. Enjoy the views of Manhattan, and Liberty, Ellis and Governors Islands.

IKEA Brooklyn Water Taxi:
Why not scoot over to IKEA Brooklyn for a cost-effective meal and stunning views?  Departing from Pier 11 in Manhattan (Wall St & FDR Dr), it runs 2-8 pm M-F and 11 am-9 pm on weekends. It is free on weekends and on weekdays you can make back the $10 round-trip water taxi fare by spending $10 at IKEA (see the schedule for details).

Those that would like to explore downtown Brooklyn (Court Street, Brooklyn Promenade, Junior’s, Brooklyn Bridge, but that’s a future post), rather than doubling back through Manhattan, can take the free IKEA Court St/Borough Hall shuttle bus, or the lumbering B61 public bus that purports to run every 10 minutes.