NYC Water Taxi Tour 

The New York Water Taxi company provides water transport and sightseeing tours in the New York harbor. The company has three types of cruises:

•          Daily New York Harbor Cruises. On this cruise you can see the New York City and New Jersey skylines, famous monuments and sites along the coastline.

•          Specialty Cruises. In cooperation with other companies the New York Water Taxi (NYWT) company provides cruises like the IKEA Shuttle ($5 and kids under 12 go free); NYC Night Cruise and Delta Baseball Shuttle. Other special cruise ideas are the Freedom Tour($59.99/$49.99); Helicopter rides($249); Statues at Night Cruise($28/$17); SHARK Speedboat Thrill Ride ($24/$17) which can take up to 135 passengers; the ZEPHYR cruise boat which can carry up to 600 passengers and the combo Bike and Boat tour($79/$49 guided; $59/35 unguided).

•          Boat Charters. For a private cruise around the waters of New York you can rent a boat (with a skipper) and enjoy the cruise with a small group of friends or celebrate a special event onboard.

Hop on Hop Off Cruises

Unlike a regular taxi you can't order a water taxi to pick you up, they have set, regular schedules.  Each water taxi can carry between 64 – 149 passengers at a time depending on the vessel. The boats have open air viewing decks where you can get a 360° view of the city and of sites like the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and Governors Island. On board there are fun commentaries by knowledgeable and entertaining guides. The Hop-On-Hop-Off ticket is good for an entire day on the water taxis, you need only the one ticket to get from pier to pier. The circular route takes about 90 minutes but of course you'll be getting on and off. There are four piers along the way where you can get off and see sites they are: Pier 17 South Street Seaport; Pier 1 Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO; Pier 16 South Street Seaport; Slip 6 Battery Park; Pier 45 Christopher Street and Pier 84 West 44th Street.

From Pier 84 (one of the four pier stops) you can catch the NYWT Express a narrated bus tour in a double decker bus with an open air top which goes past the on-land sites of New York. The bus tour is FREE for anyone with a Water Taxi ticket. You can even buy your water taxi ticket on the bus. The bus stops at the Empire State Building, NBS Studio Experience, Time Square north and south and Pier 84. Your ticket for the water taxi will also get you discounts and free admission to other sites like the South Street Seaport Museum. There are combo tickets for discount prices like the Hop-on-Hop-Off Day Ticket and the 9/11 Memorial Pass.

The water taxi tour takes you very close to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island so that you will be perfectly positioned to take great photos of the statuesque lady. The water taxi's leave regularly throughout the day between 9am and 6:15pm. The Hop-On-Hop-Off day pass costs $28 for adults and $17 for kids (3-12).

You can purchase tickets on the New York Water Taxi website, book by calling (212) 742-1969 or at the boat departure point. There are no monthly passes and the MTA Metrocard does not apply. Other useful information is that the boats operate come rain or come shine (as there is both indoor and outdoor seating) and they are all smoke-free. There are no pre-booked seats so you can wander around and take a seat on a first-come-first-served basis.

More Things to do in New York City for Kids

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